| This study described the literacy instructional beliefs and practices of six KERA preschool and six primary/kindergarten teachers. Three methods of data collection were used to develop a description of literacy instruction in these classrooms. Teacher interviews and surveys provided information about the teachers' self-reported beliefs concerning how children learn to read and write. The Survey of Displayed Literacy Stimuli (Loughlin & Martin, 1987) provided data related to the physical learning environment and its potential to support literacy learning. Finally, observation of selected target students using the Eco-Behavioral System for Complex Assessment of Preschool Environments (Carta, Greenwood, & Atwater, n.d.) provided information about actual classroom practice.;All the data sources were analyzed to determine whether they represented an emergent literacy or reading readiness perspective of literacy instruction. Results indicated that the literacy instructional practices of 11 of the 12 classrooms observed were representative of a reading readiness perspective. Only one P/K classroom exhibited an emergent literacy perspective.;The choice of a reading readiness perspective had implications for literacy instruction at both levels of education. At the preschool level, associations of literacy instruction with reading readiness practices, such as isolated skill assignments, prevented teachers from creating opportunities to advance literacy in a developmentally appropriate manner. At the P/K level, teachers chose, for the most part, to implement a traditional reading readiness approach focusing on isolated exercises related to letter/sound knowledge. Unfortunately, both the isolated and formal nature of instruction were not compatible with developmentally appropriate practices, the recognized standard for primary school education in Kentucky.;In contrast to the classrooms exhibiting a reading readiness approach, the one emergent literacy classroom provided an example of literacy instruction that was both developmentally appropriate and proactive. Benefits of this program included many opportunities for students to: (a) experiment with literacy in an environment similar to that found in literate homes and (b) participate in developmentally appropriate activities designed to build fundamental concepts of literacy, two factors that research demonstrates positively influence literacy development. |
