This document discusses a study exploring parents' perceptions of literacy development for their preschool children in a rural school district. The study aims to understand how parents view their role in literacy and the types of literacy activities they do at home. It also examines recent research showing that home literacy is important for early development but many parents are uncertain how to support literacy skills before school. The conclusion emphasizes that parents greatly influence children's literacy foundations and are their first teachers through activities like reading, conversations and involvement in their education.

1. Piece for Dissemination
Presented by:
Melania Kesoglou

2. Problem Statement
• There is a problem at a Northeast rural school
district in Hillsborough County. That problem,
specifically, is parents’ perspectives on literacy
development of preschool children. Currently, it
is not known how parents perceive their role in
their children’s literacy development, and the
types of literacy activities they do with their
children at home. The teachers are working with
parents to extend learning at home. However,
further research needs to be done in order to
further investigate parents’ perceptions of
literacy development and how parents can help
influence literacy at home with their children.
This problem impacts the children and parents
in this district because children enter
kindergarten with very low scores.

3. Highlights of this Study
• Explore how parents perceive literacy
development and how they influence
literacy
• Kinds of activities parents engage in with
their children at home to help them
become better readers
• Share recent research on literacy
development

4. Parents and literacy
development
• Home literacy is vital to early literacy
development. Taking in consideration the
preparation of some children when they
start school, it is apparent that many
parents are not receiving or using the
information from school on how to get
involved in their children’s education
(Honig, 2010)

5. Parents and literacy
development
• The message about how parents may
help their children develop their literacy
skills is either not being communicated
clearly, or is not clearly understood.
Many parents are not certain about the
importance of literacy before their
children start school, or how to help their
children develop their literacy skills
(Snow & Goodman, 2011).

6. Parental involvement
• Children need to be surrounded with
books to increase the likelihood that
books will become a natural part of living
• Helping our children learn to read is as
simple as reading to them every day
(Taylor, 2010)
• As their language develops, children
also learn that written language is
different from spoken language and this
starts at home

7. Parental involvement
• Some families do not always have
access to information and materials to
support their children’s literacy learning
at home (Delgado-Gaitan, 2012).
• Educators must begin addressing
community needs that are not yet being
met by state or national public systems,
offering alternative early intervention
opportunities for preschool children by
equipping parents to support their
children as they learn to read(NEA,
2011).

8. Parental involvement
• Parent-teacher interaction is the key
to parental involvement.
• Parents should receive training on
techniques and strategies to
support the quality of their
interaction with their children
• Teachers should get involved
parents in the education of their
children
• The literacy instruction parents
provide their children impact their
reading skills (Snow, 2010).

9. Research
• Durkin (2010) found that parents
who attempted to teach children
more formally were not as
successful as parents who simply
responded to children’s needs and
requests about reading or simply
read to them

10. Research
• Morrow (2011) stated that
responsive parents do not only
answer their children’s questions,
but also initiate activities that
promote literacy such as talking to
the child while dressing, singing
nursery rhymes while feeding an
infant.

11. Research
• Powel (2010) reported that
children’s rich experiences
within families are connected
to availability of language
materials and parents’
approaches to reading and
writing

12. Other important facts
• It seems that many parents may be
uncertain about the importance of
literacy before schooling, and how
to help their children become better
readers (Goodman, 2011)
• Promoting high quality, at home
literacy experiences could be a key
in closing the gap between
struggling readers, by increasing
opportunities that promote literacy
in the home (Bierman, 2011)

13. Other important facts
• Early studies focusing on the
language and literacy development
in children point out the fact that the
literacy includes listening and
talking
• Emerge of literacy in children
begins a long time before the formal
schooling at schools (Makin &
Whitehead, 2010).

14. Conclusion
• Parents can influence and guide their child’s
development by scaffolding conversations,
introducing the love for reading, advanced
vocabulary and parental involvement at school
• A literacy rich environment is ideal
• Parents play an important role in the building of
their children’s literacy foundations
• Literacy begins in the family, and parents and
caregivers are each child's first and most
important teachers (Thomas, Fazio &
Stiefelmeyer, 2011)

15. References
• Bierman, K. L. (2011). Promoting academic and social-emotional school
readiness: The Head Start REDI program. Child Development, 79,
1802–1817.
• Delgado-Gaitan, C. (2012) Consejos: The power of cultural narratives.
Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 25, 298-316.
• Durkin, D. (2010). Children Who Read Early: Two Longitudinal Studies.
Teachers College Press.
• Goodman, K. S. (2011). Reading, writing, and written texts: A
transactional sociopsycholinguistic view. In A. Flurkey & J. Xu (Eds.), On
the revolution of reading: The selected writings of Kenneth S. Goodman,
3-45. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
• Honig, A.S.(2010). Oral Language Development. Early Child
Development and Care, 177 (6-7), 581-613.
• Morrow, L. M.(2011). The family fluency program. The Reading Teacher,
60(4), 322-333.
• National Endowment for the Arts. (2011). To read or not to read: A
question of national consequence (Research Report #47). Washington,
DC: Author.
• Powell, D. R. (2010). Searches for what works in parenting interventions.
In T. Luster & L. Okagaki (Eds.), Parenting: An ecological perspective
(2nd ed., pp. 343-373). Mahwah: NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

16. References
• Snow, C. & Goodman, P. (2010) Preventing reading difficulties in young
children. Report No. CSO13084. Washington, D.C: National Research
Council.
• Taylor, D. (2010). Growing up literate: Learning from inner city families.
Portsmouth. NH; Heinemann.
• Thomas, A., Fazio, L., & Stiefelmeyer, B.L. (2011). Families at School: A
handbook for parents. Delaware: International Reading Association.

17. Thank you!
Questions?