Literacy learning in infant-toddler programs: Practice architectures as a lens for examining educator pedagogy

Abstract

The ‘schoolification’ of early childhood education and care programs, seen as readying children for formalised schooling, has had an impact on the education of younger and younger age groups. While the focus of past research has mainly focused on 4-5-year-old children, this study shifts the focus to two-three-year-old children and the literacy focus of educators working with these very young children. Nine educators from Victoria, Australia were interviewed, asked to share their views on literacy learning and development for two-three-year-old children and the planning, assessment and practices they engage in to support children’s literacy development. Responses were analysed using a practice architectures lens. Findings showed that play-based pedagogies were often overlooked when seeking to support children’s literacy development, with a preference for more formalised foci on print-based learning activities, including a focus on alphabetic letter recognition. Implications for children’s literacy learning and practice are also discussed.