Abstract

Early literacy skills studies state that the quality of literacy experiences is significantly related with the final reading and writing development at the school context. This research had as the main goal to design a teacher professional development program, and to evaluate their effects on literacy environmental quality, and on the early literacy skills practices. To this purpose a pre-post randomly selected and assigned experimental design was utilized. Sample was composed by 48 preschool teachers of 24 municipal schools at the province of Concepcion, Chile. Experimental intervention was comprised by a two-day Literacy Skills Workshop, and a six-months in-class Coaching for the 24 school teachers of the treatment-group, in their own classrooms. There were worked instructional activities directed to stimulate three early literacy skills which focused this project main interest: Oral Language, Phonological Awareness and Print Knowledge. Quality was assessed by applying the Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO-PreK), inventory which allows to measure different aspects related to language, the literacy skills, and their development. Results indicates a program positive impact on classroom overall quality; on the language and literacy skills (the greatest change), and on the print and early writing. Changes of moderate intensity on phonological awareness, curriculum, and classroom general environment were established with Cohen’s d effect-size procedures. It was concluded that the language development-based intervention, by using -as specific instructional activities- different aspects coming from the selected components of international research on emergent literacy skills, and applying a teacher professional development program has conducted to a significant change in pedagogical practices for the initial reading and writing in the children educational area.