PARENTS' PERCEPTIONS REGARDING PRE-LITERACY ACTIVITIES

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to examine the perceptions of parents regarding pre-literacy activities and the reflections of these activities to the studies done in the first grade. In this longitudinal study, the case study of qualitative research methods was used. A research group was formed by choosing 12 parents from three different districts of Ankara from different socio-economic levels by using the criterion sampling of purposeful sampling methods. In order to collect data, semi-structured interviews were conducted. In the first step of the study, these parents whose children were attending preschool education institutions were interviewed and in the second step of the research, the interviews with the same parents whose children are in the second semester of first grade (11 months after the first interview) were made. The data obtained by decoding the audio recordings during the interviews were analysed by using content analysis method. According to the results of the study, it was also found out that parents supported home literacy by doing activities such as reading books and scribble at home with their children at various levels. Generally, it has been determined that parents who have developed a positive perception on this subject stated that pre-literacy activities were important and they perceived that these activities accelerated, supported and facilitated the literacy learning process in the first grade. In accordance with these findings, recommendations were given to parents and teachers. © 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.