Children's Literature in Teacher-Preparation Programs
An invited contribution
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For decades, research has concluded that children's books not only provide great pleasure to readers, but they can also play a significant role in children's academic, social, and literacy success. In 1974, Sostarich reported that sixth-grade children who had been read to from an early age developed into better readers and valued reading more than did sixth graders who had not been read to, and they expected to continue reading throughout their lives. Others have determined that the more time children spend reading literature, the better their reading and writing abilities become (see, e.g., Cohen, 1968; Fox & Allen, 1983; Hepler & Hickman, 1982; Loban, 1963). Significant increases have been found in young children's comprehension and vocabulary skills (Cohen), phonological production (Irwin, 1960), complexity of sentence structure (Cazden, 1965), concept of story structure (Applebee, 1978) and of expository text structure (Pappas & Brown, 1987), and understanding of interactional patterns (Snow & Goldfield, 1983) as a result of their being read to from an early age, either at home or in school. Children who have access to literature and stories in their homes have been found to learn to read more quickly, read more fluently, and have better attitudes toward reading (Clark, 1976; Durkin, 1966; Thorndike, 1973; Wells, 1986). Teachers who provide time for sustained silent reading, who share books and highlight book authors with children during the school day, positively influence those children's reading outside of school (Anderson, Wilson, & Fielding, 1988). And the National Assessment of Educational Progress (1996; online document) reoported that children who frequently read for enjoyment out of school are better readers.
The value of children's literature to children's literacy development cannot be contested. Because children's literature is so valuable to children, it should also be valuable to the people responsible for educating them -- their teachers. And so it's unfortunate that something that can play such a critical role in children's lives is often relegated to a less than critical role in teacher education.
This commentary discusses three crucial issues surrounding the position of children's literature in teacher-preparation programs:
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Posted February 2000
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