Early literacy is an essential part of early childhood curricula internationally. However, preschool education, critical for early literacy education, is not compulsory in Turkey. The current national preschool curriculum does not intensely focus on early literacy. In this context, preschool teachers' representations and positioning of early literacy become more important. This study examines Turkish preschool teachers' representations and positioning about supporting early literacy development and how these are reflected in their experiences within the framework of cultural-historical activity theory. This phenomenological study was conducted with seven preschool teachers. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews and visual elicitation. Patterns reflecting teachers' representations and positioning about early literacy were identified. Using a content analysis approach, representations and positionings were coded according to Engeström's (2015) four-level contradiction system, and how they were reflected in these patterns were transformed into themes. The relationships that emerged between the themes were interpreted based on the Cultural-Historical Activity Theory framework. The findings reveal that teachers' positions on early literacy are shaped by individual efforts and sociocultural representations of children, families and the education system. The pedagogical efforts formed by these representations show contradictions at different levels within activity systems.

Authors:
Tuğba Kontaş Azaklı, Ordu University, Turkey
Hayriye Gul Kuruyer, Ordu University, Turkey

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Hayriye Gül Kuruyer is an Associate Professor at Ordu University, Turkey. Her research focuses on reading difficulties, children at risk of reading failure, and research methodology. She is currently an academic visitor at Durham University, UK.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Saturday Schedule

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