Parent and Teacher Perceptions of Students' Early Literacy Behaviors Within Various Pre-School Models.

Abstract

Parents have many options when it comes to choosing a pre-K program for their child (full day, half day, or part time). Educators are also faced with questions from parents about which types of program are best or they find themselves with students who have varying degrees of knowledge. The goal of this research was to examine the perceptions of parents and teachers when it comes to the pre-K programs and the literacy development that they see within their child from these various pre-K programs. The major questions driving this research are What are parents' perceptions of their child's Pre-K program? How do they feel the program affects their child's literacy development? What are teachers' perceptions of the various pre-K programs? How do they feel the different program options impact students' learning of literacy? The participants completed a survey and the data was analyzed quantitatively through Google Forms and qualitatively using descriptive coding and pattern coding (Saldana, 2016). The main findings from the data were that parents found the curriculum and various activities that the children do throughout the day to be important, parents of full day children saw more literacy growth within their child, all teachers regardless of the program that they taught believed that full day would be the most beneficial, and that all children from various programs showed literacy growth.