Quality of the preschool educational environment and its relationship to emergent literacy skills

Abstract

The objective of this study is to relate the quality of the educational establishment’s literary environment to the development of the emerging literacy skills of children attending preschool education in the Province of Concepción, Chile. An observational, quantitative, and correlational study was proposed that considered a sample of 38 pre-kindergarten classrooms, their preschool teachers, and 295 children. Educational orientations, processes and structural quality were all measured. Additionally, the children’s literacy skills were assessed at the beginning and end of the year. For data analysis, descriptive statistics were used at the univariate level, and then bivariate correlational analysis was applied. The results revealed that the educational quality for literacy is basic, the emotional climate is adequate, and the beliefs of the teachers vary between adequate and inadequate. The children’s progress in distinct emergent literacy skills was observed primarily in writing their names. The results also show that the quality of the environment for literacy is associated with better results for children regarding early reading and writing skills. Finally, the findings reveal the importance of promoting professional training to improve the quality of the literacy environment in the classroom and teacher practices that support language development and the skills that are precursors of literacy.