theories of literacy

1. Theories of Literacy and Theories of Literacy Development
What isa Theory?
A theoryisan idealizedrepresentationof realitythathelp usexplainsome natural phenomena.Itisan
ideaor thoughtpatternabouta particularsubjectmatterandhow it shouldbe perceived.Campbell&
Zazkis(2002) contendedthattheoriesare like toothbrusheswhere everyonehastheirownandno one
wantsto use anyone else’stheory.Readthe followingtheoriesorviewsorideasfrom
http://www.public.asu.edu/~petergo/courses/eng556/556.html
There are othertheoriesorviewsonwhatliteracyisorshouldbe and all these dependonhow
individualsindifferentfieldview the conceptof literacy.
6.3 Theoriesof LiteracyDevelopment
There are a numberof theoriesassociatedwithliteracydevelopment.These theoriesare basedon
people’s ideasaboutearlyliteracydevelopmentandhow childrenlearn.Intryingtodiscussthe subject
matter,we explore byaskingourselvesanumberof questionssuchhow ourideasaboutearlyliteracy
have developed.Whatresearchersandeducatorshave influencedthe wayreadingandwritingare
approachedtoday?It isimportantforteacherswhoworkwithyoungchildrenandtheirfamiliestobe
familiarwiththe historyof earlyliteracyasafoundationforcurrentpractices
(http://www.education.com/reference/article/early-literacy/).
Theoriesof literacydevelopmentinclude the following:Piaget’sTheoryof Cognitive Development,
MaturationTheory,Theoryof LiteracyDevelopment,Stage Modelsof Reading,EmergentLiteracy
Theory,andFamilyLiteracyTheory.These theorieshelpusexplainhow literacydevelopmentinchildren
isdone in the earlyyearsof education.
6.3.1 Piaget’stheoryof CognitiveDevelopment
The cognitive development theorybyJeanPiagetcontendsthatthere are differentphasesof intellectual
developmentandeachstage is associatedwithcertainbehavioural activities.Itisthese activitiesthat
guide educatorsandtheoristsinliteracyonwhatisand whatis nottenable.Educationalistsusingthis
theorybelieve thatthe nature of contentthatis giventopupilsforlearningmustrelate theirlevelof
intellectual development.Inotherways,the emphasisissequencinglearner’sactivitiesbasedontheir
stagesof intellectualdevelopment.ThispositionisbasedonPiaget’stheorythatchildren’scognitive
growthoccurs in a sequentialpatternthroughfourrelatedstages.Inthisway,whatandhow a child
learnsisdeterminedlargelybythe child’spresentstage of development.The Theoryof Cognitive
DevelopmentwasconceptualizedbyJeanPiagetin1969 whoisclassifiedasbotha constructivistana
developmental theorist.Itisone of the most famoustheoriesusedtoexplainchildren’soverall cognitive

2. development. Itcan be usedbyliteracyeducatorstounderstandthe learningstagesthoughwhich
students’progressastheymature andtheirrelationshiptoliteracyachievement.
JeanPiaget’stheoryof CognitiveDevelopmentdescribesthe waysinwhichthe qualityof children’s
thinkingchangesovertime basedontheirintellectualdevelopment.AccordingtoPiaget,there are four
factors thataffectthe qualityof an individual’sthinking:biologicalmaturation,activity,social
experiencesandequilibration.Allthese factorsare linkedtoPiaget’sStagesof Cognitive Development
as discussedbyGodwin,Herb,Ricketts&Wymer(2013) namely:
1. Sensorimotorstage (birthto2 yearsof age) – Childrenuse sensoryexplorationof the world:
Theydo not use or have language skillsandare dependentontheirsenses.Classactivitiesfor
literacydevelopmentinthisstage include:(i) Boardbookswithbrightlycoloredpicturesand(ii)
Bookswithsound,thingstotouch,or smell
2.
2. Preoperational stage (2to7 yearsof age) – There is rapidlanguage developmentskillsinthis
stage as childrenbegintocategorize thingswithwords.Literacyactivitiesinclude storybook
readinganddiscussingthe story
3.
3. Concrete Operational (7to11 yearsof age) – In thisstage of development, childrenuse
concrete objectstobegintothinkabout abstract concepts.ActivitiesforLiteracydevelopment
include GraphicOrganizers{VennDiagrams,Flow Maps}andothers.
4.
4. Formal Operational (11years of age to adult) – Inthis stage,childrenuse language inan
abstract way.ActivitiesforLiteracyincludethe use of metacognitivereadingstrategieshelps
studentsto“thinkabouttheirthinking”before andaftertheyread.Examples:Making
InferencesandSummarizinginformation.
A literacystudythatwas conductedusingtheoryof CognitiveDevelopmentconcludedthatthe
mental age of six and half yearoldchildperformedbetteronreadingachievementthanyounger
children(https://prezi.com/a4yxj-rcptjs/theories-of-literacy-development/).Usingthisresearchand
otherrelatedstudiesresolvedthatinapplyingPiaget’sStagesof Cognitive Development,the
followingshouldbe observedforliteracyeducation:
(i) readinginstructionshouldnotbe implementeduntil studentsreachedthe age of 6 1/2 yearsof
age
(ii) Initial literacyactivitiesthatare giventochildrenathome mustbe linkedorrelatedtothe level
of child’sintellectualdevelopment.Otherstudiesrecommendationssuggestedthatparentsshould
not attempttoteach readingtotheirchildrenathome as educatorswouldcause damage to
children’sreadingabilityif theyattemptedtoteachreadingtochildrenwhowere tooyoung.
(iii) Readingabilitiesare linked toMaturationTheorywhichbelieve learningtoreadisviewedasa
natural developmentaloccurrence.Furthermore,theoristsbelievedthatlearningtoreadbeginsin

3. the home whenchildrenfirstsee theirparentsreadandhave storiesreadtothem.In other ways,
parentshere are the modelsforchildrenandchildrenstrive toemulate whattheirparentsdobyall
meansnecessary.Emulationresultsinchildren’sfirstattemptsatreading,whichare usuallyquite
inaccurate and parentsshouldreinforcechildren’sfirstattemptsatreading.Aschildren’sattempts
at readingare reinforced,theirskillsdevelop,andchildrenbegintoreadfor real andthisis linkedto
the theoryof LiteracyDevelopmentwhichpurportthatthe waysinwhichchildrenapproachthe task
of readingqualitativelychange astheymature (https://prezi.com/a4yxj-rcptjs/theories-of-literacy-
development/).
The site furtherreportedthattheoristsbelieve thatas children’sreadingskillsdevelop,they
increase boththe numberandtype of strategiestheycanuse duringreadingexperiences
Four stages of word development stages are discussed:
1. Pre-alphabetic Stage, 2. Partial Alphabetic Stage, 3. Full Alphabetic Stage and 4. The
Consolidated Alphabetic Stage. This is what is known as the Stage Models of Reading which
explains literacy development and provides instructional guidance to promote early literacy
growth. The emphasis on these stages is the period in a child’s life between birth and when the
child can read and write at a desirable level or in a conventional manner.
6.3.2 Maturation Theory
The maturation theory states that Children would be ready to read when they have developed
certain prerequisite skills and there is little that teachers and parents can do to hurry the process
of cognitive development. In other ways, the theory advocate for not teaching reading until
children were mature enough for instruction. Scholars for this theory hypothesized that this could
happen when children were at mental age of 6 1/2. Aldridge & Goldman (2007) noted that the
Maturational Theory of child development was developed by Arnold Gesell with his colleagues
including Morphette and Washburne who constructed a set of behavioral norms that illustrate
sequential and predictable patterns of growth and development. Gesell contended that all
children go through similar stages, although each child may move through these stages at their
own rate (Godwin, Herb, Ricketts & Wymer, 2013).
6.3.3 Theory of Literacy Development
The theory was developed by Holdaway in 1979 and it states that learning to read was a natural
development that is closely linked to a child’s natural development of oral language skills.
Holdaway’s theory of literacy further contends that literacy development begins in children’s
homes and is based on meaningful learning experiences. There are four key components in this
theory as itemized by (Godwin etal, 2013):
(a) observation -which demand that children need to have the opportunity to observe literacy
behaviours from others. For example, parents and siblings to read for them.
(b) Collaboration – this require that children need to interact with others who provide
encouragement and help with the reading process.
(c) Practice – children need the opportunity to practice alone in order to self-evaluate, make
corrections and increase their skills independently.
(d) Performance – children need the opportunity to share their new reading skills with those who
support them.

4. It is important to note that these components are linked to the child’s natural development
occurrence which begins at home which leads to a gradual formation of literacy development
practices. The classroom application or characteristics of natural literacy development include;
i. Rich home literacy environment
ii. Parent – Child interactions of modeling literacy behaviors
iii. Rich literacy classroom environment by
 Labeling key items around the room
 Wide variety of high quality reading materials
 Meaningful language experiences
 Use of big books and shared reading
Holdaway highly recommends the use of big books and shared reading to foster natural literacy
development. He believes big books can create the same positive feelings about story time that
children have when they read at home. He believes that these natural storytelling times build
student’s oral language, print tracking, concept of letters, and words (Godwin etal, 2013).
6.3.4 Stages Model of Reading
Stage Model theorists such as Frith (1985), Ehri (1991), and Gough, Joel & Griffith (1992),
believe that children’s reading is in stages of word identification and that students increase the
number of strategies used during reading as their reading skills develop. Lower staged reading
strategies remain available to a reader as they incorporate more difficult reading skills in later
strategies. Chall (1983) as quoted by Godwin etal, (2013) noted that there are four Stages of
Word Identification: 1. Pre – Alphabetic Stage 2. Partial Alphabetic Stage 3. Full Alphabetic
Stage 4. Consolidated Alphabetic Stage, also available on the following site (http://www.tiki-
toki.com/timeline/entry/92488/Theories-of-Literacy-Development/).
The four stages of word identification as discussed by (Godwin etal, 2013) have been expanded
in detail:
(i) Pre – Alphabetic Stage {Logographic Stage}. This stage is associated with a number of
feature which include the following: (a) Visual cues are primary method of word identification
(b) One might memorize words by their shape or “look” (c) Use of environmental print and logos
(d) Word Identification is not yet related to letter – sound knowledge. Class activities for
Literacy in this stage include collecting samples of Environmental Print to display in the
classroom.
(ii) Partial Alphabetic Stage. This stage according to Godwin etal (2013) uses “Phonetic Cue
Reading” which further demand the use of some letter – sound cues. First letter of the word and
then use just a letter or two as children develop.
(iii) Full Alphabetic Stage. In this stage students relies more on letter – sound knowledge.
Student tries to process all the letters in a word and a child may become tied to letter-by-letter
reading which slows down the reading process. Class activities for Literacy here includes:
Puzzles, Word Card Games, Magnetic Letters, Alphabet Books. Magazine Search, Letter Bingo
and Word Sort: Beginning, Middle, and End Sounds
(iv) Consolidated Alphabetic Stage. Here there is automatic knowledge of sound – letter
relationships. Students read letter patterns within words and they use word family knowledge to

5. aid the reading process. Activities for Literacy include word Wheels, Word Family Sorts, Poetry,
Flip Books (Godwin etal, 2013
6.3.5 Family Literacy Theory
Godwin etal, (2013) contended that family literacy refers to a series of ideas that researchers
share, including the design, implementation, and evaluation of programs to help facilitate literacy
development of family members; the relationship between family literacy and student
achievement; and the ways in which literacy is naturally used in the home. This theory stresses
the importance of family involvement on student achievement. The actions to encourage Family
Literacy include;
i. Create a two – way street between parents and teachers in order to gain information about
literacy in the home.
ii. Teach parents about the school culture and necessary skills for a student to be successful.
iii. Help parents understand what they can do at home to help support and encourage their
children’s academic success. Many studies have been done on parent and child reading
interactions to support the importance of the connection between home and school.
iv. Parent Volunteers Reading in the Classroom
6.3.6 Emergent Literacy Theory
The Emergent Literacy Theory states that there are levels of literacy behaviours which children
acquire before they formally get into classroom which facilitates the acquisition of reading and
writing skills at a conventional level. Emergent literacy theorists believe that literacy
development starts in the maternity ward and is continuous and ongoing. This early literacy
development provides educators with instructional guidance to promote early literacy growth
among their students. Theorists believe that children’s development in the areas of listening,
speaking, reading, and writing are all interrelated (http://www.tiki-
toki.com/timeline/entry/92488/Theories-of-Literacy-Development/). In other ways, Emergent
Literacy Theorists believe that children’s listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills begin at
birth, it also emphasizes the importance of a literacy rich home environment. Components of a
literacy rich home environment include; having large number of books available in the home,
Newspapers and Magazines, Parents read a variety of materials and Reading is associated with
pleasure, Parents frequently read to children.
Marie Clay’s studies on emergent literacy indicated that children know a great deal about reading
and writing before they come to school, and they are able to experiment with and apply their
knowledge in various ways (Clay, 1975). Reading readiness seemed to be an inaccurate term,
since Clay’s research showed that there was not a specific sequence of skills children needed to
master prior to reading and writing. The children she studied seemed instead to “emerge” into
literacy—with writing, reading, and oral language abilities developing together.
Emergent literacy was recently defined as “the view that literacy learning begins at birth and is
encouraged through participation with adults in meaningful activities; these literacy behaviors
change and eventually become conventional over time” (Neuman, Copple, & Bredekamp, 2000,
p. 123). From a very young age, children who are exposed to oral and written language gradually
gain control over the forms of literacy. Print-related knowledge develops similarly to the way
children learn oral language (Morrow, 1997). When children are actively engaged with
interesting and meaningful reading and writing experiences, they develop literacy knowledge

6. early in their lives.
6.3.7 Everyday Theories
These are ideas which individual people have about certain things in the society and how they
impinge on people’s lives. Everybody makes theories almost every day about certain practices,
values and norm in the society. These theories are not known to many people and they are not
conventional in nature as they may be known to one person only (Barton, 2007).
6.3.8 Professional Theories
These are conventionally recognized theories worldwide such as those discussed above. In other
ways, examples of professional theories include Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development,
Maturation Theory, Theory of Literacy Development, Stage Models of Reading, Emergent
Literacy Theory, and Family Literacy Theory.
References
Aldridge, j. & R. L. Goldman (2007). Current Issues and Trends in Education. Boston:
Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
Barton, D. (2007). Literacy: An introduction to the ecology of the written Language. 2nd Ed.
USA. Blackwell Publishing.
Campbell, S. R., & Zazkis, R. (2002). Toward number theory as a conceptual field. In S. R.
Campbell & R. Zazkis (Eds.) Learning and teaching number theory: Research in cognition and
instruction (pp. 1-14). Westport, CT: Ablex Publishing.
Godwin, E., Herb, B., Ricketts, A. & Wymer, S. (2013). Theories of Literacy Development
1930s – Present Day. Available at http//:hillerspires.wikispaces.com/file/view/Theories%
Lilly, E. & Green, C. (2004). Developing Partnerships with Families through Children’s
Literature. Boston: Pearson Allyn Bacon Prentice Hall
http://www.education.com/reference/article/early-literacy/
http//:hillerspires.wikispaces.com/file/view/Theories%2Bof%2BLiteracy%2BDevelopmentm