The Importance of Early Childhood Education and School Starting Age in the Reading-Writing Learning Process
Abstract
This
study is aimed to determine the importance of school starting age and prior
early childhood education experience in the process of learning to read and
write. The study was carried out with first grade students enrolled in four
public schools in Bursa city center and their teachers. A descriptive model
which involves analysis of subject and events within their specific conditions
was used as study method. Quantitative data were collected through the Reading
Skills Scale and Dictation and Writing Skills Scale developed by Obalar (2010)
which were completed by the students’ teachers. Qualitative data were collected
by a teacher interview form which was prepared according to a review of the
relevant literature and first grade acquisitions. Ten primary school teachers
were interviewed. The interviews were video-taped. Independent Sampling Mann
Whitney U-test was used to analyze quantitative data. Content Analysis method
was used to analyze qualitative data. The findings showed that there was a
significant difference between 60-71 months old students and 72 months old and
older students in terms of school starting age in favor of older students; and
that there was a significant variation in terms of prior early childhood
education experience in favor of the students who received early childhood
education. Findings support the results
obtained from the teacher interviews.
Keywords
Reading-writing,learning,early childhood education,school starting age
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