Preschool Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices on Early Literacy Instruction

Authors

  • Ng Pei Fern Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Temenggung Ibrahim Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
  • Yeo Kee Jiar Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11113/sh.v2n4.481

Keywords:

Early literacy, early literacy instruction, preschool education

Abstract

This study examined 96 preschool teachers’ self-report on literacy beliefs and practices. Participants comprised government and private preschool teachers in a southern state of Peninsular Malaysia. Using a Preschool Literacy Practices Questionnaire, the study investigated the practices of literacy instruction in Malaysian preschools on the choice of literacy content focus, instructional strategies, and teachers’ perceived opportunities and challenges in literacy instruction. Findings revealed that most teachers appeared to hold conventional literacy beliefs and practices, lacked variety of developmentally appropriate instructional strategies and faced challenges of time constraint and inadequate linguistic and pedagogical knowledge and skills. Limitation of research design and future research directions are also discussed.

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Published

2014-11-03

How to Cite

Pei Fern, N., & Kee Jiar, Y. (2014). Preschool Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices on Early Literacy Instruction. Sains Humanika, 2(4). https://doi.org/10.11113/sh.v2n4.481