Browsing by Author "Silvennoinen, Evamaria"

This research examined perceptions of the early childhood education (ECE) teachers on their views on literary education and their own role as literary educators. The research questions were: 1) How do the ECE teachers describe literary education in ECE? 2) How do the ECE teachers describe the importance of literary education in ECE? 3) What perceptions do teachers have on the role of the teacher as a literary educator in ECE? Literary education and children’s literature are observed on the sociocultural viewpoint. Seven ECE and preschool teachers from Helsinki participated in the research. The teachers worked either in ECE or in preschool. The research material consists of the semi-structured interviews of each teacher. The research is qualitative, and the method of the analysis was phenomenographical. In the phenomenographical method, the human perceptions on a particular phenomenon are in a focal point, without aiming to form “the only appropriate” image on the phenomenon´s true nature. The results of the study showed that the ECE teacher’s perceptions on literary education, both differed and coincided. They saw the literature education as an essential and significant part of ECE and were aware of its positive effects on a child’s development and learning. Furthermore, with literature education, the teachers hoped to even some differences caused by the children’s variable backgrounds. The activity’s purposefulness, execution, and perception on their own role varied among the teachers and giving literacy education was easier to teachers who consider their expertise high. On the other hand some teachers considered that the lack of motivation and unsatisfactory resources make teaching literacy education harder. Teachers´views are valuable from the perspective of evaluating and developing early childhood education.