Poster #175 - A Multi-Dimensional Examination of Preschool Teachers’ Language and Literacy Beliefs and Observed Practices

• In Event: 3-206 - Poster Session 13
  In Poster Session: PS 13 Section - School Readiness/Childcare

Integrative Statement

While there is clear evidence that rich language and literacy environments are critical to young children’s success, many preschoolers receive inadequate language and literacy instruction in the classroom ((NICHD ECCRN, 2005; Gest et al., 2006). One potential source of variability in classroom literacy practices is teachers’ beliefs, as beliefs are theorized to influence classroom decision making and action (Nespor, 1987). However, research on the nature of the relationship between beliefs and practice is inconclusive. Some research suggests that beliefs mirror practice, such that holding beliefs that reflect “best practice” result in using more of those practices (e.g. Charlesworth et al., 1993). However, others find a non-existent, or even negative, relationship between beliefs and classroom practice (Cash et al. 2015; Schacter et al., 2016). Some researchers hypothesize that these inconsistencies stem from measurement issues, with current tools failing to capture the dynamic nature of beliefs (e.g. Fives & Buehl, 2012). This study attempts to elucidate the relationship between teachers’ language and literacy beliefs and practices through a multi-dimensional approach.
This study of 7 Pre-K teachers draws on several data sources measuring teachers’ support for oral language. Two subscales of the Preschool Teacher Literacy Beliefs Questionnaire (TBQ) were used to measure general beliefs about oral language and book reading (Hindman & Wasik, 2008). Beliefs and expectations about oral language development were assessed using a researcher-created measure (Oral Language Expectations assessment; OLE), which asks teachers to rate how typical nine oral language skills are among pre-kindergarten students. To measure observed practices, we utilized a revised version of the ELLCO (Smith, Brady, & Anastasopoulos 2008), using subscales centered on book reading, vocabulary, and extended conversations.
Results from the TBQ reveal that all teachers agreed strongly with beliefs that reflect identified “best practices” (see Table 1). Expectations for children’s language abilities, as expressed in the OLE responses, were more varied, with some teachers displaying much higher sets of expectations than others. Observed classroom practices, coded using the ELLCO, indicate that teachers showed consistently strong book reading practices but varied more in their efforts to build vocabulary and engage in extended conversations. To examine patterns across measures, performance was categorized (low, average, high) based on deviations from the mean (see Table 2). Teachers were fairly consistent in their scores on the two belief measures (e.g. Teacher A and Teacher F are low, Teacher E is high). However, when beliefs were compared to practice, only one teacher (Teacher B) exhibited a stable performance pattern across all three measures. In contrast, Teacher D had high and average belief scores and low practice scores. These results suggest that teacher beliefs may be rather consistent with recommended practices, but the association with observed practices is weak.
Our findings suggest that using multiple measurement tools when examining beliefs and practices is extremely important in order to capture more dimensions of teacher beliefs and avoid ceiling effects. Results also raise questions about whether measures of beliefs, which are based on the field’s notions of best practice, translate into enacted practices.

Authors

• Kaitlin Herbert, Vanderbilt University
  Presenting Author

• David K Dickinson, Vanderbilt University
  Non-Presenting Author