Practitioners' beliefs and children’s experiences of literacy in four early years settings

Abstract

This paper considers practitioners' beliefs about the literacy curriculum in four early years settings in England and the impact on the literacy experiences of the children in these settings. All four settings were working with the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage (QCA/DfEE, 2000) and represent the range of provision in England. One week was spent in each setting and narrative observations were undertaken on 20 target children. Key adults were interviewed about their early years practice, their views of the Foundation Stage guidance, their perceived role as practitioners, parental involvement and their general beliefs about literacy learning and teaching. The practice was studied using child observations and a literacy checklist. Interviews were analyzed and related to the literacy curriculum and literacy practices and provision. The findings have been related to current policy issues in the early years.