Literacy Practices at Home and in Preschool Settings in the Khomas
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LITERACY PRACTICES AT HOME AND IN PRESCHOOL SETTINGS IN THE KHOMAS EDUCATION REGION IN NAMIBIA A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF EDUCATION IN LITERACY AND LEARNING OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NAMIBIA BY PENEHAFO HENOK (200403052) MARCH 2014 Main Supervisor: Prof. C. D. Kasanda Co-Supervisor: Mr. J. U. Hengari i APPROVAL PAGE This research has been examined and is approved as meeting the required standards for the partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Education. ______________________________ _____________________________ Internal Examiner Date _____________________________ _____________________________ Dean of Education Faculty Date ______________________________ _____________________________ External Examiner Date ii DECLARATIONS I, Penehafo Henok, hereby declare that this thesis literacy instruction at home and in pre-school settings in the Khomas education region in Namibia is a true reflection of my own research, and that this work, or part therefore has not been submitted for a degree in any institution of higher education. No part of this thesis may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by means (e.g. electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without prior permission of the author, or The University of Namibia in that behalf. I, Penehafo Henok, grand The University of Namibia the right to reproduce this thesis in whole or in part, in any manner or format, which The University of Namibia may deem fit, for any person or institution requiring it for study and research: provided that The University of Namibia shall waive this right if the whole thesis has been or is being published in a manner satisfactory to the University. ……………………………………. Date: ……………………. Ms Penehafo Henok iii DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to: My mother: Victoria Ndasilwohenda Nangula Mvula For the major role you played in my life. I thank you for being my source of inspiration, for cultivation the love of hard work in me, for your love, encouragement and spiritual support you offered me during the carrying out of this study. My late father: Henok Ismael In memory of him, who did not live long to witness this special day in my life. I know he is watching from heaven. iv ACKNOWELEDGEMENTS Above all, I would like to thank the Almighty God for giving me strength and wisdom that made it possible for me to complete this study. With God everything is possible. My sincerely gratitude goes to my supervisors Prof. C. D. Kasanda and Mr. J. U. Hengari for their efforts and great pains they underwent to guide and assist me despite their busy schedules. Their wholehearted support, encouragement, time, commitment patience throughout the period of my research and the necessary corrections gave shape to this thesis. Special thanks go to the three Head of centres, children, preschool teachers and parents who participated in this study. I thank you for your cooperation, vital information that you have provided me which became the basis of this study. Finally, my sincere appreciation is due to my family and friends, for their patience and understanding of my absence from them during this study. Last but least, I am indebted to all persons who remained unmentioned here due to lack of space for their moral supports and encouragements. May God bless you all! v ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to investigate whether pre-school children came from homes to pre-schools already exposed to writing and reading skills and whether there was a gap between the home and pre-school literacy events and practices. The study used a mixed methodology, qualitative and quantitative research designs. Six Pre- school teachers were interviewed from three pre-schools in Khomas education region. The researcher combined the two research methods in this study because she was concerned with understanding the phenomenon from the participants‟ perspectives, by being a non-participant observer during classroom visits. The researcher also tried to understand the problem from a quantitative view point, by finding out about the availability of reading and writing materials or how children are exposed to reading materials. The findings provided evidence that many children came to pre-school with some knowledge of where print could be found and what it was used for. Some children recognized important words, their own names and some knew how print worked, that is we read from left to right, which, way a book opens and that letters represent sounds. It was also found that reading stories to children was the most important variable linking the children‟s home and pre-school achievement. It is therefore, worth stressing the importance of oral language as a literacy event. Knowledge about print at school entry does vary from child to child and from community to community, nearly all children, including those from low social economic sector settings, have had exposure to print in vi their homes and communities. The researcher found out those children that are read to both at preschool and home are likely to excel more in life than their counter parts that are read to on rare occasions. Literacy practices and events learned from home did not cease or shift when children entered pre-school. The home environment contributed with its practices around reading and writing. The pre-school should be interested in what children know already about reading and writing. vii TABLES OF CONTENT APPROVAL PAGE.........................................................................................................................ii DECLARATIONS..........................................................................................................................iii DEDICATION................................................................................................................................iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................................................................v ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................vi LIST OF TABLES.......................................................................................................................xiii CHAPTER 1................................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1 Orientation of the Study.................................................................................................................. 1 Statement of the Problem................................................................................................................ 7 Questions of the Study.....................................................................................................................8 Significance of the Study.................................................................................................................9 Limitations of the Study.................................................................................................................10 Delimitations of the Study.............................................................................................................10 Definition of terms.........................................................................................................................10 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................11 viii CHAPTER 2.................................................................................................................................13 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND LITERATURE REVIEW............................................13 Introduction...................................................................................................................................13 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK................................................................................................13 The Socio-cultural perspective …………………...…………….................................................14 Emergent literacy Perspective……………………………………………………………………15 Emergent literacy Perspective and Reading readiness perspectives…..........................................18 Home environment as a contributor to literacy development........................................................19 Early literacy goals........................................................................................................................25 Reading readiness Perspective.......................................................................................................27 LITERATURE REVIEW ……………………………………………………………………….28 Early literacy development............................................................................................................28 Exploring the visual form of written language..............................................................................30 The home and school environments and emergent literacy...........................................................31 How home environments promote literacy events and practices...................................................35 What do teachers know about literacy concepts children bring to school if the language other than English is spoken in the home?