Preschool Teachers’ Perspectives on How to Promote Literacy in Play-Based Learning

Principal Investigator:
Samantha Kaufman

Faculty Advisor:
Eleni Zgourou

Abstract:
This study examines preschool teachers’ beliefs and practices related to promoting literacy skills through play-based learning in their own classrooms, their challenges integrating literacy into play, and the supports they would like to receive to promote literacy through play-based activities. Preschool teachers in the state of New Jersey were asked to complete a 25-30 min survey, which included both quantitative and qualitative questions. Following an inductive iterative process, findings will be discussed by theme identified for each survey question. Findings will also report on teachers’ confidence levels related to supporting children’s literacy skills through play-based experiences as well as their perceptions of the kinds of literacy skills (e.g., oral storytelling, vocabulary, phonological awareness, writing, and reading) they think children can learn through play-based activities. Their scaffolding role as a teacher will also be analyzed. Implications for practice including more training and professional development providing literacy-rich play-based experiences in the classroom will be discussed and suggestions for future research will be addressed.