Parents' Beliefs About Developing Print Awareness in Young Children
摘要
Print awareness is one of the most important skills for early literacy development. Children often notice and interact with print in their environment and may recognize or read familiar print at a young age. However, research studies on parents’ beliefs about children’s print awareness are limited, particularly in the Middle Eastern context. Therefore, this study aimed to explore parents’ beliefs about developing print awareness in young children in Jordan. Specifically, the study addressed two questions: (1) What are parents’ self-reported beliefs about print awareness in young children? and (2) How do parents’ self-reported beliefs vary in terms of gender, level of education, and income level? A mixed methods design was employed, combining a quantitative survey of 213 parents of kindergarten children with qualitative data from interviews with 18 parents. Results indicated that parents generally hold positive beliefs about book handling, which received the highest average score, followed by print directionality, while the dimension of print features was ranked the lowest. Moreover, significant differences were found in parents’ beliefs about children’s print awareness based on gender, with mothers showing more positive beliefs than fathers. The findings revealed significant differences in parents’ beliefs, based on education and income, favoring those with higher qualifications and income. The study discusses the implications for kindergarten and parents’ practices and suggests directions for future research.