Research concerning preschool teachers' constructions of early reading has potential to influence teachers' curricular decisions and classroom practice. Six preschool teachers in North Texas were interviewed in regard to what they think about early reading and how they develop these understandings or constructions. The systematic, inductive…

Research Findings: Research on early literacy development within the family focuses primarily on parent-child interactions as they use literacy materials, typically books. However, features of the home environment and organization of family life, which provide the framework within which these interactions occur, are rarely investigated. These…

The research being published in Britain regarding reading readiness is reviewed in this monograph. The factors teachers should take into account when planning prereading programs and determining when a child is ready to read are presented. The various aspects of reading readiness that are discussed include: (1) physiological factors, such as…

Through stories, children become aware of their culture and make sense of their world. Past stories came from books; now they come from television. To develop a theory of children's literature, knowledge about children, about their books, and about reading must be placed in a new theoretical pattern. (PP)

Examines various explanations for the lack of reading problems in Japan, including the nature of the Japanese written language, the interest of Japanese parents in teaching young children to read, the different perceptual processes involved in reading Japanese, and the quantity of Japanese publications suitable for preschool children. (FL)

Sixty-five first graders from various sociocultural backgrounds and their parents/caregivers participated in a study designed to look at the relationship between home literacy environments and children's motivations for reading. Each child completed a Motivations for Reading interview, and parents of all children were interviewed regarding their…

The result of an international symposium conducted in Canada, this book contains articles by experts in the fields of anthropology, linguistics, psychology, sociology, and education on the subject of preschool children and literacy. The book is divided into three sections dealing with literacy and culture, learning to be literate, and literacy and…