Summary of Packard-CSU Ed.D. Dissertation Fellowship Report
Title: A Cultural Communities Approach to Teacher Early Literacy Practices
Ed.D. Candidate: Sarah Garrity, CSU San Marcos-UC San Diego
Research Question(s):
1. What are the espoused and enacted early literacy practices of teachers in a Head Start classroom?
Do the early literacy practices enacted differ for English learner and English only students? How?
2. What is the relationship between espoused and enacted practices?
3. How do teacher practices relate to program practices called for by the program’s curriculum?
4. What is the relationship between teachers’ experiences as members of a cultural community and the
early literacy practices in their classroom?
Conceptual Framework and/or Guiding Purpose of the Study:
Rogoff’s (2003) concept of cultural communities was used to highlight the cultural aspect of human
development, as this construct proposes that people develop as participants in cultural communities.
Rather than being based solely on membership to a particular racial or ethnic group, participation in
cultural communities is based on the notion that shared experiences, practices, and goals lead to groups
of individuals with common beliefs, values, and ideologies. Central to the concept of cultural communities
is the recognition that communities change over time and represent variation within and among different
cultural groups.
As such, this construct provided an appropriate framework for looking at the diverse students and teachers
that spend their days in preschool programs for low-income children, including dual language learners.
Dual language learners often participate in cultural and linguistic communities that differ from those of the
dominant culture and this mismatch between home and school is often cited as a contributing factor to
poor academic outcomes for language minority children (Ogbu, 1982; Osborne, 1996) The notion of
cultural communities calls into question a one size fits all approach to early literacy curriculum and
encourages researchers to examine the cultural processes and events that support children in the
development of early literacy skills.
In a nation as diverse as the United States, it is critical to develop early literacy interventions that are
culturally responsive and take into consideration the context in which the intervention is being
implemented. A key assumption of my research was that given the complex, transactional nature of child
development, the simple pre-post experimental methodology that has dominated the field of early literacy
research is one dimensional and can only provide limited insight into the complicated processes involved
in developing the skills children need to be successful readers.
Increasing the understanding of curriculum and pedagogy that can result in positive developmental
outcomes for children at risk has become an urgent national priority, and the investigation of how teacher
practices influence early literacy instruction is of critical importance for social policy. This research added
to the practical and theoretical knowledge base in the field of early literacy and child development in
several ways. First, the research questions and qualitative research design filled a gap in the research by
exploring actual early literacy experiences and teacher practices in a Head Start center. As Gutiérrez
(2006) stated, educators know little about how to account for variations in cultural communities in the
classroom, and there is a dearth of empirical work illustrating how to document and use data about
variation in students’ experiences.
This research addressed this gap by focusing on the experiences of low income, language minority
children and their teachers by adopting a theoretical lens and research methodology that was in stark
contrast to that which has dominated the field of early literacy research since the passage of NCLB.
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Summary of Packard-CSU Ed.D. Dissertation Fellowship Report
Rather than focusing solely on child outcome measures, this dissertation focused on the classroom
processes and teacher practices that lead to child outcomes by painting a detailed picture of a particular
context.
Relevant Theoretical and Empirical Literature:
Research has shown that children from low-income backgrounds enter kindergarten significantly behind
their peers in critical emerging literacy skills, including knowledge of print awareness, letter recognition,
and the sound structure of language (Lyon, 1997; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
2003b). As Dickinson (2001) pointed out, the investigation of early literacy has important implications for
social policy, as these differences mirror many of the divisions in our society.
As the academic disparity between minority and disadvantaged students and their White peers continues
to grow at an alarming rate, the exploration of what constitutes effective early literacy is imperative. The
fact that in 2005, nearly half (47%) of all 3- to 5-year-old children from low-income families were enrolled in
either part-day or full-day early childhood programs (U.S. Department of Education, 2006), has made the
investigation of what constitutes effective early literacy instruction an urgent national priority.
Research on the effectiveness of programs designed to improve early literacy skill development in children
at risk for reading failure illustrate the complexity of early literacy development. Two national research
efforts have assessed the effectiveness of the scientifically based early literacy intervention efforts that
have been called for by NCLB and Good Start Grow Start, President Bush’s early childhood initiative.
Funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, the Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Research (PCER)
conducted an evaluation of the efficacy of current preschool curricula, many of which were used in
programs funded by Early Reading First. The PCER program was created to address the scarcity of
rigorous, systemic evaluations of available preschool curricula, and conducted a multi site efficacy
evaluation of 14 preschool curricula using a common assessment protocol and a randomized experimental
design (U.S. Department of Education, 2008).
The results from this evaluation indicate that only two of the 14 intervention curricula had impacts on the
student-level outcomes for the pre-kindergarten year. In kindergarten, four of the curricula had impacts on
the student-level outcomes, although three of these did not have impacts during the pre-kindergarten year.
Clearly, in this large scale efficacy study, the promise improved outcomes for children via large scale
interventions was not realized.
Adopting a similar methodological approach as the PCERS evaluation, the national evaluation of ERF
focused on the second cohort of grantees to receive funding. In the final report to congress, Jackson et al.
(2007) reported that ERF had a pervasive impact on the quality of ERF classrooms, including the
language environment, materials, teaching practices in support of early literacy and child assessment
practices. Despite these pervasive effects, child outcome measures showed a statistically significant
positive effect on two of the four targeted areas of intervention, children’s print and letter knowledge, while
there was no statistically significant impact of phonological awareness or oral language.
The methodological approach underlying these two studies exemplifies the focus on random experimental
or quasi experimental designs that have dominated the field of early literacy research since the passage of
NCLB. These studies give little insight into what actually took place in the classrooms under investigation,
and are based on the assumption that an intervention, as long as it is based on reading research, will
improve outcomes for children.
This approach assumes that all children are the same, that all teachers are the same, and that they all will
respond to a curricular intervention in a similar manner. This approach to early literacy research, coupled
with the narrow focus on cognitive skill development, denies the social and cultural aspects of early
learning and the variation of experiences, beliefs, and practices that affect early learning.
A major assumption of this dissertation is that learning to read is ultimately a social endeavor that takes
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Summary of Packard-CSU Ed.D. Dissertation Fellowship Report
place in specific, culturally bound settings. Rogoff’s (2003) concept of cultural communities will be used to
highlight the cultural aspect of human development. In this view, community held beliefs about the role of
education, how education should be delivered, and the goals of education are part of a belief system
developed through participation in a cultural community.
Methods of Data Collection and Analysis:
Quantitative measures included the following: Classroom Assessment Scoring System (Pianta, La Paro, &
Hamre, 2004 ), Emerging Academics Snapshot Observation (Ritchie, Howes, Kraft-Sayre, & Weiser,
2001), and the Treatment of Native Languages (Barnett, Yarosz, Thomas, Jung, & Blanco, 2007).
Qualitative measures included a modified version of the Cultural Change Interview (Rosenblatt, GarzaMourino, & Howes, 2004), a video elicited interview, document analysis, and naturalistic observations.
A mixed methods design allowed for the inspection of teacher practices from several different vantage
points to increase understanding of the complex and dynamic nature of teaching and learning in
educational settings. Data analyses were conducted using naturalistic inquiry (Lincoln & Guba, 1985) and
case study contrasts (Yin, 1984) to analyze data for patterns of both variation and consistency across
classrooms. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze data from the CLASS, Emerging Academics
Snapshot, and Treatment of Native Languages.
The descriptive nature of the quantitative data proved invaluable as it helped confirm or disprove emerging
patterns and themes that emerged from the qualitative data. A typology used by Dickinson and Tabors
(2001) was used to organize observational data by the activity settings that are particularly salient in
preschool classrooms: read-alouds, large group or circle time, small group and meal times. Qualitative and
quantitative data were analyzed concurrently as data were triangulated to gain a deeper understanding of
emerging patterns and themes and to verify consistencies and patterns among the sources.
Study Findings:
Major findings to emerge from this study were:
1. Teacher practices were mediated by physical, cultural, and linguistic contexts in multifaceted and
complex ways.
2. There was evidence of a research to practice gap.
3. High quality practices were not sustained throughout the day or across settings.
4. There was incongruence between espoused and enacted practices.
5. Teachers described school readiness as a set of narrowly defined skills.
6. Teacher practices had their origins in belief systems developed through participation in various
cultural communities.
Conclusions and Recommendations:
The following implications for practice emerged from this research:
1. Pre-service training: There are numerous pathways to becoming an effective teacher, and having a
four-year degree does not necessarily result in the implementation of, or understanding of, evidencebased practices. Pre-service training that blends theory and practice is recommended.
2. On going teacher training and mentorship: Two of the teachers discussed the importance of
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Summary of Packard-CSU Ed.D. Dissertation Fellowship Report
mentors during their early careers and this is an area that warrants further attention.
3. Implications based on theoretical framework: Development is very complex and teachers’ beliefs
about the nature of early learning and their own experiences as students and as members of cultural
communities impacted classroom practices.
4. Implications for dual language learners: Teacher beliefs about best practices were not related
(except in one case) with best practices. Professional development that allows teachers to reflect on
their feelings about beliefs about dual language learning and in some cases their own experiences as
dual language learners is needed.
5. Leadership implications: Leaders in early childhood, particularly Site Supervisors, need to stay
abreast of current research in the field and have the capacity to be instructional leaders at their
centers.
6. There is a research-to-practice gap supported by the extant research and this dissertation. The
question then becomes what do we do about it? Taking a closer look at pre-service education is a
place to start.
Selected References:
Barnett, S. W., Yarosz, D., Thomas, J., & Blanco, D. (2007). Two-way and monolingual English immersion
in preschool education: An experimental comparison. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 22 (3),
277-277.
Burchinal, M.R., & Cryer, D. (2003). Diversity, child care quality, and developmental outcomes. Early
Childhood Research Quarterly, 18 (4), 401-426.
Dickinson, D. K. & Tabors, P.O. (2001). Beginning literacy with language: Young children learning at home
and at school. Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing.
Gutiérrez, K. (2006). Culture Matters: Rethinking Educational Equity. New York: Carnegie Foundation.
Gutierrez, K. & Rogoff, B. (2003). Cultural Ways of Learning: Individual Traits or Repertoires of Practice,
Educational Researcher, 32 (19), 19-25.
Hawkin, L.S., Johnson, S.S., & McDonnell, A.P. (2005). Emerging literacy views and practices: Results
from a national survey of Head Start preschool teachers. Topics in Early Childhood Special
Education, 25 (4), 232-242.
Hindman, A.H., & Wasik, B.A. (2008). Head Start teachers’ beliefs about language and literacy instruction.
Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 23 (4), 479-492.
Johnson, R.B., & Onwuegbuzie, A.J. (2004). Mixed methods research: A research paradigm whose time
has come. Educational Researcher, 33 (7), 14-26.
Lincoln, Y., & Guba, E. (1985). Naturalistic Inquiry. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
McCutchen, D., Abbott, R.D., Green, L.B., Beretvas, S.N., Cox, S., Potter, N.S., Quiroga,T., Gray, A.L.
(2002). Beginning literacy: Links among teacher knowledge, teacher practice, and student learning.
Journal of Learning Disabilities, 35 (1), 69-86.
Pianta, R.C., La Paro, K.M. (2003). The Classroom Assessment Scoring System. Charlottesville:
University of Virginia.
Ritchie S, Howes C., Kraft-Sayre, N., Weiser B. Emergent Academics Snapshot Scale. University of
California, Los Angeles; 2001. Unpublished
Rogoff, B. (2003). The cultural nature of human development. New York: Oxford University Press.
Sanders, K.E., Deihl, A., & Kyler, A. (DAP in the ’hood: Perceptions of child care practices by African
American child care directors caring for children of color. Early Childhood Research Quarterly 22,
394-406.
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Summary of Packard-CSU Ed.D. Dissertation Fellowship Report
Wishard, A., Shivers, E., Ritchie, S., & Howes, C. (2003). Child care program and teacher practices:
Associations with quality and children’s experiences. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 18, 65-103.
Yin, R. (1984). Case study research: Design and methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
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