I know I don’t read enough or even pick up a book in the baby room sometimes



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“I know I don’t read enough or even pick up a book in the baby room sometimes”: Early Years Teacher Trainees’ perceptions and beliefs about reading with under-threes



Karen Marie Boardman

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the

Degree of Doctor of Education

April 2017

The University of Sheffield

Faculty of Social Sciences

School of Education

Abstract


This thesis investigates how Early Years Teacher Trainees (EYTTs) support under-threes with early reading development within their daily provision. It also explores their experiences, views, perceptions and challenges of early reading. Many years, of research into the practice and pedagogy of early reading has led to copious contentious debates and reviews (Johnston and Watson, 2005; Rose Review, 2006; Wyse and Goswami, 2008; Goouch and Lambirth, 2011), resulting in an unnecessary and imperious policy investment in Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP) to teach reading in schools. This study suggests that this policy agenda not only influences EYTT’s views and beliefs about early reading, but also their practice with under-threes.


This thesis reports the findings of a mixed methods study, which aims to explore the experiences and practices of EYTTs. Phase one consisted of a survey to understand the experiences of practitioners working with under-threes. This was followed by the second phase, which involved five qualitative interviews, two focus group workshops and Zine data to clarify and refine the earlier quantitative results, as well as to explore the practitioners’ views and experiences in more depth (Creswell, 2005).
This study stresses the urgent need to support Early Years Teachers in understanding that babies must have access to high quality books and regular shared stories as part of their daily routine. Findings from this study indicate that the emphasis on school readiness (Moss, 2013) within the EYTS training is influencing practitioner’s perceptions of early reading and as such, practitioners may be failing to provide under-threes with the resources, activities and experiences needed to encourage children to engage with reading.

Acknowledgements


I would firstly like to thank the research participants and settings for engaging in the research activities with such passion and enthusiasm, when at times this was ‘new territory’ for some of them.

I would like to express my utmost appreciation and heartfelt thanks to my supervisor, Dr Rachael Levy, who has been my inspiration throughout the

EdD programme of study.

Thank you also to my EdD colleagues and my work colleagues.

A heartfelt thank you to all my family and friends for your support and encouragement. Special acknowledgements to my dad, my husband, my sister and my two sons, Tom and Jack, who sustained this passion for early reading.

This thesis is dedicated to my Grandson Tommy, and Lucy and Lily.




Table of Contents





“I know I don’t read enough or even pick up a book in the baby room sometimes”: Early Years Teacher Trainees’ perceptions and beliefs about reading with under-threes 1

Abstract 2

Acknowledgements 3

Table of Contents 4

Abbreviations 6

Chapter 1 7

1.0. Setting the scene 7

1.1.Aims of the research study 11

1.2.Research focus 13

1.3.Experiences of early years teacher trainees: A rationale 15

1.4.Contribution to the field of study 20

1.5. Structure of the thesis 21

Chapter 2 23

23


Review of the literature 23

2.0. Introduction 23

2.1. Quality practice and provision 28

2.2. Beginning with literacy 34

2.3. What is early reading? 39

46


2.4. The controversy of early reading and phonics 46

Figure 2.1: ECEC policy documents relating to ‘phonics’ 50

2.5. Perceptions of ‘reading’ for under-threes 51

2.6. Literacy through playful interactions 57

2.7. Tuning into babies: the established links between language acquisition and early reading 61

2.8. Creating literacy environments for under-threes 63

2.8.1. Babies need books 68

2.9. Early Years Teacher Status 70

2.10. Summary 76

Chapter 3 79

Methodology 79

3.0. Introduction 79

3.1. Positionality 80

3.2. Research paradigm 81

3.3. Research design 84

Figure 3.1: Data collection 86

Figure 3.2: Research design 86

3.4. The participants 88

3.5. Main respondent ‘Pen Portraits’ 90

3.6. Ethical considerations 91

3.7. Methods 93

Figure 3.3: Sample survey questions 95

Figure 3.4: Sample interview questions 98

3.8. Data Analysis 100

3.8.1. Survey questionnaire (Appendix O) 102

Figure 3.5: Initial coding frame ‘Survey’ 103

Figure 3.6: Reviewing and defining themes 104

3.8.2. Practitioner interviews 104

Figure 3.7: Initial coding frame ‘Interviews’ 105

Figure 3.8: Overview of interview participants 106

3.8.3. Focus group workshops 107

Figure 3.9: Overview of focus group workshop participants 108

3.8.4. Zines 108

Figure 3.10: Overview of Zine participants 109

3.9. NVivo data; exploration of the themes 109

Figure 3.11: Overview of NVivo text word search query 110

3.10. Reliability, validity and credibility of the data analysis 111

3.11. Limitations of the research 113

3.12. Summary 114

Chapter 4 115

The complexities of early reading with under-threes: 115

Presenting the data 115

4.0. Introduction 115

4.1. Theme 1: Accessible early reading environment for babies 116

4.2. Theme 2: Defining and understanding early reading in practice 140

Figure 4.1: Photograph of one of the definitions crafted by the participants 146

Figure 4.2: Toddler alphabet Post-it wall 167

4.3. Theme 3: Perceptions of confidence in practice 172

4.4. Theme 4: Support for early reading 181

4.5. Summary 186

Chapter 5 188

The experiences and challenges of supporting under-threes with early reading: Discussion and analysis 188

5.0. Introduction 188

5.1. How do EYTTs support very young children with early reading? 189

5.1.1. Understanding early reading: “The children are very young and not ready to read” 190

5.1.2. “The books are in the cupboard or on the shelf and staff get them out at various times” 193

5.1.3. “Too busy to read” 195

5.1.4. “We do letters and sound activities” 197

5.2. What are Early Years Teacher Trainee’s views and beliefs about reading and how does this influence their practice with under-threes? 199

5.2.1. “It’s easier with toddlers and older children”: the notion of feedback 200

5.2.2. “I know I don’t read enough or even pick up a book in the baby room sometimes” 201

5.3. What are the experiences and challenges of EYTTs in supporting very young children with early reading? 203

5.4. What influences EYTT’s practice in the settings in encouraging children’s development in reading? 205

5.5. What are the implications of this for the training of EYTs? 206

5.6. Summary 208

Chapter 6 209

Conclusion and recommendations 209

6.0. Introduction 210

6.1. Methodology insights 211

6.2. Summary of the key findings 213

6.3. Suggested recommendations 216

Recommendation 1: Babies need access to books and print daily 217

Recommendation 2: Early reading is everything ‘everyday’ 217

Recommendation 3: No phonics for under-threes! 217

Recommendation 4: Definition of early reading for under-threes 218

Recommendation 5: Under-threes do not need to be ‘school-ready’ 218

Recommendation 6: Review digital literacies pedagogy and provision for under-threes 219

Recommendation 7: Conduct further research on early reading practices with under-threes 219

Recommendation 8: Review and enhance the EYTS training content 220

6.4. My contribution to the research field 221

6.5. Dissemination, impact and future plans 222

Thesis References 223

Appendix A: Ethical Application 252

Appendix B: Ethical Approval Letter 253

Appendix C: Participant Information Sheet 254

Appendix D: Survey Consent Form 260



Title of Research Project: 260

Supporting under-threes with early reading; the experiences and challenges of Early Years Teacher Trainees. 260

Appendix E: Survey Data Babies 261

Appendix F: Survey Data Toddlers 262

Appendix G: Survey Data 2-year-olds 263

Appendix H: Sample Focus Group Transcript 264

Appendix I: Sample Interview Transcript 271

Appendix J: Sample Zine Entries 272

Appendix K: SPSS Statistical ‘Participant’ Data 274

Appendix L: NVivo Text Query Results 277

Appendix M: Interview Questions 278

Appendix N: Final Coding Map 279

Appendix 0: Survey Questionnaire 280



Profile 280

Appendix P: Survey Responses (PDF and Screenshots) 282




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