| Abstrakt: |
The literacy understandings, values and skills that children bring to early childhood settings are based upon their home and community experiences. If what they bring is recognised, valued and built upon in early literacy programmes, then children are constructed as capable, confident learners. Where they are not (see, for example, Hill, Comber, Louden, Rivalland & Reid, 1998; Makin, Hayden, Holland, Arthur, Beecher, Jones Diaz & McNaught, 1999; Hanlen, 2002), children's life narratives may unfold in very different ways, since literacy and life opportunities are closely linked (Morrow, 2002). Children whose home and community experiences are similar to those valued in early childhood settings have easier access to literacy in these settings. The reverse also occurs. In this paper, findings from three early literacy research projects carried out in Australia between 1998 and 2001 are reported with the aim of identifying guiding principles to assist early childhood educators to reflect upon their current early literacy practices and to construct more inclusive literacy narratives for children prior to school entry. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER] |
