What knowledge do early childhood teachers use during literacy instruction? Using stimulated recall to investigate an unexplored phenomenon

Abstract

This study utilized a novel phenomenological approach with a stimulated recall procedure to understand the pedagogical reasoning of eight early child teachers during the enactment of literacy instruction in whole-group meeting and language arts activities. This approach to investigating knowledge—in contrast to more traditional conceptualizations of knowledge—focused on knowledge use as a process and prioritized teachers’ perspectives on knowledge used to enact literacy instruction in their own classrooms. Additionally, it allowed for a more nuanced investigation of the role of setting and teacher characteristics that are often examined in association with literacy instruction (e.g., degree attainment, years of experience, curriculum, instructional activity). Six types of knowledge were used by teachers in their pedagogical reasoning. In order of frequency of use these were knowledge of: goals for instruction, children, feelings, school environment, developing skills, and past experiences. Importantly, teachers made more references to knowledge derived from their immediate contexts as compared to decontextualized knowledge. Implications for understanding connections between knowledge and literacy instruction are discussed.