Research shows that achievements in the development of emerging literacy in the pre-school period have an impact on later literacy performance. In this manner it is important to pay attention to the development of pre-literacy abilities in pre-school.
In order to prevent problems, that a child might face while starting systematic literacy in school, we need to encourage his visual and sound detection, orientation and graphomotor skills through different pre-literacy activities. While performing these, the child will acquire and evolve the ability to follow and understand the instructions.
Different alternative concepts of pre-school education are present in Slovenia. They are tackling pre-literacy in the preschool period in different ways, which inspired me to conduct a qualitative research with the emphasis laid on the difference in pre-literacy between the pre-school concept of montessori and pre-literacy in public kindergarten.
The first and second chapters of the theoretical part present the emerging literacy, that develops during the pre-school period before the formal learning of reading and writing, along with the characteristics of (pre)literacy. Theories regarding development of pre-literacy skills, likewise the characteristics and activities for developing individual abilities are further described in the third chapter. The last chapter in the theoretical part deals with the presentation of montessori pedagogy, its basic characteristics, didactic principles and theoretical concept and course of pre-literacy. Didactic aids and activities for developing individual pre-literacy abilities are present at the end of the chapter.
The empirical part is based on a qualitative research that we conducted in two public kindergarten departments and two montessori kindergarten departments. In the scope of my research through document analysis, observations and interviews, I presented the differences and similarities between the development of pre-literacy abilities in the educational concept of montessori and public kindergarten.
To sum up, my research emphasizes differences and similarities in developing pre-literacy abilities between a public kindergarten and a montessori kindergarten. As a result, it was observed that the pre-school concept of montessori introduced some special features into the preschool period, which are beneficial and might be further implemented in a public kindergarten. However, it should be emphasized that the public kindergarten, operating in accordance with the Kurikulum za vrtce, is also successful in developing pre-literacy abilities.
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