Relationships Between Kindergarten Teachers' Perceptions of Literacy Acquisition and Children's Literacy Involvement and Classroom Materials

Abstract

Relationships between teachers' perceptions of literacy acquisition and (a) children's involvement in literacy events and (b) the quantity and quality of classroom literacy materials were examined. The participants were 12 kindergarten teachers and 16 randomly selected students from each teacher's classroom. For data analysis purposes, responses on the Literacy Acquisition Perception Profile, verified through teacher interviews, were used to label teachers' perceptions as representing either a reading readiness skills or emergent literacy perspective. Children's voluntary involvement in literacy events was observed and recorded during a 12-week period. The Inventory of Literacy Indicators was used to assess the quantity and quality of classroom literacy materials. Children in classrooms of emergent literacy teachers participated in a higher number and greater variety of literacy events than did children in reading readiness skills classrooms, and literacy materials in classrooms of emergent literacy teachers were higher in both quantity and quality than were literacy materials in reading readiness skills classrooms.