Early reading and writing skills are important in order to develop and succeed, both in school and later on in life. The aim of this study was to shed light on influential factors on children's reading and writing development from the perspective of parents. Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model for human development was adopted as a theoretical framework. The researchers made use of retrospective lifehistory oriented interviews with 27 parents conducted as part of a larger research project in Sweden. In the interviews, the parents described factors that can be interpreted as being influential. A thematic analysis technique generated nine themes: Child's abilities and engagement; Genetics and parents' abilities; More able siblings and peers; Involved parents and grandparents; Teacher competence, attitude and collaborations; Social climate in preschool and preschool class; Free play and child-initiated reading and writing activities; Toys and books; and Extra support provisions and stimulation. Implications are discussed.
The aim of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of teachers' perspectives on promoting reading and writing for pupils with various linguistic backgrounds in grade 1. Focus group interviews were conducted with 17 teachers who work in preschool classes and in grade 1. The teachers' perspectives on reading and writing can be characterised as balanced, in the sense that the teachers describe how they work with both the technical and the learning-oriented dimension. The number of different languages spoken in their classes is regarded in a positive manner, but it also leads to major challenges, such as not having enough time for all of the pupils and not having sufficient knowledge of multilingualism.
This study focuses on how teachers in Swedish preschool classes describe their work to promote children's early writing. The research questions are the following: According to teachers, in what daily activities are children given the opportunity to write? How do teachers describe their support for children's writing processes? The empirical data was collected from interviews with twelve teachers working in preschool classes in seven different Swedish municipalities. The result shows that preschool class teachers express how they work to promote both individual and group writing. It reveals two different approaches regarding guiding children to develop their writing skills. First approach puts emphasis on working to develop creative and functional writing based on the child's own interests, life experiences and level of knowledge. The second approach is primarily characterised by working on technical abilities; forming letters of the alphabet and developing the child's phonological awareness. It was also found that there are teachers who use both approaches in their teaching. Teachers utilise various support strategies to develop children's writing skills. These encompass everything from individual and group activities to the use of various artefacts in the teaching environment. The support that teachers offer children might be divided into high-level and low-level support.
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