Essay Example on Kindergarten Teachers' Views on Emergent Writing Practices in the UAE

The views of Kindergarten teachers on emergent writing practices in the UAE has not been widely reviewed, unlike other countries that have adopted similar practices. Teachers' views are influenced by personal beliefs on how the education sector should run (Al-Maadadi, & Ihmeideh, 2016). The main reason why teachers' views on the subject are rarely sought is due to the development of early childhood education, which started and gained momentum slowly compared to other educational programs at the time (Gerde,Bingham,& Wasik, 2012). Key terms include emergent literacy, emergent writing literacy, and emergent writing literacy practices. Emergent literacy refers to a child's knowledge of writing and reading skills before they learn how to write and read words (Tibi, Joshi, & McLeod, 2013). Emergent writing literacy refers to a child's attempt at the writing process and predicts whether he/she will be proficient at reading and writing. Emergent literacy practices are activities children engage in to develop reading and writing skills.

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Kindergarten teachers believe that children are active learners who acquire a lot of knowledge from the environment. Therefore, they think that children should be encouraged to interact more with nature to improve the learning process (Mack, 2012). Moreover, kindergarten teachers in the UAE believe that emergent writing practices improve learning and memory retention (White, 2013). Children's readiness for school has also been explored and determined that the most important thing is for them to be healthy, well-nourished, and rested (Puranik, & AlOtaiba, 2012).

The majority of teachers believe that children should be capable of expressing their needs, wants verbally. Furthermore, curiosity and enthusiasm are essential elements when joining kindergarten than knowledge of the alphabet. While readiness can be enhanced, it should not be the main aim of the instruction. Instead, children should be allowed to develop an interest in the learning process.

References

Al-Maadadi, F., & Ihmeideh, F. (2016). Early writing development: kindergarten teachers' beliefs about emergent writing in Qatari preschool settings. International Journal of Early Years Education, 24(4), 435-447.

Gerde, H. K., Bingham, G. E., & Wasik, B. A. (2012). Writing in early childhood classrooms: Guidance for best practices. Early Childhood Education Journal, 40(6), 351-359.

Mack, F. L. (2012). A Voyage in Emergent Writing: Case Study of Writing Instructional Practices of Two Kindergarten Teachers. ProQuest LLC.

Puranik, C. S., & AlOtaiba, S. (2012). Examining the contribution of handwriting and spelling to written expression in kindergarten children. Reading and writing, 25(7), 1523-1546.

Tibi, S., Joshi, R. M., & McLeod, L. (2013). Emergent writing of young children in the United Arab Emirates. Written Language & Literacy, 16(1), 77-105.

White, K. M. (2013). Associations between teacher-child relationships and children's writing in kindergarten and first grade. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 28(1), 166-176.