Developing children's print awareness skills through a print awareness center and activities in a preschool classroom

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of a print awareness center and activities on children's print awareness skills in a preschool classroom. The research was conducted using an action research design. The researcher is in the role of teacher-researcher. The participants of the study consisted of 16 children aged 60-72 months, the teacher-researcher and the members of the Credibility Committee in a preschool in Yenimahalle district of Ankara province. The data of the study were collected by developing two action plans and implementing print awareness center activities regularly for 33 days from 09.10.2024 to 09.12.2024. The data were collected through various data collection tools including researcher diary, audio recordings, photographs, researcher notes, credibility committee interview records, Early Literacy Skills Assessment Tool (ELSA) Print Awareness Subtest. The quantitative data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test statistical technique. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis technique. As a result of the thematic analysis, it was seen that children significantly improved their skills related to the meaning of writing, book and writing organization, words and letters after the print awareness center activities. As a result of the statistical analysis conducted at the end of the study, it was determined that print awareness center activities improved children's knowledge and skills regarding print awareness skills in favor of the post-test. In addition, it was observed that while children's interest in print awareness center activities was low before and at the beginning of the research, and they needed teacher support in the use of materials in the center and in their games, children's interest in the center increased in the later process of the research, and they became more independent in the use of materials and in their games. Keywords: Literacy, Early Literacy, Print Awareness, Print Awareness Skills, Print Awareness Center.