Examining Teachers’ Ratings and Perspectives on Literacy Acquisition in the Early Childhood Classroom

Literacy continues to plague education systems, particularly in the Caribbean; none withstanding teachers’ perceptions can inform strategies to improve students’ literacy achievement. The study examined teachers’ perspectives on literacy acquisition to understand the literacy instruction provided in the early childhood classroom. Data was collected from Grade I and II teachers through semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire using an explanatory sequential mixed methods research design. Teachers rated their students’ reading readiness and emergent literacy as high, indicating that their students acquire literacy through teacher-centered and child-centered approaches in literacy instruction. Significant disparities occurred between districts and literacy professional development levels. The main challenges cited for literacy acquisition were poor school attendance, poor attitude towards reading, lack of parental involvement, slow adaptation to change, and the unavailability of resources. Teachers shared a perspective of using a balanced approach, which represents a combination of skills-based and emergent literacy approaches to deliver literacy instruction. Quality literacy instruction, a mixture of constructivist and teacher centered approaches marred with parental involvement developed through focused literacy parenting sessions and a literacy-rich environment, can support the development of literacy acquisition.