A comparison of the importance attributed to early childhood literacy activities by parents and early childhood educators with the activities suggested by the Pennsylvania Early Childhood Learning Continuum Indicators

Children who are exposed to literacy-rich environments have been shown to be better equipped to become readers and learners and, therefore, enter schools better equipped to learn to read. Primary instruction can easily be built on a foundation that is laid in literate homes. "Literate home simulation" kindergartners is the label given to children when they arrive at school with fundamentals of print and who then easily acquire fluency with writing and reading (Allington & Cunningham, 1996). It has also been found that children who begin school without exposure to print significantly lag behind their peers.; It is an accepted concept by educators that children who receive exposure to books and print in their homes are more prepared for school and tend to acquire greater academic achievement. Bryant (2000) states that parent involvement in a child's education is a crucial contributor to the child's achievement in school. Home environments can offer experiences that enhance oral and written language development (Senechal, LeFevre, Thomas, & Daley, 1998). The Commission on Reading, 1985, refers to parental involvement in shared book reading as the single most important activity for children in the acquisition of literacy.; The purpose of this study was to compare what literacy developing activities parents find significant to engage in with their children to what literacy developing activities early childhood educators find significant. From this provide information and recommendations which will assist efforts to improve the literacy-readiness status of children entering kindergarten. By finding what literacy strategies parents and caregivers are actually using with children, pre-school teachers and kindergarten teachers will be able to provide opportunities for literacy training that may be helpful to parents.; The data collection consisted of two self-administered questionnaires. The survey questions were based upon the Early Childhood Learning Continuum Indicators section 1.1 Learning to Read Independently.; In this study, literacy practices of parents and expectations of teachers are presented and explored using descriptive statistics. A t-test was run on the Parent Survey and Teacher Survey to examine differences between the importance parents and early childhood educators placed on the literacy indicators.