Alphabet Knowledge in Young Spanish-Speaking Children

• In Event: Friday Roundtable Session 3:05 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Promoting Literacy in Early Childhood Settings (Table 5)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine Spanish-speaking children’s alphabet knowledge learning patterns. To understand whether these patterns were the result of intrinsic letter characteristics of Spanish and/or the sociocultural alphabet-related school and home practices, the study used a partially mixed concurrent equal status design. Alphabet knowledge was assessed in 101 4- to 6-year-old children living in Chile. In addition, classroom observations and interviews with teachers and parents were conducted. Data was analyzed using Rasch modeling to identify the letters in a continuum from easiest to hardest to learn. Findings revealed that both the letter characteristics and the parents’ and teachers’ sociocultural practices play a synergistic relationship in children’s acquisition of alphabet knowledge.
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Authors

• Cristina Gillanders, University of Colorado - Denver

• Maria Francisca Valenzuela, Universidad de los Andes

• Courtney Donovan, University of Colorado - Denver

• Heidi Burke, University of Colorado - Denver