Parents' and Teachers' Perspectives on Preschool Literacy Development

Abstract

Parents of 40 three to four year‐olds attending nursery classes in schools in one English local education authority and their children's teachers were interviewed about the teaching of reading and writing. Parents were interviewed at home, and teachers were interviewed in school, about the children's literacy experiences in both settings. A very high level of parental interest in literacy was found, centred on books and print‐related activities. Teachers, however, placed more emphasis on developing what they saw as pre‐reading and pre‐writing skills. Teachers felt that parental involvement in preschool literacy could lead to children being put under too much pressure and being taught by the wrong methods. Parents saw their involvement as productive, would have welcomed help from teachers, and were unsure about the place of literacy in the nursery curriculum.