Facilitating Preschoolers’ Emergent Literacy Development Through a Digital Library

From birth to preschool years, before the young children become conventional readers and writers, children are involved in a developmental process known as "emergent literacy," a concept that was coined by Marie Clay (a New Zealand scholar) in 1966. During this stage, children engage naturally in unconventional literacy behaviors such as pre-reading (e.g., pretend reading by retelling the story from looking at the illustrations) and pre-writing (e.g., drawing, scribbling, letter-like writing). These emergent literacy behaviors are considered foundational to children becoming competent readers and writers, as needed to succeed in formal schooling and beyond. Thus, the emergent literacy phenomenon has important implications for education practice. This developmental process is best mediated and optimized through positive social interactions with adults (e.g., shared book reading) and exposure to a literacy-rich environment with developmentally appropriate materials (e.g., storybooks). This article examines a preschool teacher facilitated emergent literacy development with her students during COVID-19 pandemic when schools were closed.

Analyzing Teacher and Parent Views on the First Literacy Process during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study aims to analyze the opinions of primary school teachers and parents about the first literacy process in the 2020-2021 academic year under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The recruits were the 1st-grade teachers in the city center of Malatya for the 2020-2021 academic year and the parents of the students in these classes. The recruits comprised 11 primary school teachers and 31 parents selected by criterion sampling of the purposeful sampling methods. The qualitative research tradition was adopted in the study. The research was designed as a case study. A semi-structured interview form was used as a data collection tool, and the data were analyzed through content analysis. The analysis results were categorized into four groups. It was found that teachers had difficulties in the distance education process and could not actively involve students during the courses compared to face to face education. It was stated that teachers, students, and parents experienced adaptation problems during the pandemic and preferred in-person education instead of distanced methods. It was concluded that the parents preferred continuing literacy activities from home via distance education for hygiene during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they supported face to face education after this process. It was suggested that in-service training would be helpful to teachers for literacy education during the COVID-19 pandemic, besides the technological support for distance education infrastructure and guidance activities based on parent-teacher cooperation.

Family literacy practices and their contribution to emergent literacy skills during the COVID-19 pandemic

To develop emergent literacy skills, preschool children need to be supported by adults in a rich and stimulating environment. During the first lockdown due to the SARS-CoV2 virus, there were several social, family, technological, and individual barriers to promote family literacy and emergent literacy. In the present study, we aimed to provide insight on the relationship between family literacy practices and emergent literacy skills among preschool children after the first confinement due to COVID-19 pandemic. This study included 102 participants, which consisted of parents (90.2% mothers) and one preschool child per parent. Results showed evidence of a higher frequency of training and teaching activities than family literacy playful activities. There were statistically significant differences in emergent skills, according to the frequency of family playful activities and family training and teaching activities. Results suggest that different family literacy practices are significantly correlated to all the emergent literacy skills evaluated.

Recovery for U.S. Students in 2021: What Schools and Districts Can Do to Make up for Lost Learning Time

After eighteen months of school closure and disrupted learning, civic leaders, researchers, and educational leaders are getting a clearer picture of how students fared through the pandemic, and what new reality school systems face as they return to in-person schooling in 2021-22. Increases in community infection rates and parent hesitancy have thrown districts back into uncertainty, making it all the more critical to ensure continuity of learning and well-being for students who may not be able to return to classrooms as quickly as planned, and may face continued disruptions due to quarantines. As students return to a third year of disrupted learning, school and system leaders cannot lose sight of our schools' most critical charge this year: addressing unfinished learning and restoring student well-being. While gauging the academic impacts of the pandemic through spring 2021 has been challenging, a body of evidence is emerging from a range of public and private institutions studying this question from different angles. The best interpretations of the most reliable information available underscore a few critical observations: (1) the average student mastered less academic content this year because of the pandemic and associated disruptions to schooling;(2) the pandemic's average impacts on academic achievement, while significant, mask substantial variation in impacts across subjects, grades, demographic groups, and geography;(3) the evidence to date likely understates both the average academic impacts of the pandemic and the opportunity and achievement gaps it has produced;and (4) declines in student well-being indicators could diminish future conditions for successful learning. We propose the following six principles, some of which districts are already applying, to ensure students experience a positive, healthy, and restorative schooling experience this year: (1) provide each student an individualized, three-year instructional plan that uses data to address their academic, social, and emotional needs;(2) prioritize strategies that honor and re-engage students most impacted by the pandemic;(3) use tutoring, extended learning time, and early diagnostic systems to strengthen student foundations in math and early literacy;(4) provide at least one quality remote option while safely reopening schools in person;(5) pilot new structures for learning, such as flexible schedules, prioritizing content mastery over seat time, and new ways of structuring school;and (6) create coherent, aligned systems of support for educators and families. This moment demands new, bold leadership from all of us who touch the lives of students--from civic leaders to policymakers to system leaders to educators. Fast action and transformative change can prevent long-term harm. [The COVID Collaborative contributed to this report.]