The Language and Literacy Skills and Experiences of Kindergarteners in a Rural Appalachian Community

• In Event: Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: Multicultural Perspectives in Early Childhood Education

Abstract

This mixed methods study explores the early literacy and oral language skills of two cohorts of kindergarten students (n=43) in a rural, Appalachian community, 90% of whom were eligible for Free or Reduced Price Lunch. Qualitative measures collected over four years of participant observation provide detailed information on the home and school language environments of children within this same community. Findings suggest that the rural Appalachian children exhibited different skills from what has been described in other groups that are economically marginalized, most notably age-appropriate receptive vocabulary skills and strong early literacy skills that were supported at home and at school.

Author

• Sky Harmony Marietta, Harvard University