Development of motivational beliefs about early literacy in preschool children

The environment provided to the child in the home and classroom settings plays a significant role in the development and learning of the child in the preschool. The opportunities provided to the child during this period play a crucial role in their development and learning. This research was designed as a longitudinal study to examine the development of motivational beliefs related to perceived early literacy skills by parents of children aged 36-66 months attending preschool education. Independent variables were determined regarding the perceived motivations of children aged 36-66 months attending preschool education for reading picture books, and the impact of home literacy environment and classroom literacy environment on this relationship was also investigated. The sample of the study consisted of parents and teachers of children aged 36-66 months attending two public independent kindergartens affiliated with the Ministry of National Education (MEB) and two private day care centers affiliated with the Ministry of Family and Social Policies in the Bandırma district of Balıkesir province, selected through easily accessible or convenient sampling method, during the 2022-2023 academic year. The data collection tools used in the research were the Picture Story Book Reading Motivation Scale (ÇOYAM) and demographic information form, Early Learning and Literacy Support Scale for Home Environment, and Preschool Classroom Early Literacy Environment Assessment Scale. The data were collected in three stages over a 6-month period. In the first application, data were collected from parents and teachers by distributing all scales simultaneously. In the other two applications, data were collected only from parents using the Picture Story Book Reading Motivation Scale (ÇOYAM). Repeated ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) was applied for repeated measurements to reveal the impact of motivational applications on the perceived motivations of children in the sample group for reading picture story books. Repeated MANOVA (Multivariate Analysis of Variance) was applied for repeated measurements to see the effect of home early learning and literacy environment features and preschool classroom early literacy environment features. According to the results of the ANOVA analysis, there was no significant relationship found in the impact of the applications of the "Picture Book Reading Motivation Scale (ÇOYAM)" on the perceived motivations of children for reading picture story books. In the obtained MANOVA analysis, home and classroom literacy levels were determined according to the tools "Early Learning and Literacy Support Scale for Home Environment" and "Preschool Classroom Early Literacy Environment Assessment Scale" applied together with the 1st ÇOYAM scale, and the results showing the effect of these levels from the 1st ÇOYAM application to the 2nd ÇOYAM application were obtained. Based on these results, the relationship between home and classroom literacy environments and children's motivations for reading picture story books was examined, and no significant relationship was found. With this research, a new one has been added to the rare studies conducted by examining the motivation of children for reading and it is thought that it contributes to its literature.