How Early Literacy Methods Textbooks Support Vocabulary Instruction: A Content Analysis

• In Event: Examining Vocabulary Practices Through the Lenses of Linguistic Frameworks and Analytic Tools

Abstract

There is consensus that vocabulary instruction should be addressed from the start of children’s schooling, yet studies of instruction reveal that this key area for reading comprehension still receives limited attention in schools (Scott, Jamieson-Noel, & Asselin, 2003; Wright, 2012). The International Reading Association’s (2007) synthesis of research on teacher preparation for reading instruction explicitly recommends that excellent programs prepare teachers to provide vocabulary instruction to their students. Therefore, this study focused on teacher preparation as one way to improve the current state of vocabulary instruction. The goal of this study was to examine the extent to which the content and recommendations in recently published early literacy methods textbooks may support pre-service teachers in learning to provide vocabulary instruction for young children.

This content analysis (Krippendorff, 2013) examined 9 recently published early literacy textbooks with publication dates between 2008 and 2012. One was a first edition while the remaining textbooks range from 2nd to 10th editions, indicating longevity in the marketplace. Two trained doctoral students in education completed sentence-level coding in all sections of the texts that focused on vocabulary or oral language with high inter-rater reliability (exact match = 97.4%). Based on a coding-scheme used in previous research (Wright & Neuman, 2013), they coded for whether the text provided teachers with information on research-based methods for vocabulary instruction including: strategies for vocabulary word selection, explicit or implicit instructional methods for teaching new vocabulary to children, methods for supporting children to practice and review words, as well as assessment of children’s vocabulary learning. In addition, sentences were coded as focusing either on theory or on methods (Durkin, 1986) as well as for whether they focused on populations of children that may need particular attention to vocabulary development (e.g., English Language Learners).

While textbooks ranged broadly in the extent of their attention to vocabulary, all textbooks focused more on theories of oral language and vocabulary development with less attention to specific instructional methods to support children’s learning. On average, textbooks provided few specific methods to enable pre-service teachers to select words for instruction, teach word meanings, or implement practice and review. Only four textbooks mentioned (range of only 4 to 8 sentences) methods for progress monitoring of children’s vocabulary development while the remaining texts did not address assessment. Two textbooks provided no information at all (0 sentences) on vocabulary or oral language for English Language Learners.

If pre-service teachers take a single course focused on early literacy methods in their teacher education programs, the comprehensive textbook for that course likely represents the primary textual support to learn about vocabulary instruction. These results suggest that teacher educators will need to supplement these textbooks with additional texts or in-class or field-based opportunities to learn about vocabulary instruction in order to ensure that new teachers are adequately prepared to teach vocabulary to young children.

Authors

• Tanya S. Wright, Michigan State University

• Marliese Peltier, Michigan State University