Poster Session #1: UC Ballroom
Attitudes and Perspectives of Preschool and Kindergarten Teachers on Writing Development and Instruction
Presentation Type
Poster
Faculty Mentor’s Full Name
Dr. Lucy Hart-Paulson
Faculty Mentor’s Department
Communicative Sciences and Disorders
Abstract / Artist's Statement
Writing is very important to literacy. It is important that educators understand writing’s influence on the process of letter and print awareness, letter-sound recognition, learning how to read, hand-eye coordination, and it’s direct relation to spelling abilities. The purpose of this study was to collect information from early childhood educators about their general perspectives about writing in preschool and kindergarten. Topics included teaching methods, attitudes, knowledge, and general views on the importance of writing. A survey was constructed using Surveymonkey, and distributed nationwide to teachers working in preschool and kindergarten settings. Contact was made through emails to professional contacts, and notifying professional organizations. Participating preschool and kindergarten teachers voluntarily answered closed and open-ended questions containing information about demographics, background, and viewpoints about writing by hand and keyboarding. Close-ended questions were answered using a four point Likert scale in order to identify perspectives and attitudes for each question. Analysis included an evaluation of the survey results in order to identify emerging trends using descriptive statistics. Preschool and kindergarten results were reviewed separately and in comparison. Results will help to establish current trends in early childhood educator perspectives about writing and educator’s roles in instruction. Currently, there is very little research on defined instructional approaches, formal training, and instructor background knowledge of writing. With our research we hope to bring awareness to the importance of writing in early ages and its influence on future literacy. We hope that this research helps educators effectively teach writing in the future.
Keywords: handwriting, teacher knowledge, instruction, early literacy, handwriting development, writing, phonological awareness
Category
Social Sciences
Attitudes and Perspectives of Preschool and Kindergarten Teachers on Writing Development and Instruction
Writing is very important to literacy. It is important that educators understand writing’s influence on the process of letter and print awareness, letter-sound recognition, learning how to read, hand-eye coordination, and it’s direct relation to spelling abilities. The purpose of this study was to collect information from early childhood educators about their general perspectives about writing in preschool and kindergarten. Topics included teaching methods, attitudes, knowledge, and general views on the importance of writing. A survey was constructed using Surveymonkey, and distributed nationwide to teachers working in preschool and kindergarten settings. Contact was made through emails to professional contacts, and notifying professional organizations. Participating preschool and kindergarten teachers voluntarily answered closed and open-ended questions containing information about demographics, background, and viewpoints about writing by hand and keyboarding. Close-ended questions were answered using a four point Likert scale in order to identify perspectives and attitudes for each question. Analysis included an evaluation of the survey results in order to identify emerging trends using descriptive statistics. Preschool and kindergarten results were reviewed separately and in comparison. Results will help to establish current trends in early childhood educator perspectives about writing and educator’s roles in instruction. Currently, there is very little research on defined instructional approaches, formal training, and instructor background knowledge of writing. With our research we hope to bring awareness to the importance of writing in early ages and its influence on future literacy. We hope that this research helps educators effectively teach writing in the future.
Keywords: handwriting, teacher knowledge, instruction, early literacy, handwriting development, writing, phonological awareness