Total = 19 1 3 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Total = 42 1 1 7 (40%) 7 ( 17%) 5 (12%) 4 (9%) 4 (9%) 3 (7%) 1 (2%) 1 (2%)
Parents and teachers were asked what signs and labels children recognise.
Interviewees were surprised when asked how much print in the local environment children are able to read, but most came up with an extensive list. Environmental print is one often overlooked experience with reading that children routinely have.
Table 5. 27 : Signs and labels that children often "read"
Teachers 1 Parents 1
Total = 25 Total = 99
Fast food shops 4 ( 1 6%) 23 (23%)
Street signs 3 ( 1 2%) 17 (17%) Food packets 6 (24%) 20 (20%) Names 6 (24%) 9 (9%) Labels/ lists 5 (20%) 1 ( 1 %) Shops 0 20 (20%) 1 (4%) 9 (9%) 1 Note that most parents and teachers gave more than one response
Most parents were surprised by how much environmental print their children do read when they started to describe the list to me (see Table 5.27). Fast food shops were very common (23%), with "McDonald's", with the big M being most often named. Other common fast food shops were "KFC" and local Fish and Chip shops. Teachers named the same fast food outlets as being recognised by children on school trips and in advertising in magazines or newspapers. Children also recognised many of the names on food packets at home, at kindergarten and during trips to the supermarket. Common items were "Colgate" toothpaste and "Skippy" cornflakes and other common food brands. Parents commented that children were recognising street signs, such as "Stop" and "School", as well as recognising the name of their street when they were out driving or walking. Local shops, like "KMart" were often named by parents as being signs that children would read as soon as they saw them. When asked if children would recognise the sign in print in the junk mail which comes through the letter box, parents stated that they would and also that they recognised signs in black and white in the newspaper. Teachers said most frequently that children recognised names and food packets, which is not surprising given the emphasis on metallic name boards and collage using food packets in the kindergarten (see Table 5.27).
Interviewees were asked if there were any other language and reading activities which the questionnaire had not mentioned, that they do with children. Talking to children is considered to be an important literacy activity by seven of the teachers, which teachers didn't think had been mentioned, but only 12 of the parents mentioned talking to children as another literacy activity not covered by the questionnaire (See Table 5.28). Using puzzles was the most common other literacy activity in homes. Parents often explained that they had puzzles with letters of the alphabet on which children would use. Writing was common in eleven homes, but is not mentioned by teachers in this question, although all teachers and 83% of parents said that children attempt to write words (see Table 5.21).
Table 5. 28 : Other language and reading activities at home and at kindergarten Puzzles Talking Tapes Writing Outings /opportunities No other activities Teachers Total = 20 8 (40%) 7 (35%) 2 ( 10%) 0 2 (10%) 1 (5%) Parents Total = 58 17 (29%) 12 (20%) 1 1 ( 1 8%) 1 1 ( 1 8%) 0 7 ( 1 2%) As part of the child's overall access to environmental print, interviewees were asked what reading items they personally use. These reading items did not necessarily have to be used with children and this was explained to parents and teachers (see Figure 5. 1 2). Interviewees were given the list which is represented in the legend of Figure 5. 12, and were told they could choose any which were appropriate. They were also asked to list any which were not included in the list.
5.12 : items used at home and at
40 • newspapers m magazines 35 Fm recipe books � instructions rs 30 0 bible � I] cheque books
8..
� g rocery lists�
25 1I1 food packets'0 r:a toy packets
� 20 o oD E ::l c:: 15 10 5 Teachers Parents
Nearly all parents interviewed said that they used newspapers, magazines, recipe books, instructions, cheque books and grocery lists in their homes (see Figure 5. 1 2). Food
packets, recipe books and magazines are the most commonly used reading items in kindergartens.
In order to find out.if children use adult literacy materials with their parents and
teachers, interviewees were next asked if any of this adult print is used with the children.
Teachers name the most commonly used item with children is food packets (30%), with
magazines (23%) and recipe books (23%) second. This is probably not surprising given
the use of food packets and magazines for collage in the kindergartens and the use of
process cooking recipes charts, which are reported as part of environmental print in
Chapter Six. Kindergarten teachers of course do not use Bibles in the kindergarten, nor do they use cheque books. Teachers commented that newspapers are used to keep tables
and floors clean, but not for reading. Parents also named using magazines (1 8%), recipes
books (22%) and grocery lists (22%) as adult literacy items shared with children.
Newspapers were also shared with children (9%) and six parents mentioned using all the
other reading items with children.
As a final question on environmental print, interviewees were asked if they used any other types of reading items, which had not been presented in the list presented in
Figure 5. 12. The results can be seen in Table 5.29 and Table 5.30.
Table 5.29 : Other reading items which teachers use in kindergartens
Process cooking Lists
Posters
Home contact book Education Gazette
1 Note that some teachers more than one
Table 5.30 : Other reading items which parents use at home
Novels Non fiction
University study guides Leaflets
Diary Puzzles
1 Note that some parents gave more that one response
Total = 1 31 5 (45%) 3 (23%) 3 (23%) 1 (7%) 1 (7%) Total = 43 1 17 (39%) 15 (34%) 5 ( 1 1 %) 3 (6%) 1 (2%) 1 (2%) 1 (2%)
There is little connection between the other reading items used by parents and teachers. Children are thus exposed to some differences in contextual print between home and kindergarten (see Tables 5.29 and 5.30). Reading books is one of the most common other literacy activities to be undertaken at home; novels and then non fiction books. These items had not been included in the question on what reading items parents and Assistant Teachers use, as they seemed unlikely items for Assistant Teachers to use at kindergarten. Although teachers did not actually say that they did use novels or non fiction, it would be a useful question to ask. No doubt non fiction books are used in curriculum planning for some topics, and it would be useful to identify if teachers use adult or child non fiction books with children in the kindergarten. Nearly half of the teachers cited process cooking as a common other literacy activity in kindergarten, which also explains the use of recipe books.
This section has examined more of the ways that parents and Assistant Teachers promote language and literacy, and some of the experiences that children in their care have with language games, environmental print and other literacy activities. Children in this study access to a variety of language experiences at home and particularly at
kindergarten. They are able to recite nursery rhymes and play language games such as "I
spy" which are based on a knowledge of letter names and phonological awareness. Children are seen to possess a strong awareness of environmental print, in particular fast food signs. Many children are able to recognise such environmental print out of context as well. Children see parents and teachers using literacy for a range of functions, many of which children are allowed to take part in, such as writing grocery lists and reading
magazines.
Summary and Discussion
Parents and teachers were interviewed using a slightly adapted version of the same questionnaire. This provided an interesting comparison of their beliefs about how
children learn, how children learn literacy and what sort of literacy environment children are being exposed to. It also fulfilled two of the aims of the research, which included collecting data on the role of the parents and teachers in the child's literacy development and examining parent's and teacher's views of themselves as teachers and how they see the role of the kindergarten in children's development.
Promoting children's learning and literacy development
Graue
(1993)
has discussed teacher know ledge as a social construction in her research on concepts of readiness in kindergarten teachers. She argues that the meanings attached to institutions, actions, images, utterances and events and customs of a group are called"interpretations" (p.34). Graue outlines how collective interpretations between teachers and families develop on a social and psychological plane. On the social plane, they are shared notions of events or ideas, on the psychological they are individual responses to collective responses. It has been interesting in this research to look at commonalities and differences between what teachers and parents believe is happening in the kindergarten, at home and in terms of children's development and learning.
Assistant Teachers primarily consider that "teamwork" is expected of them in the kindergarten, which was also large part of common sense knowledge for Head Teachers, that the team must "click" in order for the programme to work. Parents expect them to provide guidance, care and instruction of their children. Teachers and parents are in agreement that it is expected that parents will "get involved" in the kindergarten. Getting involved could mean as little as staying to read a story to a child, to a much as becoming involved with fundraising, field trips and committee work. Hoover-Dempsey, Bassler and Brissie (1992) report a positive relationship between teacher efficacy and teacher reports of parent involvement. These perceptions of parental involvement affect the way
the teacher perceives the child to be perfonning in school. It is important to remember that not all parents feel comfortable "getting involved", which may have implications for the perception by teachers that not all parents provide more for the child in tenns of learning than teachers do.
Parents chose kindergarten for their child because of the desire for the child to gain "socialisation" and to go to kindergarten and then primary school in the local community. Teachers believe that children gain the opportunity to mix with other children in a group situation. Parents also believe that children gain from the opportunity to mix with other children. "Socialisation" as the goal and outcome of kindergarten is clearly the common interpretation (Graue, 1993) between teachers and parents in this study. It appears to be a national interpretation as well, given Meade's (199 1 ) analysis that socialisation is a key mission for early childhood education in New Zealand. Socialisation has been found to be an outcome of constructivist early childhood programmes (Weikart and Epstein, 1978;
Weikart, 1982). Weikart and Epstein (1978) and Weikart ( 1982) cited the outcome of early childhood education is that a child is socialised to fit into society. These outcomes of early childhood education were used by Meade to justify the changes to early childhood funding that were part of "Education to be More" (1988). The principles of socialising children to fit into New Zealand society outlined by Meade (1988) are reinforced through the Charter documents negotiated with the Ministry of Education ( 1989) and more
recently through the development of Te Whariki (Ministry of Education, 1993). Te Whariki develops the principles of socialisation under aims and goals of well being, belonging, contribution and communication. Murrow (1995) states that 85% of the respondents to her survey of opinions on Te Whariki supported the document as a whole. This may suggest that the national interpretation of the aims and goals of early childhood education, in a broad sense, is socialisation of the child into society.
Questions asked about how children learn yielded some interesting similarities in beliefs and some intriguing differences. Assistant Teachers all believe that children learn through trial and error in the kinderganen, as well as through a variety of other types of learning. Parents primarily believe that children learn through free play in the
kinderganen, although they also think other types of learning occur too. Teachers and parents strongly agree that learning at home most often occurs through talking with parents, although parents also think that free play is a common type of learning too. Assistant Teachers and parents are again in strong agreement that children learn through free play in the kinderganen. This agreement disappears when teachers and parents are asked how children learn something specific like literacy, as teachers say it most commonly happens through talking with teachers and then through talking with other children. It is important to note that the question did not specify literacy at kinderganen and many teachers and parents queried this. Parents, in contrast, believe that children learn literacy largely through talking with parents or observational learning.
There is also strong disagreement over what the most important type of learning is. Assistant Teachers claim that it is "free play", with no teachers considering parent - child talk to be important. Parents primarily consider the most important type of learning to be
"talking with parents". The reason given by teachers is that children learn best on their own, through their own mistakes, at what they want to do. Parents, in contrast, say that "input is vital", although they also think that children need experiences and to learn to do
some things on their own. Half of the parents believe that children learn through a series of stages, with another quaner stating that children learn through membership of their cultural of family group. The remainder think children learn through outside experiences or a combination of these types of learning. Teachers are more evenly divided between thinking that children learn through a series of stages or through membership of their cultural or family group. Parents and teachers both mainly believe that children learn their language and culture through watching and listening.
Results for these teachers corresponds very closely to the views of children's learning and curriculum in the interview with Head Teachers. Head teachers held a constructivist view of cognitive development, in which children are seen as active learners who learn through experience of the environment. Head Teachers believe in waiting for the "teachable moment" or believe that children will learn best when they are "ready".
The "free play" curriculum described by Assistant Teachers is child centred, meeting Kohlberg and Mayer's (1972) criteria for a "progressive" curriculum, in which the child is seen to achieve higher levels of development as a result of structured though natural interactions with the physical and social environment. Assistant Teachers also promote constructivist principles of learning: that children learn through trial and error and through free play, and furthermore that "free play" is the most important type of learning.
Parents' view of learning parallels teachers' in that they believe that children learn mainly through free play in the kinderganen and that children learn through a series of
stages, and the major outcome of attending kindergarten is socialisation. However, their view of how children learn at home and learn literacy is much more interactive, in that they believe that "input is vital" here and that children's learning gains are better if the child is talked to. This view of children's learning is closer to social constructivist approaches to learning, whereby children are seen to learn through their interaction with people possessing greater skills than their own. Children thus receive a "scaffold" (Bruner,
1986) in a mediated learning situation in the home. This idea of "input being vital" is congruent with the guided participation that Rogoff et al. (1993) identified in their cross cultural studies of parents and young children. Rogoff (1990) suggests that this guiding of the child's learning which occurs in homes forms an apprenticeship, whereby the parents give the child knowledge and support as they become experts in their own right.
McN aughton (1995) argues that the joint dialogue that parents and children engage in enables children to construct their own purposes, functions and meanings in a learning situation. Teachers undoubtedly do this too, but it is not strongly part of their rhetoric, of believing that children learn best through active individual experimentation. As Cullen (1993) points out , the staff: child ratios in kindergarten obviously work against
opportunities to spend extended time talking with children as parents can in homes.
Assistant Teachers think they should provide the resources and environment to help children learn. There are similarities between the present findings with kindergarten teachers in New Zealand and the findings of Tizard and Hughes (1984) in British Nursery schools. In Tizard and Hughes British study, teachers considered that they provided an enriched environment, in which the play materials provided the curriculum. Supervisors reported that they encouraged development by providing a planned environment, in which children learn by self initiated play. Supervisors did not teach reading and writing skills, but proposed that they laid the foundations for these to later occur by providing activities that helped develop pattern recognition, hand-eye coordination, spoken language, and the relationship between stories and printed text (Tizard and Hughes, 1984). This non
-interventionist approach to teaching was also identified by Meadows and Cashdan (1988) and Sylva ( 1980) in British studies of early childhood settings.
The parents interviewed consider that teachers should provide more than just a stimulating environment. They agree that a learning environment should be provided by teachers, and that they also should extend, encourage, talk to children and provide
guidance. It was interesting to hear these expectations of pedagogy from parents, as Head Teachers had said that parents often do not provide the "basic skills" for children to learn or that children do not get the amount of reading or language in the home that they should (see Chapter Four). However, Adams (1990) argues that all parents value education, regardless of their socio-economic status. McGillicuddy-DeLisi (1982) considers that parents (in particular the primary caregiver's ) beliefs about child development and education will stem from their own experience as a child and from intimate knowledge and experience of the child. Their expectations are therefore integrally related to a
personal understanding of what is individually and culturally appropriate for the child. Teachers' theories are more likely to be a mixture of their own childhood experience, training and teaching experiences (Spodek, 1988). Teachers' beliefs about what is educationally and developmentally appropriate for children in general, may mean that they are teaching tangentially to how parents perceive children ought to be learning. Parr et al. ( 1991), discussing a study in New Zealand with new entrant teachers, argue that teachers are seen as and see themselves as experts, and this contrasts with parents who are seen as having little to offer to discussions of curriculum or pedagogy. Teachers'