En Confianza: Co-constructing Professional Strength and Voice With Latina Early Childhood Educators
Source: Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, Volume 31, Issue 1 (January 2010), pages 4 - 19.
It is well documented in the literature that early pre-K reading experiences prepare children for the benefits of formal literacy instruction in the later grades. This is particularly true for young children from nonmainstream backgrounds.
The purpose of this paper is to share the findings of a 4-year qualitative study investigating the relationships forged and teaching ideologies constructed by Latino pre-K teachers via critical “storying” within a culturally responsive professional learning community.
Findings suggest that as teachers learned to recognize, listen to, and learn from the personal/professional individual and collective life histories of each other, their teaching efficacy was enhanced increasing their ability to develop effective literacy instruction that was culturally and linguistically responsive to the needs of young children.