Importance of High-Quality Early Learning

This brief presents an overview of justifications for preschool, access to preschool, and federal supports for preschool development, mostly at the state level, throughout the United States. The study states that as a nation, we must commit to ensuring that all young people – particularly our most vulnerable – are prepared for a future where they can fulfill their greatest potential through a strong education. Also, it states that across the country, we must expand access to high-quality early learning to ensure that all children graduate from high school prepared to succeed in college, careers, and life.

U.S. Department of Education (2015). A matter of equity: Preschool in America. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education. https://www2.ed.gov/documents/early-learning/matter-equity-preschool-america.pdf

Early Literacy Programs for Preschoolers

The purposes of the present research were to provide empirical evidence of the ways in which preschool literacy programs in Ontario public libraries (1) facilitate participating children’s early literacy development and school readiness, and (2) influence family interactions supporting children’s literacy learning.

Key findings include:

-       The early literacy library programs have been particularly strong in meeting parents’/caregivers’ goals of fostering children’s school readiness and their motivation to read.

-       Participating children demonstrated many early literacy behaviors and understandings considered by leading early literacy researchers and experts to be foundational to later literacy success: vocabulary development; awareness of rhymes and sounds of language; and an understanding of books that were read by library staff.

-       In addition to supporting these foundational underpinnings of children’s later literacy and school achievement, library staff served as excellent literacy models for the parents/caregivers, enabling them to make reading with their children more engaging and more productive in terms of learning early literacy skills and understandings.

Recommendations:

-       Developing children’s print awareness is a recommended topic for professional development of library staff.

-       Eight of the 10 library staff members expressed a desire for workshops and resources to help them plan their preschool library programs.

Peterson, S. S., & Jang, E. (2012). Preschool early literacy programs in Ontario public libraries. Toronto, ON: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. http://fopl.ca/media/2013/11/OISE-Report-FINAL-29June2012.pdf

x

Storytelling Ability Can Affect Reading Skills

According to research by the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, African-American boys in preschool who excel at storytelling may learn to read more quickly than their peers. Researcher Nicole Gardner-Neblett said the results were something of a surprise. Her previous research had found that strong oral narrative skills in preschool predicted better reading comprehension in elementary school for African-American children, though not for white, Hispanic or Asian children. This latest study was an attempt to find out more about that connection, especially as it demonstrated an area of academic strength for a group that is often considered at a disadvantage in school. Identifying strengths that could lead to success in reading is of particular importance, Gardner-Neblett said, because of the wide skill gap between African- American students and white students.

Gardner-Neblett, N. (2017). African-American boys who tell better stories as preschoolers may learn to read more quickly. North Carolina, Chapel Hill: Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute. http://hechingerreport.org/african-american-boys-tell-better-stories-preschoolers-may-learn-read-quickly/