Promoting emergent literacy in under-served preschools using environmental print

Area of Science:

• Early Childhood Education
• Speech-Language Pathology
• Literacy Development

Background:

• Under-served preschoolers face risks for delayed language and literacy due to resource limitations.
• Environmental print offers a cost-effective method to boost emergent literacy skills.
• Collaboration between teachers and Speech-Language Therapists (SLTs) is crucial for language and literacy development in these communities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the use of environmental print for enhancing emergent literacy in under-served preschoolers.
• To advocate for Speech-Language Therapists' (SLTs) engagement in early literacy initiatives.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-method, comparative intervention research design was utilized.
• A pre- and post-test approach was implemented.
• Data was collected before and after a teacher-based intervention focused on environmental print.

Main Results:

• Children in the intervention group showed significant improvements in emergent literacy skills, as measured by the Concepts About Print (CAP) assessment.
• The comparison group did not exhibit changes in CAP scores over the same period.

Conclusions:

• A brief, teacher-led intervention incorporating environmental print and SLT collaboration effectively enhanced preschool children's emergent literacy.
• Environmental print is a valuable teaching resource, and SLT-teacher partnerships positively impact early literacy outcomes.