| Children's lives reflect the social and cultural practices of their families and communities, heavily influencing their development and learning (NAEYC, 2002; Lankshear & Lawler, 1993; Luria, 1998; Steiner & Mahn, 1996). Children's early interactions with literacy are different and unique because of the diverse social and cultural practices of their family and community (Bradford & Wyse, 2012; Shook, Marrion, & Ollila, 1989; Steiner & Mahn, 1996). This qualitative study examined 12 parents' understandings of various forms of young children's symbolic representation. Data were collected from each participant through focus group discussions, an in-depth home interview, children's work samples, and one observation of a parent-child joint activity. Each parent had a child enrolled in a four-year-old classroom in a preschool located on the campus of a public university in the mid Atlantic region of the United States. Focus group discussions, in-depth interviews about children's work samples, and observations were analyzed using constant comparative methods throughout the data collection process (Corbin & Strauss, 1990).;Results indicate that parents searched for meaning in their children's symbolic representations. In interactions about symbolic representation, they prompted their children's drawing and writing productions, providing various levels of support and structure. These supports ranged from general, broad forms of encouragement to more guided, specific prompts. As they searched for meaning in their children's products, they engaged in conversations sought to better understand the meaning of children's creations, promote children's sharing of content and conceptual knowledge, and further their understanding of conventional aspects of alphabetic print. Most parents expressed higher levels of importance of conventional forms of symbolic representation, specifically alphabetic writing and drawing. When both drawing and writing were present, parents concentrated their focus on the written letters and supported this emphasis through their expressed understanding that it was an important skill needed for kindergarten. |
