The purpose of this case study was to investigate a segment of a data set collected as part of a larger ethnographic study exploring the early language and literacy practices of one unique preschool programme, selected for its unusually high outcomes for children in typically underserved populations. The original study explored administrators’ literacy leadership within the context of system-level funding and oversight inequities and inadequate local, state, and federal support. Analysis from the original study showed that their lofty commitment to a ‘twenty-five books a day’ mindset guided them in supporting teachers as they made books, stories, and language play a universal occurrence throughout the school day. This article, reporting on an extension of this original study, explores how school administrators operationalized this ‘twenty-five books a day’ mindset: prioritizing ample and consistent (1) access to high quality, diverse books, (2) both structured and impromptu, responsive literacy interactions, and (3) professional support for teachers.
BarnettWSFredeEC (2011) Preschool education’s effect on language and literacy. In: Neuman SB and Dickinson DK (eds) Handbook of Early Literacy Research. vol. 3. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
2.
BarnettWSMasseLN (2007) Comparative benefit-cost analysis of the Abecedarian program and its policy implications. Economics of Education Review26(1): 113–125.
3.
BartonEESmithBJ (2015) Advancing high-quality preschool inclusion: A discussion and recommendations for the field. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education35(2): 69–78.
4.
BassokDGaldoE (2016) Inequality in preschool quality? Community-level disparities in access to high-quality learning environments. Early Education and Development27(1): 128–144.
5.
BassokDLathamSRoremA (2016) Is kindergarten the new first grade?Aera Open2(1): 233285841561635.
6.
BramwellWDoyleBG (2008) The Power of Repeated Readings in Small-Group Instruction: Strategies for Repeated Readings to Build Vocabulary & Comprehension While Developing Children’s Social Skills. New York, NY: Scholastic.
7.
CarterPLWelnerKG (eds) (2013) Closing the Opportunity Gap: What America Must Do to Give All Children an Even Chance. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
8.
Cheyney-CollanteKCheyneyM (2018) Early childhood leadership: A photovoice exploration. The Qualitative Report23(9): 2151–2180.
9.
Children’s Defense Fund (2020) The State of America’s Children Handbook. Available at: www.childrensdefense.org (accessed 1 April 2021).
10.
ClarkA (2012) Visual ethics in a contemporary landscape. In: Pink S (ed) Advances in Visual Methodology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, pp.17–35.
11.
CrispTKnezekSMQuinnM, et al. (2016) What’s on our bookshelves? The diversity of children’s literature in early childhood classroom libraries. Journal of Children’s Literature42(2): 29.
12.
CrottyM (1998) The Foundations of Social Research: Meaning and Perspective in the Research Process. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
13.
DoyleBGBramwellW (2006) Promoting emergent literacy and social–emotional learning through dialogic reading. The Reading Teacher59(6): 554–564.
14.
DukeNK (2000) For the rich it’s richer: Print experiences and environments offered to children in very low-and very high-socioeconomic status first-grade classrooms. American Educational Research Journal37(2): 441–478.
15.
EmersonRM (2009) Ethnography, interaction and ordinary trouble. Ethnography10(4): 535–548.
16.
Friedman-KraussAHBarnettWSGarverKA, et al. (2019). The State of Preschool 2018: State Preschool Yearbook. New Brunswick, NJ: National Institute for Early Education Research.
17.
GilliganC (1977) In a different voice: Women’s conceptions of self and of morality. Harvard Educational Review47(4): 481–517.
18.
GilliganCSpencerRWeinbergMK, et al. (2003). On the listening guide: A voice-centered relational method. In: Camic PM, Rhodes JE and Yardley L (eds) Qualitative Research in Psychology: Expanding Perspectives in Methodology and Design. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Press, pp.157–172.
19.
GonzalezJEGoetzETHallRJ, et al. (2011) An evaluation of early reading first (ERF) preschool enrichment on language and literacy skills. Reading and Writing24(3): 253–284.
20.
GubriumJFHolsteinJA (2008) Narrative ethnography. In: Hesse-Biber H and Leavy P (eds) Handbook of Emergent Methods. New York, NY: Guilford Press, pp.241–264.
21.
GuoYJusticeLMKaderavekJN, et al. (2012) The literacy environment of preschool classrooms: Contributions to children’s emergent literacy growth. Journal of Research in Reading35(3): 308–327.
22.
GuoYSawyerBEJusticeLM, et al. (2013) Quality of the literacy environment in inclusive early childhood special education classrooms. Journal of Early Intervention35(1): 40–60.
23.
HaynieK (2019) Checking In On the Child Care Landscape: 2019 State Fact Sheet. Arlington, VA: National Association of Childcare Resource and Referral Agencies.
24.
HeathSB (1982) Protean shapes in literacy events: Ever-shifting oral and literate traditions. In: Tannen D (ed) Spoken and Written Language: Exploring Orality and Literacy. Norwood, NY: Ablex, pp.91–117.
25.
HindmanAHWasikBA (2012) Unpacking an effective language and literacy coaching intervention in head start: Following teachers’ learning over two years of training. The Elementary School Journal113(1): 131–154.
26.
HsiehWYHemmeterMLMcCollumJA, et al. (2009) Using coaching to increase preschool teachers’ use of emergent literacy teaching strategies. Early Childhood Research Quarterly24(3): 229–247.
27.
Koro-LjungbergMCheyneyKBowdenC (April 2015) Productive paradoxes in participant driven research (communities and audiences matter). In: Koro-Ljungberg M (ed) Reconceptualizing Qualitative Research: Methodologies without Method. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
28.
KortgeN (2012) Critical perspectives in feminist epistemology. In: Hesse-Biber S (ed) The Handbook of Feminist Research: Theory and Praxis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, pp.119–134.
29.
Ladson-BillingsG (2007) Pushing past the achievement gap: An essay on the language of deficit. The Journal of Negro Education76(3): 316–323.
30.
LandrySHAnthonyJLSwankPR, et al. (2009) Effectiveness of comprehensive professional development for teachers of at-risk preschoolers. Journal of Educational Psychology101(2): 448–465.
31.
LatzAO (2017) Photovoice Research in Education and Beyond: A Practical Guide from Theory to Exhibition. Abingdon, UK: Taylor & Francis.
MasseySL (2014) Making the case for using informational text in preschool classrooms. Creative Education5(6): 396–401.
36.
McCormickCEMasonJM (1986) Intervention procedures for increasing preschool children’s interest in and knowledge about reading. Center for the Study of Reading. Technical Report no. 312.
37.
MertensDM (2014) Ethical use of qualitative data and findings. In: Denzin NK and Lincoln YS (eds) Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, pp.510–522.
38.
MontgomeryPMaundersK (2015) The effectiveness of creative bibliotherapy for internalizing, externalizing, and prosocial behaviors in children: A systematic review. Children and Youth Services Review55: 37–47.
39.
National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA) (2019) The US and the High Price of Child Care: An Examination of a Broken System. Arlington, VA: NACCRRA.
40.
National Early Literacy Panel (NELP) (2008) Developing Early Literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel. Louisville, KY: National Center for Family Literacy.
41.
National Research Council (2012) From Neurons to Neighborhoods: An Update: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
42.
Neuman SB (1999) Books make a difference: A study of access to literacy. Reading Research Quarterly 34(3): 286--311.
43.
NeumanSB (2018) What Effective Pre-K Literacy Instruction Looks Like. Literacy Leadership Brief. Newark, DE, International Literacy Association.
44.
NeumanSBKaeferT (2018) Developing low-income children’s vocabulary and content knowledge through a shared book reading program. Contemporary Educational Psychology52: 15–24.
45.
NeumanSBMolandN (2019) Book deserts: The consequences of income segregation on children’s access to print. Urban Education54(1): 126–147.
46.
NICHD Early Childcare Research Network (2002) Child-care structure, process, outcome: Direct and indirect effects of child-care quality on young children’s development. Psychological Science13(3): 199–206.
47.
ParisD (2012) Culturally sustaining pedagogy: A needed change in stance, terminology, and practice. Educational Researcher41(3): 93–97.
48.
PascaleRSterninJ and Sternin M (2010) The Power of Positive Deviance: How Unlikely Innovators Solve the World’s Toughest Problems. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Press.
49.
RapleyT (2014) Sampling strategies in qualitative research. In: Denzin NK and Lincoln YS (eds) Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, pp.49–62.
50.
RoseG (2007) Visual Methodologies: An Introduction to the Interpretation of Visual Materials. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
51.
RoskosKChristieJ (2011) The play-literacy nexus and the importance of evidence-based techniques in the classroom. American Journal of Play4(2): 204–224.
SnowCBurnsMSGriffinP (1998) Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
54.
StanovichKE (1986) Matthew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly21(4): 360–407.
55.
StreetBV (2013) New literacy studies. In: Grenfell M, Bloome D and Hardy K (eds) Language, Ethnography and Education. London, UK: Routledge, pp.33–55.
56.
StreetBVMartin-JonesM (2000) Literacy Events and Literacy Practices: Theory and Practice in the New Literacy Studies. London, UK: Longman.
57.
TedlockB (2011) Braiding narrative ethnography with memoir and creative non-fiction. In: Denzin NK and Lincoln YS (eds) Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, pp.331–340.
58.
UllrichRSchmidtSCosseR (April 2019) Inequitable Access to Child Care Subsidies. Washington, DC: The Center for Law and Social Policy.
59.
United States Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, Policy and Program Studies Service (2010) Toward the Identification of Features of Effective Professional Development for Early Childhood Educators. Literature Review. Washington, DC: USDOE.
60.
WangCC (2006) Youth participation in photovoice as a strategy for community change. Journal of Community Practice14(1–2): 147–161.
61.
Wasterfors D, Akerstrom M and Jacobson K (2014) Reanalysis of qualitative data. In: Flick U (ed) The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Data Analysis. Thousand Oaks: Sage, pp.467--479.
62.
Watanabe KganetsoLM (2017) Creating and using culturally sustaining informational texts. The Reading Teacher70(4): 445–455.
63.
WhitebookMRyanS (2011) Degrees in Context: Asking the Right Questions About Preparing Skilled and Effective Teachers of Young Children. NIEER Preschool Policy Brief, 2. New Brunswick, NJ: National Institute for Early Education Research.
64.
WhitebookMPhillipsDHowesC (2014) Worthy Work. STILL Unlivable Wages: The Early Childhood Workforce 25 Years after the National Child Care Staffing Study. Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
65.
WrightT (2011) Countering the politics of class, race, gender, and geography in early childhood education. Educational Policy25(1): 240–261.
66.
YoppRHYoppHK (2012) Young children’s limited and narrow exposure to informational text. The Reading Teacher65(7): 480–490.
