Ants, apples and the ABCs: The use of commercial phonics programmes in prior-to-school children’s services

Campbell, Stacey; Torr, Jane; Cologon, Kathy

doi:10.1177/1468798411417377

Cited by 16 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Schools often purchase commercial phonics programmes as tools for teachers to use in the hope that the programmes will resolve student literacy issues and potentially address a perceived shortfall in teacher knowledge about literacy development (Buckingham et al, 2013). Research suggests that commercial phonics programmes are also being widely implemented in prior-to-school settings in Australia and New Zealand (Campbell, 2015;Campbell et al, 2012Campbell et al, , 2014. Some researchers and UK government policymakers advocate for synthetic phonics methods (Hempenstall, 2016; Office for Standards in Education (OfSted), 2014; Rose, 2006).…”

Section: Contrasting Views Of Phonics and Early Literacy Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many early childhood teachers remain ideologically opposed to: (i) explicit systematic phonics methods (Hammond, 2017); (ii) commercial phonics programme use (Campbell, 2015; Campbell et al., 2012); and (iii) early years phonics testing (National Union of Teachers UK (NUT), 2015). This study therefore sought to explore this further by, first, investigating the reported beliefs of early childhood teachers who do not support explicit systematic synthetic phonics teaching methods, and second, exploring the reasons behind their decisions not to use commercial phonics programmes with children in the prior-to-school years.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Teaching phonics without teaching phonics: Early childhood teachers’ reported beliefs and practices

Campbell

2018

Journal of Early Childhood Literacy

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Phonics continues to be one of the most controversial literacy instruction topics debated in the USA, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Given the importance placed on phonics in early literacy learning and the role that teacher beliefs play in the types of code-related literacy children encounter, the purpose of this two phase mixed-methods study was to investigate the relationship between teachers’ reported play–literacy beliefs, their phonics practices and the reasons behind their decisions not to use commercial phonics programmes in the prior-to-school years. This mixed-methods study found there was a correlation related to teachers’ play-based, child-centred literacy beliefs, their reported holistic early literacy phonics practices and their decisions not to use commercial phonics programmes. Logistic regression analysis revealed a positive and significant relationship between early childhood teachers who stated that they would never consider using a commercial phonics programme and their reported belief that children learn letters and sounds incidentally. Thematic analysis of interview data found that the teachers interpreted phonics instruction as a method occurring as an isolated skill–drill activity and subsequently held strong views against heavily scripted commercial phonics programmes. The interview data also revealed a range of play-based and holistic phonics examples embedded through everyday classroom experiences over explicit systematic instruction reported. Early childhood teachers’ knowledge, experience and reported beliefs, together with a high level of confidence in addressing parental pressure to engage in formalised phonics lessons, were reasons behind their reported practices. This study has important implications for understanding the different types of phonics methods children encounter, teacher concerns over loss of play-based literacy learning and the continuing controversy between adult-directed phonics and child-initiated, play-literacy practices.

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Section: Contrasting Views Of Phonics and Early Literacy Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching phonics without teaching phonics: Early childhood teachers’ reported beliefs and practices

Campbell

2018

Journal of Early Childhood Literacy

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“…Recent research has suggested that the use of commercial phonics programs, such as Letterland, Ants in the Apple and Jolly Phonics, in Australian prior to school settings is widespread with 36% of 263 early childhood teachers in New South Wales (NSW) surveyed stating that they use one or more programs in their preschool or long daycare classroom with children under five years (Campbell et al, 2012). This finding points to the need to consider the motivations behind teachers' decisions to use such programs.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Pre-Packaging Preschool Literacy: What Drives Early Childhood Teachers to Use Commercially Produced Phonics Programs in Prior to School Settings

Campbell

Torr

Cologon

2014

Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood

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Language-rich environments are key to overall quality in early childhood settings, including frequent child-staff interactions around picture books and dramatic play. In a language-rich environment, explicit teaching of literacy concepts, such as phonics, is embedded in authentic and meaningful situations where alphabet letters and sounds are taught in a context meaningful to the child. Recent research, however, suggests that the use of commercial pre-packaged phonics programs (such as Letterland and Jolly Phonics) is widespread in prior to school settings in Sydney, Australia. Little is known about why early childhood teachers choose to use such programs with children aged five and under. In the present study, thematic analysis of data from interviews with five early childhood teachers using commercial phonics programs found that their reasons were pragmatic rather than pedagogical. Motivations included the idea that the programs reduced their workload, provided tangible evidence to parents of their child's 'school readiness', and served as a marketing tool to attract parents. Further analysis found that the teachers were unable to articulate what phonics and phonological awareness are and how they are learnt in early childhood.

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“…Cerita logis imajinatif membantu anak untuk mengingat fonik/bunyi yang relevan dengan huruf yang diceritakan melalui perumpamaan, metafora dan dongeng (Freese, 2003). Model ini menyatakan menggunakan pendekatan sistematis yang eksplisit, model ini dipertimbangkan sebagai model fonik yang lebih disukai untuk pengajaran abjad di Inggris (Department of Education, Science and Training dalam Campbell, Torr, Cologon, 2012).…”

Section: Pendahuluanunclassified

Evaluasi pembelajaran keterampilan membaca permulaan di TK Fastrack Funschool kelas A program nusantara Yogyakarta

Fitria

Suparno

2016

JPPM

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AbstrakPenelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui hasil evaluasi pembelajaran keterampilan membaca permulaan di TK Fastrack Funschool kelas A Program Nusantara dengan melihat efektifitas pelaksanaan dan hasil pencapaian keterampilan membaca permulaan anak. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan penilaian otentik dan evaluasi datanya menggunakan data formatif dan data sumatif. Subjek penelitian adalah seluruh anak TK Fastrack Funschool kelas A Program Nusantara sebanyak 15 anak. Pengumpulan data menggunakan lembar observasi check list dan lembar observasi rating scale. Analisis data menggunakan statistik deskriptif eksploratif dengan persentase. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa hasil evaluasi formatif maupun sumatif keterampilan membaca permulaan anak kelas A Program Nusantara berdasarkan indikator mampu menyebutkan nama karakter huruf, mampu menyebutkan bunyi huruf, mampu mencocokkan huruf besar dan kecil, mampu menyebutkan tulisan sederhana dengan simbol yang melambangkannya, secara umum bisa dikategorikan "berkembang sangat baik" karena 93,33% dari jumlah keseluruhan anak dalam kelas tersebut memiliki persentase pencapaian penguasaan materi antara 75% -100%. Melalui penelitian ini diketahui bahwa metode pembelajaran membaca permulaan yang diterapkan menunjukkan bahwa anak-anak memiliki antusiasme dan keaktifan yang dikategorikan "berkembang sesuai harapan" dalam mengikuti pembelajaran membaca permulaan. Kata Kunci: evaluasi, membaca permulaan, taman kanak-kanak AN EVALUATION OF THE TEACHING OF FIRST READING SKILLS IN KINDERGARTEN FASTRACK FUNSCHOOL CLASS

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Ants, apples and the ABCs: The use of commercial phonics programmes in prior-to-school children’s services

Cited by 16 publications

References 15 publications

Teaching phonics without teaching phonics: Early childhood teachers’ reported beliefs and practices

Teaching phonics without teaching phonics: Early childhood teachers’ reported beliefs and practices

Pre-Packaging Preschool Literacy: What Drives Early Childhood Teachers to Use Commercially Produced Phonics Programs in Prior to School Settings

Evaluasi pembelajaran keterampilan membaca permulaan di TK Fastrack Funschool kelas A program nusantara Yogyakarta

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