Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Identifier

174

Date

2010

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Major

Instr and Curr Leadership

Concentration

Early Childhood Education

Committee Chair

Satomi Taylor

Committee Member

Cathy D. Meredith

Committee Member

Jerrie Scott

Committee Member

Kay C. Reeves

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how one early childhood education teacher promotes her first graders' early literacy skills. Reading is a major component for students' successful learning and development. The female participant taught at a private, Catholic school. Research questions were: What assumptions does an early childhood education make about early literacy? How does an early childhood teacher promote early literacy through phonemic awareness activities? What role does the classroom environment play in the children's acquisition of early literacy skills? Data for this qualitative study were collected from aquestionnaire, interviews, videotaped observations, lesson plans, photos, and a researcher's journal.Data analysis revealed that one teacher's promotion of early literacy skills involved four themes: individualized instruction, parental involvement, emergent literacy, and classroom environment. Results from the study indicated that the participant holds the following assumptions: (a) all children learn differently and have differing needs and interests and, therefore, teachers must adjust their teaching strategies to meet the individual needs of their students; (b) parental involvement is an important component in the promotion of early literacy skills; and, (c) emergent literacy directly relates to phonemic awareness and should be incorporated into all aspects of an early childhood classroom. To promote her students' early literacy skills through phonemic awareness activities, the participant spent the entire first semester teaching basic early literacy skills such as rhyming, phonetic sound enunciation, and decoding. She also worked with the students on identifying and manipulating phonemes. In regards to classroom environment, the participant had a warm, well-organized classroom that allowed students easy access to learning materials.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to the local University of Memphis Electronic Theses & dissertation (ETD) Repository.

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