Print Awareness Skills and Home Literacy Environment of Turkish Preschoolers

Abstract

In the literature, the importance of early literacy experiences provided at home by parents to the development of early literacy skills is often expressed. Therefore, the study was aimed at identifying the possible relationships between home early literacy experiences and children’s print awareness skills. The participants of the study comprised of 60 preschool children (48-68 months) whose native language is Turkish. The Home Early Literacy Environment Questionnaire (HLEQ) used for the assessment of home literacy skills were conveyed to the parents by the preschool teachers. The Early Childhood Print Awareness Checklist used for the assessment of children’s print awareness skills were individually administered to each child. The results displayed a variation in early literacy skills within 48-68 months and indicated that variables pertaining to “writing” might have been effective in this variation. Another prominent finding was that demographic variables such as parental education and frequency of participation in social activities, as well as, most of the HLEQ variables correlated with each other at varying strengths. Similar studies specific to the Turkish language should be conducted in order to identify various predictors of both home literacy skills and print awareness. The study results were discussed in light of the existing literature.

Keywords

• Home literacy,print awareness,early literacy

Okul Öncesi Dönem Türk Çocuklarda Yazı Farkındalığı Becerileri ve Ev Okuryazarlık Ortamı

Abstract

Alanyazında, erken okuryazarlık becerilerinin gelişiminde ev ortamında ebeveynler tarafından sunulan erken okuryazarlık deneyimlerinin önemli olduğu sıkça ifade edilmektedir. Yapılan araştırmada, ev ortamında sağlanan erken okuryazarlık deneyimlerinin çocukların yazı farkındalığı becerileri ile olası ilişkilerinin belirlenmesi amaçlanmaktadır. Araştırmanın katılımcılarını ana dili Türkçe olan ve okul öncesi eğitim almakta olan 60 çocuk (48-68 aylık) oluşturmaktadır. Ev ortamında sağlanan erken okuryazarlık deneyimlerimi değerlendirmek amacıyla kullanılan Ev Erken Okuryazarlık Ortamı Ölçeği (EVOK) okul öncesi öğretmenleri tarafından ailelere iletilmiştir. Çocukların yazı farkındalığı becerilerini değerlendirmek amacıyla kullanılan Erken Çocukluk Dönemi Yazı Farkındalığı Kontrol Listesi ise araştırmacılar tarafından tüm çocuklara bireysel olarak uygulanmıştır. Sonuçlar, erken okuryazarlık becerilerinin 48-68 ay arasında bir değişim gösterdiğini ortaya koymuş, var olan değişimde ev ortamında sağlanan erken okuryazarlık becerilerinden “yazma” becerileri ile ilgili değişkenlerin etkili olabileceğini göstermiştir. Sosyal etkinliklere katılım sıklığı ve anne ve baba eğitim düzeyi gibi demografik değişkenler ile ev ortamında sağlanan erken okuryazarlık deneyimlerinin çoğunun birbirleri ile farklı düzeylerde ilişkili bulunması da dikkat çeken noktalar arasında yer almıştır. Dilimize özgü benzer çalışmaların yapılması ile gerek erken okuryazarlık becerilerinin, gerek bu beceriler arasında önemli yer tutan yazı farkındalığı becerilerinin farklı yordayıcılarının ortaya konulması mümkün olabilecektir. Araştırmadan elde edilen sonuçlar alanyazın bulguları ışığında tartışılmıştır.

Keywords

• Ev okuryazarlık ortamı,yazı farkındalığı,erken okuryazarlık

References

1. Anthony, J. L., & Lonigan, C. J. (2004). The nature of phonological awareness: Converging evidence from four studies of preschool and early grade school children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96(1), 43. doi.10.1037/0022-0663.96.1.43
2. Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., van IJzendoorn, M. H., & Bradley, R. H. (2005). Those who have, receive: The Matthew effect in early childhood intervention in the home environment. Review of Educational Research, 75, 1–26.
3. Baroody, A. E., & Diamond, K. E. (2012). Links among home literacy environment, literacy interest, and emergent literacy skills in preschoolers at risk for reading difficulties. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 32(2), 78-87. doi: 10.1177/0271121410392803 Bayraktar, V., ve Temel, F. (2014). Okuma-yazmaya hazırlık eğitim programının çocukların okuma-yazma becerilerine etkisi. Hacettepe Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 29(3), 8- 22.
4. Bialystok, E. (1995). Making concepts of print symbolic: Understanding how writing represents language. First Language, 15(45), 317-338. doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.36.1.66
5. Bracken, S. S., & Fischel, J. E. (2008). Family reading behavior and early literacy skills in preschool children from low-income backgrounds. Early Education and Development, 19(1), 45-67. doi.org/10.1080/10409280701838835
6. Burgess, S. R., Hecht, S. A., & Lonigan, C. J. (2002). Relations of the home literacy environment (HLE) to the development of reading-related ability: A one year longitudinal study. Reading Research Quarterly, 37, 408–426. doi:10.1598/RRQ.37.4.4
7. Chansa-Kabali, T., Serpell, R., & Lyytinen, H. (2014). Contextual analysis of home environment factors influencing the acquisition of early reading skills in Zambian families. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 24(5), 410-419. doi: 10.1080/14330237.2014.997008
8. Clay, M. M. (1993). An observation survey of early literacy achievement. Heinemann, Hanover St., Portsmouth, NH.

9. Cooper, P. M. (2005). Literacy learning and pedagogical purpose in Vivian Paley’s ‘storytelling curriculum’. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 5(3), 229-251.doi: 10.1177/1468798405058686
10. Cunningham, A. E., Perry, K. E., Stanovich, K. E., & Stanovich, P. J. (2004). Disciplinary knowledge of K-3 teachers and their knowledge calibration in the domain of early literacy. Annals of dyslexia, 54(1), 139-167. doi: 10.1007/s11881-004-0007
11. Curenton, S. M., & Justice, L. M. (2008). Children's preliteracy skills: Influence of mothers' education and beliefs about shared-reading interactions. Early Education and Development, 19(2), 261-283. doi.10.1080/10409280801963939
12. Çetin, Ö. Ş. (2014). The investigation of pre-school children’s print awareness and skills for writing preparation. Journal of Theoretical Educational Science, 7(3), 342-360. doi.org/10.5578/keg.7036
13. Deniz, K. Z., Türe, E., Uysal, A., and Akar, T. K. (2015). Sosyo-ekonomik düzey değişkenlerinin kümeleme analizi ile belirlenmesi. İlköğretim Online, 14(1), 108-117. doi: 10.17051/io.2015.99837
14. Dickinson, D. K., McCabe, A., Anastasopoulos, L., Peisner-Feinberg, E. S., & Poe, M. D. (2003). The comprehensive language approach to early literacy: The interrelationships among vocabulary, phonological sensitivity, and print knowledge among preschool-aged children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(3), 465. doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.95.3.465
15. Dobbs Oates, J., Pentimonti, J. M., Justice, L. M., & Kaderavek, J. N. (2015). Parent and child attitudinal factors in a model of children's print‐concept knowledge. Journal of Research in Reading, 38(1), 91-108. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9817.2012.01545.x
16. Durham, R. E., Farkas, G., Hammer, C. S., Tomblin, J. B., & Catts, H. W. (2007). Kindergarten oral language skill: A key variable in the intergenerational transmission of socioeconomic status. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 25(4), 294-305. doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2007.03.001
17. Ergül, C., Karaman, G., Akoğlu, G., Tufan, M., Sarıca, A. D., and Kudret, Z. B. (2014). Okul öncesi öğretmenlerinin “Erken Okuryazarlık” kavramına ilişkin bilgi düzeyleri ve sınıf uygulamaları. İlköğretim Online, 13(4). doi: 10.17051/io.2014.71858
18. Evans, J. S. B. (2008). Dual-processing accounts of reasoning, judgment, and social cognition. Annual Review of. Psychology, 59, 255-278. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.59.103006.093629
19. Ezell, H. K., & Justice, L. M. (2005). Shared storybook reading: Building young children's language & emergent literacy skills. PH Brookes Pub..
20. Farkas, G., & Beron, K. (2004). The detailed age trajectory of oral vocabulary knowledge: Differences by class and race. Social Science Research, 33(3), 464-497. doi.10.1016. 2003.08.001
21. Farver, J. M., Nakamoto, J., & Lonigan, C. J. (2007). Assessing preschoolers’ emergent literacy skills in English and Spanish with the Get Ready to Read! screening tool. Annals of Dyslexia, 57(2), 161-178. doi: 10.1007/s11881-007-0007-9
22. Foster, T. D., Froyen, L. C., Skibbe, L. E., Bowles, R. P., & Decker, K. B. (2016). Fathers’ and mothers’ home learning environments and children’s early academic outcomes. Reading and Writing, 29(9), 1845-1863. doi 10.1007/s11145-016-9655-7
23. Griffin, E. A., & Morrison, F. J. (1997). The unique contribution of home literacy environment to differences in early literacy skills. Early Child Development and Care, 127(1), 233–243. doi.org/10.1080/0300443971270119
24. Gül, G. (2007). Okuryazarlık sürecinde aile katılımının rolü. Ankara Üniversitesi Eğitim Bilimleri Fakültesi Özel Eğitim Dergisi, 8(1), 17-33.
25. Hood, M., Conlon, E., & Andrews, G. (2008). Preschool home literacy practices and children's literacy development: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100(2), 252-271. doi.10.1037/0022-0663.100.2.252
26. Işıtan, S. ve Akoğlu, G. (2016). “Yazı Farkındalığı becerilerinin resimli çocuk kitabı aracılığıyla değerlendirilmesi: Güvenirlik ve geçerlik çalışması”, Turkish Studies, 11(3), 1333-1352. doi.org/10.7827/TurkishStudies.9111
27. Justice, L. M., & Ezell, H. K. (2001). Word and print awareness in 4-year-old children. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 17(3), 207-225.
28. Justice, L. M., McGinty, A. S., Piasta, S. B., Kaderavek, J. N., & Fan, X. (2010). Print-focused read-alouds in preschool classrooms: Intervention effectiveness and moderators of child outcomes. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 41(4), 504-520. doi:10.1044/0161-1461(2010/09-0056)
29. Karasar, N. (2004). Bilimsel Araştırma Yöntemleri. Ankara: Nobel Yayıncılık.
30. Kim, S., Im, H., & Kwon, K. A. (2015, December). The role of home literacy environment in toddlerhood in development of vocabulary and decoding skills, Child & Youth Care Forum, 44(6), 835-852. doi 10.1007/s10566-015-9309-y
31. Korat, O., Shamir, A., & Arbiv, L. (2011). E-books as support for emergent writing with and without adult assistance. Education and Information Technologies, 16(3), 301-318. doi: 10.1007/s10639-010-9127-7
32. Lefebvre, P., Trudeau, N., & Sutton, A. (2011). Enhancing vocabulary, print awareness and phonological awareness through shared storybook reading with low-income preschoolers. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 11(4), 453-479. doi: 10.1177/1468798411416581
33. Levy, B. A., Gong, Z., Hessels, S., Evans, M. A., & Jared, D. (2006). Understanding print: Early reading development and the contributions of home literacy experiences. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 93(1), 63-93. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2005.07.003
34. Lonigan, C. J., & Whitehurst, G. J. (1998). Relative efficacy of parent and teacher involvement in a shared-reading intervention for preschool children from low-income backgrounds. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 13(2), 263-290. .doi.org/10.1016/S0885-2006(99)80038-6
35. Lonigan, C. J., Burgess, S. R., & Anthony, J. L. (2000). Development of emergent literacy and early reading skills in preschool children: evidence from a latent-variable longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 36(5), 596-613. doi= 10.1037/0012-1649.36.5.596
36. McGee, L. M., & Morrow, L. M. (2005). Teaching literacy in kindergarten. Guilford Press.
37. Melhuish, E. C., Phan, M. B., Sylva, K., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I., & Taggart, B. (2008). Effects of the home learning environment and preschool center experience upon literacy and numeracy development in early primary school. Journal of Social Issues, 64, 95–114. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4560.2008.00550.x
38. Neumann, M. M., Hood, M., & Ford, R. M. (2013). Using environmental print to enhance emergent literacy and print motivation. Reading and Writing, 26(5), 771-793. doi:10.1007/s11145-012-9390-7 doi: 10.1080/10409289.2013.753567
39. Neumann, M. M. (2016). Young children's use of touch screen tablets for writing and reading at home: Relationships with emergent literacy. Computers & Education, 97, 61-68. doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2016.02.013
40. Pullen, P. C., & Justice, L. M. (2003). Enhancing phonological awareness, print awareness, and oral language skills in preschool children. Intervention in School and Clinic, 39(2), 87-98.
41. Puranik, C. S., & Lonigan, C. J. (2012). Name-writing proficiency, not length of name, is associated with preschool children's emergent literacy skills. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 27(2), 284-294. doi.10.1016. 2011.09.003
42. Reynolds, M., Wheldall, K., & Madelaine, A. (2011). What recent reviews tell us about the efficacy of reading interventions for struggling readers in the early years of schooling. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 58(3), 257-286. doi.10.1080/1034912X.2011.598406
43. Rodriguez, E. T., & Tamis LeMonda, C. S. (2011). Trajectories of the home learning environment across the first 5 years: Associations with children’s vocabulary and literacy skills at prekindergarten. Child Development, 82(4), 1058-1075. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01614.x
44. Sarıca, A.D., Ergül, C., Akoğlu, G., Deniz, K. Z, Karaman, G., Bahap Kudret, Z., andTufan, M. (2014). Ev erken okuryazarlık ortamı ölçeği - EVOK: Geçerlik ve güvenirlik çalışması. International Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 6(2), 444-459. doi.org/10.15345/iojes.2014.02.016
45. Sawyer, B. E., Justice, L. M., Guo, Y., Logan, J. A., Petrill, S. A., Glenn‐Applegate, K., ... & Pentimonti, J. M. (2014). Relations among home literacy environment, child characteristics and print knowledge for preschool children with language impairment. Journal of Research in Reading, 37(1), 65-83. doi: 10.1111/jrir.12008
46. Sénéchal, M. (2006). Testing the home literacy model: Parent involvement in kindergarten is differentially related to grade 4 reading comprehension, fluency, spelling, and reading for pleasure. Scientific Studies of Reading, 10(1), 59-87. doi.10.1207/s1532799xssr1001_4
47. Sénéchal, M., & LeFevre, J. A. (2002). Parental involvement in the development of children’s reading skill: A five year longitudinal study. Child Development, 73(2), 445-460. doi: 10.1111/1467-8624.00417.
48. Scarborough, H. S., & Dobrich, W. (1994). On the efficacy of reading to preschoolers. Developmental Review, 14(3), 245-302.
49. Shanahan, T., & Lonigan, C. J. (2010). The National Early Literacy Panel A Summary of the Process and the Report. Educational Researcher, 39(4), 279-285. doi: 10.3102/0013189X10369172
50. Skwarchuk, S. L., Sowinski, C., & LeFevre, J. A. (2014). Formal and informal home learning activities in relation to children’s early numeracy and literacy skills: The development of a home numeracy model. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 121, 63-84. doi.10.1016/j.jecp.2013.11.006
51. Slavin, R. E., Lake, C., Davis, S., & Madden, N. A. (2011). Effective programs for struggling readers: A best-evidence synthesis. Educational Research Review, 6(1), 1-26. doi.10.1016/j.edurev.2010.07.002
52. Taylor, N. A., Greenberg, D., & Terry, N. P. (2016). The Relationship Between Parents' Literacy Skills and Their Preschool Children's Emergent Literacy Skills. Journal of Research and Practice for Adult Literacy, Secondary, and Basic Education, 5(2), 5-16.
53. Tolchinsky, L. (2003). The cradle of culture and what children know about writing and numbers before being taught. Psychology Press: USA.
54. Turan, F., and Akoğlu, G. (2014). Home literacy environment and phonological awareness skills in preschool children. Hacettepe Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 29(3), 153-166.
55. Vacca, J., R. Vacca, M. Gove, L. Burkey, L. Lenhart, & C. McKeon. (2006). Reading and learning to read. Boston: Pearson Education.
56. Weigel, D. J., Martin, S. S., & Bennett, K. K., (2006). Contributions of the home literacy environment to preschool-aged children’s emerging literacy and language skills. Early Child Development and Care, 176, 357–378.
57. Whitehurst, G. J., & Lonigan, C. J. (2001). Emergent literacy: Development from prereaders to readers. Handbook of early literacy research, USA: Guilford Press.
58. Xue, Y., & Meisels, S. J. (2004). Early literacy instruction and learning in kindergarten: Evidence from the early childhood longitudinal study—kindergarten class of 1998–1999. American Educational Research Journal, 41(1), 191-229.
59. Zevenbergen, A. A., Whitehurst, G. J., & Zevenbergen, J. A. (2003). Effects of a shared-reading intervention on the inclusion of evaluative devices in narratives of children from low-income families. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 24(1), 1-15.
60. Zucker, T. A., Justice, L. M., Piasta, S. B., & Kaderavek, J. N. (2010). Preschool teachers’ literal and inferential questions and children's responses during whole-class shared reading. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 25(1), 65-83.