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Development of Preliteracy in Preschool Education in the Czech Republic

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Title: Development of Preliteracy in Preschool Education in the Czech Republic
Language: English
Authors: Eva Koželuhová (ORCID 0000-0002-8044-671X), Ondrej Koželuh (ORCID 0000-0001-5823-9696)
Source: Reading Psychology. 2025 46(1):90-105.
Availability: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 16
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Preschool Education
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Emergent Literacy, Preschool Education, Preschool Teachers, Literacy Education, Knowledge Level, Teacher Competencies, Beginning Reading, Beginning Writing
Geographic Terms: Czech Republic
DOI: 10.1080/02702711.2024.2425097
ISSN: 0270-2711
1521-0685
Abstract: The level of reading competency in children makes a difference in their academic progress, and subsequently such progress influences their quality of life. The excellence of pre-primary education is based on curricular and procedural quality. The aim of the research was to find out how preschool teachers develop reading literacy in preschool children in the Czech Republic and how they understand the concept of preliteracy. Data were collected using a qualitative multi-case study by semi-structured interviews with participants, repeated semi-structured observations of their teaching work, and analysis of reports of teaching implementation (N = 8). The results show that teachers have insufficient knowledge about the content of literacy development. In practice, they tend to focus on the development of areas related to the acquisition of reading and writing, while the area of comprehension development is inadequately covered. Findings can contribute to improve curricula on national or institutional level, not only in the Czech Republic but also internationally.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2024
Accession Number: EJ1451162
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0181055347;bcw01jan.25;2024Nov26.03:01;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0181055347-1">Development of Preliteracy in Preschool Education in the Czech Republic </title> <p>The level of reading competency in children makes a difference in their academic progress, and subsequently such progress influences their quality of life. The excellence of pre-primary education is based on curricular and procedural quality. The aim of the research was to find out how preschool teachers develop reading literacy in preschool children in the Czech Republic and how they understand the concept of preliteracy. Data were collected using a qualitative multi-case study by semi-structured interviews with participants, repeated semi-structured observations of their teaching work, and analysis of reports of teaching implementation (N = 8). The results show that teachers have insufficient knowledge about the content of literacy development. In practice, they tend to focus on the development of areas related to the acquisition of reading and writing, while the area of comprehension development is inadequately covered. Findings can contribute to improve curricula on national or institutional level, not only in the Czech Republic but also internationally.</p> <p>The demands of contemporary society on individuals are increasing, and thus the need to reflect educational goals and contents in education is growing (Mohammed, [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref1">29</reflink>]; UNESCO, [<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref2">47</reflink>]). This is also related to the development of literacy, which is one of the key factors influencing a quality of person's life. Therefore, it is essential that its development is promoted already in pre-primary education (De Witt & Lessing, [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref3">9</reflink>]; Smith et al., [<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref4">40</reflink>]). For the purpose of this paper, we understand literacy as a set of knowledge, abilities, skills and attitudes that enable an individual to communicate through written language and use it to develop his or her personality and integrate into society (OECD, [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref5">33</reflink>]) (Table 1).</p> <p>Table 1. Educational goals in Czech preschool curriculum.</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead><tr><td>Area</td><td>Outcomes of preschool education</td></tr></thead><tbody valign="top"><tr><td>Language</td><td>Pronounces correctly, controls breath, pace and intonation</td></tr><tr><td /><td>It names most of what it is surrounded by</td></tr><tr><td /><td>Expresses independently and meaningfully thoughts, ideas, opinions and judgments in appropriately worded sentences</td></tr><tr><td /><td>Actively learns new words</td></tr><tr><td /><td>Understands puns, humor</td></tr><tr><td /><td>Describes situation</td></tr><tr><td /><td>Knows and invents simple synonyms, homonyms, antonyms</td></tr><tr><td /><td>Conducts a conversation (listens to others, waits for the other to finish a thought, follows the speaker and the content, asks questions)</td></tr><tr><td>Fonological awareness</td><td>Aurally distinguishes initial and final syllables and vowels in a word</td></tr><tr><td /><td>Breaks a word into syllables</td></tr><tr><td /><td>Composes a word from the syllables heard</td></tr><tr><td /><td>Makes a short word from compound sounds</td></tr><tr><td /><td>Creates simple rhyme</td></tr><tr><td>Writing awareness</td><td>Recognizes and imitates some letters and numbers, distinguishes some pictorial symbols and understands their meaning</td></tr><tr><td /><td>Writes its name in capital letters and can read its name</td></tr><tr><td /><td>Follows the text from left to right</td></tr><tr><td>Readiness for writing</td><td>Controls hand-eye coordination, handles graphic and artistic material</td></tr><tr><td>Relationship to reading</td><td>Shows interest in books, listens intently to reading</td></tr><tr><td>Comprehension</td><td>Follows the storyline sequence</td></tr><tr><td /><td>Thinks, conducts simple reasoning and also expresses what he/she thinks</td></tr><tr><td /><td>Comprehends common expressions of emotions and moods</td></tr><tr><td /><td>Formulates questions</td></tr><tr><td /><td>Tells a story or a fairy tale</td></tr><tr><td /><td>Reveals essential features, properties of objects, finds common features, similarities and differences, characteristic features of objects or phenomena and mutual connections between them</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>The process of learning to read and write is very complicated, so it is essential that the key factors affecting the success of this process are addressed from an early age, when we talk about preliteracy (De Witt & Lessing, [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref6">9</reflink>]; Solheim et al., [<reflink idref="bib42" id="ref7">42</reflink>]; Vehkavuori et al., [<reflink idref="bib50" id="ref8">50</reflink>]).</p> <p>The development of preliteracy is related to the development of other areas of the child's personality. It is related to the child's motor development (Alesi et al., [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref9">1</reflink>]; Battaglia et al., [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref10">4</reflink>]; Battaglia et al., [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref11">3</reflink>]), to the development of the child's visual and auditory perception (Deetsch et al., [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref12">11</reflink>]; Torppa et al., [<reflink idref="bib46" id="ref13">46</reflink>]). Deeper exposure to academic skills in preschool, i.e., having a child in preschool institution for more than twenty hours per week and a targeted focus on academic skill development, also enhances preliteracy development (Fuller et al., [<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref14">15</reflink>]). In particular, the quality of the child's home reading environment (Højen et al., [<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref15">18</reflink>]; Meng, [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref16">27</reflink>]; Smith et al., [<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref17">40</reflink>]) and the procedural quality of education (Loudová Stralczynská et al., [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref18">23</reflink>]; Ornstein & Hunkins, [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref19">34</reflink>]; Potsi, [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref20">35</reflink>]; Slot et al., [<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref21">39</reflink>]; Weikart, [<reflink idref="bib52" id="ref22">52</reflink>]). Therefore, knowledge about the approaches to preliteracy development used by Czech preschool teachers can contribute to a better understanding of current practice and support the further development of teachers' professional preparation not only in the Czech Republic but also internationally.</p> <p>Although the teaching of reading and writing in the Czech language, which belongs to the alphabetic language, is different from the teaching of reading and writing in the English language, the findings about the understanding of the literacy content of preschool teachers can be applicable not only in non-English speaking environments.</p> <p>The Czech educational system provides pre-primary education for children 2–6 years old. Preschool institutions are mostly state funded and belong to ISCED 02 category. Municipality is obliged to ensure a place in the preschool institution for children aged 3 and older, who are residents of that particular district. For children aged 5 to 6 is preschool education compulsory and is provided free of charge. Preschool teachers can get qualified through three different possible initial professional studies - upper secondary vocational, tertiary professional and university degree (European Commission, [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref23">13</reflink>]; Loudová Stralczynská, [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref24">22</reflink>]). The Framework Educational Program for Preschool Education (FEP PE, last rev. 2021) is a national curriculum, compulsory for all state funded preschool institutions.</p> <hd id="AN0181055347-2">Theory</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0181055347-3">Curriculum for Preliteracy Development</hd> <p>Preliteracy refers to the initial stage of literacy that develops in preschool age, i.e., from birth to the start of primary education. It is a set of prerequisites not only for future reading and writing, but also for literacy, which develops gradually. These prerequisites include oral language skills, such as vocabulary, comprehension and listening, alphabetic skills, such as phonological/phonetic awareness, understanding and use of printed materials (Battaglia et al., [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref25">4</reflink>]; Rohde, [<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref26">38</reflink>]; Wang et al., [<reflink idref="bib51" id="ref27">51</reflink>]). Previously highlighted indicators of future reading success, such as letter recognition and phonological awareness, relate to the acquisition of reading and writing skills themselves, whereas the quality of reading comprehension is more influenced by the level of comprehension in preschool (Bianco et al., [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref28">5</reflink>]; McNamara, [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref29">25</reflink>]; Torppa et al., [<reflink idref="bib46" id="ref30">46</reflink>]). Children's levels of speech, attention, short-term memory, thinking, content knowledge, motivation and concentration are crucial for text comprehension (Van Den Broek et al., [<reflink idref="bib49" id="ref31">49</reflink>]). Thus, the development of literacy is related to the development of a child's thinking, and it is recommended to use reading strategies as early as preschool to develop reading comprehension (Burris & Brown, [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref32">7</reflink>]; Fellowes & Oakley, [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref33">14</reflink>]; Graesser, [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref34">17</reflink>]; McNamara, [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref35">25</reflink>]; Snow, [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref36">41</reflink>]). These are intentional practices leading to reading comprehension that a child should master before starting school (Urban, [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref37">48</reflink>]). In particular, the strategies of making connections/interferences, predicting, reasoning, visualizing, summarizing, evaluating, and questioning are used in preschool (Duke & Pearson, [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref38">12</reflink>]; Fellowes & Oakley, [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref39">14</reflink>]; Roberts, [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref40">37</reflink>]; Strasser & del Río, [<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref41">44</reflink>]). While children from stimulating reading environments learn to use reading strategies through imitation, children from less stimulating reading environments need direct explanations (DeBruin-Parecki & Squibb, [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref42">10</reflink>]). Through comprehension to the texts that are read to the child, the relationship with reading itself deepens. In the context of the Czech environment, where children learn to write in joined cursive from the beginning of primary education, the development of the child's graphomotor skills is also important (Kucharská, [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref43">21</reflink>]).</p> <p>From the above, it follows that educational activities in preschool education need to be very broad to cover all these components. An important factor is a reading environment in which children have regular exposure to reading and writing; they have books of different literary genres from which they are regularly read aloud to them, and a variety of writing and drawing materials for their own writing experiments. The teacher needs to be knowledgeable about the topic, choosing not only appropriate teaching methods but also resources - good quality children's literature. They must be able to assess the linguistic component of the book, the suitability of the topic and the typographical and esthetic aspects. A significant role in the development of comprehension is provided by the quality illustrations in the book, which, when they are consistent with the text, facilitate children's comprehension (Arizpe & Styles, [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref44">2</reflink>]). However, adult-child interaction remains a key factor (McNamara & Magliano, [<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref45">26</reflink>]; Urban, [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref46">48</reflink>]). The teacher's questions, instructions, and feedback to the child, as well as the child's role model in the use of reading and writing, stimulate thinking, speech, and overall personality development. This places high demands on the teacher's professional preparation as well as his or her personal reading maturity (NICHD, [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref47">32</reflink>]; Richardson et al., [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref48">36</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0181055347-4">Preliteracy in the Czech Preschool Education</hd> <p>After 1989, the Czech Republic transformed its curriculum for all school levels in accordance with humanistic and democratic principles. The aim of education is the overall development of the child's personality with an emphasis on respecting his or her individual educational needs and interests. The national curriculum, the Framework Curriculum for Preschool Education (FEP PE, last revision 2021), places the responsibility for designing educational content directly on the teacher. However, research has found that many preschool teachers still design educational content without taking into account the actual needs and interests of children and that the quality of education provided by different educational institutions varies (Loudová Stralczynská et al., [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref49">23</reflink>]; Koželuhová et al., [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref50">20</reflink>]). The FEP PE does not use the term literacy or preliteracy, so teachers do not have sufficient guidance for proper and comprehensive planning of educational content for the development of preliteracy or assessment criteria for evaluating their work. The FEP PE defines the key competences that teachers seek to develop through the achievement of the sub-learning outcomes. Key competences include learning, problem-solving, communicative, social and personal, activity and citizenship competences. We see a link to preliteracy in the requirements set out in the FEP PE, particularly in the characterization of communicative competence; which states that before entering school, the child.</p> <p>has command of language, speaks in appropriately formulated sentences, expresses ideas, messages, questions and answers independently, understands what he or she hears, responds verbally and engages in meaningful dialogue; recognises some symbols, understands their meaning and function, and has mastered the skills preceding reading and writing; continuously expands his/her vocabulary and uses it actively to communicate better with others; is able to use the information and communication media he/she encounters on a regular basis (books, encyclopaedias, computer, audiovisual equipment, telephone, etc.) (MŠMT, [<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref51">30</reflink>], p. 12).</p> <p>A detailed definition of the learning objectives, which are given in the form of possible outcomes (i.e., not compulsory for the child), is given in Table 1. The main emphasis in the development of preliteracy is on preparation for the acquisition of elementary reading and writing skills. By comparing the content of the FEP PE with the definition of what is needed for the development of literacy, we find that, although the FEP PE mentions a large part of the skills needed for the development of preliteracy, they are not sufficiently clearly organized and some key skills are completely missing or marginally mentioned. Maňourová et al. ([<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref52">24</reflink>]) come up with the same claims.</p> <hd id="AN0181055347-5">Methods</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0181055347-6">Research Aim</hd> <p>The aim of the research was to find out how preschool teachers develop preliteracy in preschool children in the Czech Republic. The present research is part of a larger study that examined the use of reading strategies in Czech pre-primary education.</p> <hd id="AN0181055347-7">Research Questions</hd> <p></p> <ulist> <item> How do preschool teachers in the Czech Republic understand the concept of preliteracy?</item> <p></p> <item> How do preschool teachers in the Czech Republic develop preliteracy?</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0181055347-8">Data Collection and Analysis</hd> <p>A qualitative multi-case study approach (Miles & Huberman, [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref53">28</reflink>]; Yin, [<reflink idref="bib53" id="ref54">53</reflink>]) was used, using elements of grounded theory, specifically the theoretical selection and coding procedure (Glaser & Strauss, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref55">16</reflink>]). By case, we mean the person of one preschool teacher. Data were collected between spring 2019 to autumn 2020 through semi-structured interviews with participants, repeated semi-structured observations of their teaching work, and analysis of written reports of teaching implementation from the whole school year (from September 2019 to June 2020). Three interviews were conducted with each participant. The first interview focused on establishing biographical facts, conceptions of the teaching profession and mapping the way of working in the field of preliteracy. Teachers were asked what they consider important in their work, how they would explain the concept of preliteracy, what educational activities they use to develop it, etc. This interview was conducted prior to observing the teacher's work. The other two interviews were conducted after the observation of the teacher's work and served to reflect on the teacher's work. As part of the reflection, teachers had the opportunity to explain what kind of educational goal they were pursuing, what methods they were using and why, etc. All interviews were tape recorded and then transcribed and analyzed using MAXQDA software.</p> <p>Observation of the teacher's work was carried out with the active participation of the researcher, who spent time with the group of children to get to know them beforehand, to play with them, but did not interfere with the teacher's pedagogical activities. All observations were recorded on a video camera and then analyzed using an observation sheet and field notes. The description and progress of the educational activity, the teacher's and children's statements and their mutual interaction were recorded on the observation sheet. A total of 369 minutes of teachers' pedagogical work was recorded, transcribed and analyzed using MAXQDA software.</p> <p>For the analysis of the reports and observation sheets, analytical categories were established, which constituted the individual areas of preliteracy (e.g., work with rhymes, development of graphomotor skills, recitation, etc.). Individual units of meaning were assigned to these; frequency of occurrence was monitored.</p> <p>Open coding was used, the transcripts of interviews and reports and observations sheets were sorted and identified basic categories using the predefined categories (Bogdan & Biklen, [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref56">6</reflink>], in Miles & Huberman, [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref57">28</reflink>]). The categories were <bold>context</bold> (satisfaction at the workplace, professional training, personal professional goals, in relation to reading etc.), <bold>definition of the situation</bold> (how they perceive the issue of preliteracy), <bold>perspective</bold> (the way participants see the situation, what is important to them), <bold>insight into others</bold> (how they perceive children in the classroom, colleagues, parents), <bold>process</bold> (individual events), <bold>activities</bold> (actions of the participants), <bold>strategy</bold> (tactics, methods, techniques). This was followed by axial coding, where mutual relationships between the codes were searched for and were grouped. This led to a reduction in the number of categories. And finally, selective coding followed, when the categories were organized into mutual relationships and contexts.</p> <p>Data triangulation was ensured by a combination of research methods. The validity of the investigation was ensured by the number of cases included and the application of replication logic (Miles & Huberman, [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref58">28</reflink>]; Yin, [<reflink idref="bib53" id="ref59">53</reflink>]). To ensure reliability, case records were kept (Yin, [<reflink idref="bib53" id="ref60">53</reflink>]). They consisted of an overview of what the investigation would be about, how it would be conducted, a list of prepared questions, an outline of the procedure, how the data would be analyzed and presented, and a set of notes, recordings and transcripts. The ethical dimension of the research was treated by the Code of Ethics of Charles University ([<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref61">8</reflink>]). The participants were informed about the purpose of the research and participated voluntarily; confidentiality was ensured for the respondents and their answers were anonymized.</p> <hd id="AN0181055347-9">Research Sample</hd> <p>The research sample consisted of 8 qualified, native Czech-speaking teachers from the same public preschool institution for children aged 3 to 6 in a large city. The preschool institution was attended by children from a similar socio-cultural background - middle income class, with Czech as their mother tongue. The selection of teachers from the same school, who had the same working conditions, made it easier to compare their approaches to the development of preliteracy. Total of 16 preschool teachers worked in 8 classes in the institution. From these, 8 teachers were selected and approached in turn, whose characteristics corresponded to predetermined criteria - they differed in length of teaching experience, personal interest in reading and educational level. First, theoretical sampling was used; one teacher was randomly selected, and a semi-structured interview was conducted with him. After analyzing the interview, other teachers were selected and approached so that their characteristics contrasted with the first case and with each other. These other teachers were selected in turn. The characteristics of the respondents are presented in App. 2 (Table 2).</p> <p>Table 2. Research sample.</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead><tr><td>Name</td><td>Education</td><td>Practice length</td><td>Class setting - age of chilldren</td></tr></thead><tbody valign="top"><tr><td>Adam</td><td>university</td><td>3 y</td><td>same age group, 4–5 y.o.</td></tr><tr><td>Barbara</td><td>upper secondary</td><td>35 y</td><td>same age group, 5–6 y.o.</td></tr><tr><td>Claire</td><td>university</td><td>6 y</td><td>mixed age group, 3–6 y.o.</td></tr><tr><td>Danielle</td><td>university</td><td>1 y</td><td>same age group, 4–5 y.o.</td></tr><tr><td>Edith</td><td>university</td><td>9 y</td><td>mixed age group, 3–6 y.o.</td></tr><tr><td>Hanna</td><td>upper secondary</td><td>30 y</td><td>mixed age group, 3–6 y.o.</td></tr><tr><td>Irene</td><td>upper secondary</td><td>20 y</td><td>mixed age group, 3–6 y.o.</td></tr><tr><td>Jane</td><td>university</td><td>1 y</td><td>same age group, 5–6 y.o.</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <hd id="AN0181055347-10">Findings</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0181055347-11">How Do Preschool Teachers in the Czech Republic Understand the Concept of Preliteracy?</hd> <p>The answer to this research question was saturated by interviews with teachers. Teachers rated the development of preliteracy on a scale ranging from "it's the most important thing because it's the basis of all interpersonal communication" (Hanna) to "it's important, but it shouldn't be talked about so much" (Edith). Only one respondent (Claire) was able to define the term preliteracy:</p> <p>It's the period that precedes reading and writing and it actually develops in those preschool children and it's actually certain skills that children should have in order to be able to read and write. [...] It includes speech, speaking, expression, active listening, different methods to develop these skills, fine motor skills that need to be developed in order for children to be able to write, the development of thinking skills so that children can think about what the text contains, what the story is about, so that they can, for example, predict the end of the story and draw conclusions.</p> <p>Claire had completed her undergraduate studies shortly before starting our research, which she said included good preparation for developing preliteracy skills. None of the other participants involved were able to further define or describe the concept of preliteracy. All agreed on the importance of a relationship with reading, a love of books, and an understanding that books are an important source of knowledge. Several teachers mentioned some reading skills. For example, Irene mentioned activities related to preparing for writing ("even in books we look for the initial letter of our name, cut out letters, put them together in puzzles"). Adam mentioned the storyline sequence ("...and they have to arrange the pictures according to the storyline as it was"). Most teachers also expressed the opinion that FEP PE does not help them in developing reading literacy because they do not see it as something they should be doing and leading children to do. Adam put it this way:</p> <p>I don't think the literacy is there. Or it's kind of tacked on, a few times here and there, but there's nothing coherent that makes you think, okay, now I can take this and use it and bring kids up to this level.</p> <p>The absence of a definition of preliteracy in the FEP PE results in different teachers' ideas about what a child should be able to do in the area of preliteracy at the end of the preschool period. Some, like Danielle and Claire, aim for the child to understand the pre-reading text, enjoy reading and also have the pre-reading skills needed to learn to read and write when they move on from preschool. Others, like Edith or Hanna, see the goals in the area of communication as "for children to be able to express themselves, to be able to say what they need to say." The different ideas of what a teacher should lead children to do are reflected in the design of learning activities, as well as in the goals pursued and the assessment of their achievement. Therefore, children may lack some important skills that need to be built upon once they enter primary school.[<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref62">1</reflink>]</p> <p>The teachers interviewed were unanimous in the view that the foundation laid by the family is essential. There were already differences in opinion on the level of responsibility. Some, such as Adam and Barbara, were of the opinion that where there is no good foundation from the family, the nursey school cannot do anything. "There are children who are not read to at home, not spoken to, not dealt with, so basically there is nothing to build on." At the opposite pole was Hannah's view, who saw preschool as a supplement in a situation where the child did not have sufficient conditions in the family. "How many times do they meet a book for the first time here? [...]. We can help them here." In between these polarizing attitudes stood the view that success is possible if teacher and parents work together, with the teacher able to fulfill an educational function and positively influence parents. This view was also held by Daniela. "I think that teachers can make a big difference [...] that if you link it with the family it could work."</p> <hd id="AN0181055347-12">How Do Preschool Teachers in the Czech Republic Develop Preliteracy?</hd> <p>The answer to this research question was saturated by data from observations and from the analysis of teachers' reports of implemented educational activities during the school year and comparison of these results with teachers' statements. Research has shown that in practice there is a gap between what teachers think of as developing preliteracy and how they actually develop it. In analyzing reports of the learning activities implemented and in analyzing the observation data, it became clear that teachers include a wider range of activities that belong to the area of preliteracy than what they stated. This may be due to the fact that they do not realize that these activities belong into the area of preliteracy. On the contrary, they list the areas they should develop but do not actually focus on them. These activities were not reported in the observations, nor were they mentioned in the reports of educational activities carried out, which teachers are obliged to keep. There are significant differences between teachers in the educational content implemented. This leads to different levels of coverage of literacy development. This is shown by the comparison of the frequency of occurrence of educational activities for the development of preliteracy. In practice, respondents focus more on developing explicit comprehension, less often on implicit comprehension. Their focus is on the development of the skills needed to future master reading and writing techniques, i.e., the development of visual and auditory perception and fine motor skills. Teachers do not purposefully support the development of metacognition, and do not adequately support the development of children's thinking through the use of judgment, evaluation and application questions; these types of activities were not reported or mentioned by the teachers in the interviews (App. 3). Neither in the reports nor in the interviews did the teachers define what the educational aim of the educational activity was, they only said in general that their aim was to develop preliteracy skills. When evaluating the result of the educational activity, they most often stated that "the children enjoyed it, they liked it," only rarely did they state what the children learned from the activity, what they improved. This leads us to believe that the teachers' work is more intuitive than deliberately thought out in relation to the pursuit of a specific educational goal, which is reflected in the evaluation of the degree of success of the educational process (Table 3).</p> <p>Table 3. Implemented activities for pre-literacy development.</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead><tr><td>Educational activities<xref ref-type="table-fn" rid="tfn1">*</xref></td><td>Adam</td><td>Barbara</td><td>Claire</td><td>Danielle</td><td>Edith</td><td>Hanna</td><td>Irene</td><td>Jane</td></tr></thead><tbody valign="top"><tr><td>Rhymes</td><td char=".">+</td><td /><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td></tr><tr><td>Distinguishing sounds</td><td char=".">+</td><td /><td char=".">+</td><td /><td /><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td></tr><tr><td>Activities for motorical skills development</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td></tr><tr><td>Coding and decoding of pictograms</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td></tr><tr><td>Dramatization</td><td char=".">+</td><td /><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td /></tr><tr><td>Storytelling</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td></tr><tr><td>Reading aloud</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td></tr><tr><td>Assembling pictures according to storyline sequence</td><td char=".">+</td><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /></tr><tr><td>Answering explicit questions</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td></tr><tr><td>Answering implicit questions</td><td char=".">+</td><td /><td char=".">+</td><td /><td char=".">+</td><td /><td /><td char=".">+</td></tr><tr><td>Sharing reading experiences</td><td char=".">+</td><td /><td /><td char=".">+</td><td char=".">+</td><td /><td /><td /></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>1 Observed or mentioned in the records of the implemented educational activities.</p> <hd id="AN0181055347-13">Conclusion</hd> <p>The results suggest that teachers lacked sufficient knowledge about the content of preliteracy development. In practice, there is more focus on developing areas related to future reading and writing acquisition, with insufficient coverage of comprehension development. Teachers mainly support the development of literal comprehension. Conscious work with learning objectives also varies, with teachers mostly working intuitively. It is difficult for them to define the area of preliteracy. They differ in their idea of what a child should know at the transition to primary education, by what they should assess the level of his/her development in the area under consideration. One of the reasons for this situation may be the lack of support that the FEP PE should provide them in planning, implementing and evaluating educational activities. Teachers focus on the components that are explicitly mentioned in the FEP PE and find it difficult to associate others with literacy. The absence of a clear definition or emphasis on the importance of literacy development in FEP PE leads to disjointed or untargeted preliteracy development. In selecting children's literature, teachers usually base their selection on their personal experiences and interests rather than on an analysis of children's needs. Some teachers place the responsibility for the development of reading preliteracy solely on the family, which, in their opinion, must provide the appropriate conditions; some try to compensate for any deficits from an insufficiently stimulating environment.</p> <p>Although the research sample was small and unrepresentative, and the results of the research cannot be generalized, it does suggest possible ways to improve literacy development in preschool education in the Czech Republic. The findings present opportunities for improving the development of literacy in preschool institutions. The aforementioned shortcomings should be reflected in the content of teacher training and also be part of the professional preparation of future teachers. The following areas were identified as problematic or difficult in relation to the development of literacy: knowledge of the theoretical basis for the development of preliteracy; working with educational objectives; formulating criteria and identifiers for assessing children's learning outcomes; cooperation with the family. These areas should be strengthened in the professional training of teachers, reflected in methodological materials for teachers and incorporated into curriculum documents, whether at national or institutional level. It would also be useful to strengthen cooperation with primary schools and, where appropriate, to include the information about methods of teaching of reading and writing in the first grades of primary school as part of the professional training of preschool teachers, so that they can better understand what skills the children will need. Hanna stated, "I don't even know how children are taught to read in school, we would need to know so that we can work with these children to prepare them for something."</p> <hd id="AN0181055347-14">Discussion</hd> <p>The results of the research suggested two main areas that need to be addressed in order to improve the development of preliteracy in preschool education in the Czech Republic, although their confirmation is subject to further investigation. These are the area of teacher training and the area of quality of curriculum documents (Ornstein & Hunkins, [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref63">34</reflink>]; Potsi, [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref64">35</reflink>]; Slot et al., [<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref65">39</reflink>]; Weikart, [<reflink idref="bib52" id="ref66">52</reflink>]). The transformation of society and lifestyles, the new needs, problems and challenges we face as a society also require new approaches. Early childhood education is no exception. It has to have very high-quality standards and educated teachers. Here, the persistently low required education of preschool teachers in the Czech Republic may be a problem (Syslová & Hornáčková, [<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref67">45</reflink>]). There are also still some elements in preschool education that reflect pre-1989 approaches to education, which are reflected in the planning and implementation of educational activities in preschools (Koželuhová et al., [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref68">20</reflink>]), e.g., the approach to reading as a predominantly relaxing activity, where children are mostly read to only before resting. In the Czech Republic the competence framework of teachers (MŠMT, [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref69">31</reflink>]) is being introduced to assess the level of their professional development, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and improve their professional activities in a targeted manner. Teachers' professional development should be guided by educational outcomes and children's needs. A teacher's subjective sense of success/failure or interest/disinterest in a particular area is not enough. It is necessary to take into account the real needs of practice, the fulfillment of which will lead to the improvement of the educational process (Starý et al., [<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref70">43</reflink>]). Therefore, professional training should also include the development of teachers' self-reflection through reflective techniques. Without the ability to reflect sufficiently on their work, teachers cannot develop professionally (Korthagen, [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref71">19</reflink>]). In addition to the need to plan teachers' professional development from the knowledge of children's learning outcomes, it is important to emphasize teachers' didactic competence in the field (Starý et al., [<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref72">43</reflink>]). This is the development of specific skills to convey literacy knowledge and skills to pupils or children (Urban, [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref73">48</reflink>]; Wang et al., [<reflink idref="bib51" id="ref74">51</reflink>]). Otherwise, there is a situation where teachers know what they should do (what knowledge to impart, what skills to develop in children), but they do not know how to do it and work intuitively rather than thoughtfully. The results of the survey may also provide an impetus for curriculum document change in the Czech Republic.</p> <hd id="AN0181055347-15">Disclosure statement</hd> <p>No potential conflict of interest was report by the author(s).</p> <ref id="AN0181055347-16"> <title> Footnotes </title> <blist> <bibl id="bib1" idref="ref9" type="bt">1</bibl> <bibtext> Primary school in the Czech Republic is for children aged 6 to 11.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib2" idref="ref44" type="bt">2</bibl> <bibtext> Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/02702711.2024.2425097.</bibtext> </blist> </ref> <ref id="AN0181055347-17"> <title> References </title> <blist> <bibtext> Alesi, M., Costa, S., Bianco, A., & Pepi, A. (2021). 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Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Development of Preliteracy in Preschool Education in the Czech Republic
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Eva+Koželuhová%22">Eva Koželuhová</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8044-671X">0000-0002-8044-671X</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ondrej+Koželuh%22">Ondrej Koželuh</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5823-9696">0000-0001-5823-9696</externalLink>)
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Reading+Psychology%22"><i>Reading Psychology</i></searchLink>. 2025 46(1):90-105.
– Name: Avail
  Label: Availability
  Group: Avail
  Data: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: Y
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 16
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
– Name: Audience
  Label: Education Level
  Group: Audnce
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Early+Childhood+Education%22">Early Childhood Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Preschool+Education%22">Preschool Education</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Emergent+Literacy%22">Emergent Literacy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Preschool+Education%22">Preschool Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Preschool+Teachers%22">Preschool Teachers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Literacy+Education%22">Literacy Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Knowledge+Level%22">Knowledge Level</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teacher+Competencies%22">Teacher Competencies</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Beginning+Reading%22">Beginning Reading</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Beginning+Writing%22">Beginning Writing</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Czech+Republic%22">Czech Republic</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1080/02702711.2024.2425097
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 0270-2711<br />1521-0685
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: The level of reading competency in children makes a difference in their academic progress, and subsequently such progress influences their quality of life. The excellence of pre-primary education is based on curricular and procedural quality. The aim of the research was to find out how preschool teachers develop reading literacy in preschool children in the Czech Republic and how they understand the concept of preliteracy. Data were collected using a qualitative multi-case study by semi-structured interviews with participants, repeated semi-structured observations of their teaching work, and analysis of reports of teaching implementation (N = 8). The results show that teachers have insufficient knowledge about the content of literacy development. In practice, they tend to focus on the development of areas related to the acquisition of reading and writing, while the area of comprehension development is inadequately covered. Findings can contribute to improve curricula on national or institutional level, not only in the Czech Republic but also internationally.
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
  Group: Ab
  Data: As Provided
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2024
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: EJ1451162
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ1451162
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/02702711.2024.2425097
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 16
        StartPage: 90
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Emergent Literacy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Preschool Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Preschool Teachers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Literacy Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Knowledge Level
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Teacher Competencies
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Beginning Reading
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Beginning Writing
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Czech Republic
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Development of Preliteracy in Preschool Education in the Czech Republic
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Eva Koželuhová
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Ondrej Koželuh
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 01
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 0270-2711
            – Type: issn-electronic
              Value: 1521-0685
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 46
            – Type: issue
              Value: 1
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Reading Psychology
              Type: main
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