Abstract

AMIAMA-ESPAILLAT, Cristina  and  PACHECO-SALAZAR, Berenice. Early childhood teacher reading profiles and knowledge of emergent literacy instruction. Educación [online]. 2022, vol.46, n.2, pp.67-83. ISSN 2215-2644.  http://dx.doi.org/10.15517/revedu.v46i2.47918.

Students in the Dominican Republic have demonstrated a low performance with regards to literacy competence, influenced, among other factors, by their own individual attitudes towards reading and their teachers' knowledge about emergent literacy. This study examines teacher reading profiles and knowledge as it applies to emergent literacy instruction for first graders in the Dominican Republic through a mixed, descriptive-correlational study. A stratified probabilistic sample was selected during the quantitative phase of the study with a confidence level of 95%. The sample consisted of 465 teachers who completed a survey on the study variables. Three of these teachers were also interviewed during the qualitative phase. Findings reveal that 55% of these teachers were occasional readers (had read one to three books in the past year) and 28% were apparent or false readers. Self-improvement served as the main driver for learning, since many teachers have little access to literature. Likewise, much of the faculty found it difficult to state a clear concept about the emergent literacy approach that should guide their teaching or which stategies should be used for improving student literacy. Yet, results reveal the importance of developing reading habits during teacher-training programs and promoting public policies that impact access to books and cultivating a culture of reading in schools and communities.

Keywords : Reading Profile; Reading Behavior; Teaching Knowledge; Early Grade Literacy; Early Childhood Education Teachers; Dominican Republic.

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