Teachers’ perceptions regarding the two-year pre-primary curriculum for enhancing literacy skills in children aged 4-5 years in Bangladesh

Abstract

This qualitative research focused on the pre-primary teachers’ perspectives of Two-Year Pre-Primary Curriculum (2022), facilitating literacy development for 4–5 years children in Bangladesh. Considering that literacy is a foundation of lifelong learning, the study questioned what teachers make sense of curriculum, how they do it and how this way of unpacking develops in classrooms. Data was collected through one focus group discussion (FGD), six in-depth interviews (IDIs) and two times same classroom observations at the government primary schools purposively selected from Dhaka. Results showed that teachers recognized early literacy as crucial to children’s cognitive and linguistic, and social-emotional development. They liked that the curriculum is well-organized and age-appropriate, with a focus on songs, rhymes, storytelling and picture-based learning. However, other systemic barriers, like overcrowded classrooms, insufficient teaching-learning materials, insignificant parental engagement, and insufficient facilitation ability, hampered the effectiveness of the literacy component. The research points out that the curriculum’s aims reflect those of national and international policy on early childhood education (SDG 4.2), but it is ultimately predicated on teacher readiness, motivation and support to deliver on its promise. Supporting the professional development of teachers in phonological awareness, vocabulary development and emergent writing through sustained professional development is important to support quality provision. Supplying teaching and literacy resources as well as providing smaller class sizes and better classroom facilities would add value to the children’s learning. Additionally, promoting parent awareness and involvement through community-based literacy programs can establish a supportive home environment that promotes the maintenance of literacy development in children. The study also suggests that teacher feedback should be taken into account in future revisions of the pre-primary curriculum with a view to making it more context sensitive and ready to apply. High-quality large-scale studies of early literacy instruction and children’s outcomes should be conducted in the future to expand knowledge for policy development. Overall, this study adds to the early literacy debate in low-resource contexts in showing that well-designed curricula only work when implemented with systemic support, teacher professional development and linkages among teachers, parents and schools.