Abstract:
The focus of this paper is elaborating on relationships between pre-service teachers (PSTs), cultural values in relation to diversity and beliefs and their intersection with literacy elements of the Kinda Kinder (KK) programme in the first semester of their course. The purpose of this research is to explore the cultural values of PST in an experiential playgroup model, KK that aims to develop and enhance early literacy learning in pre-school aged children. The research is significant as there is little Australian research illuminating how the literacy motives of PSTs are mediated in relation to their university course. Australian research has raised significant challenges to the visibility and impact of literacy perspectives in relation to diverse contexts and teacher education programmes. They refer to a persistent ‘discourse of denial' on cultural differences that then distanced student teachers from their cultural identity. This paper will present the preliminary findings and analysis from two case study interviews from this research. A relational socio-cultural perspective is explored in the analysis using cultural historical activity theory (CHAT). Attention in the analysis is drawn to how these PST mediate and relate to collectively held values in relation to ‘everyday' literacy concepts. Preliminary findings, interviews and observations, suggest that these students' views on literacy concepts are very tentative in relation to the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (EYLF). This is not a surprising result as the students are at the beginning of their course. By contrast their perspectives on diversity, through the interviews, are rich and informed by their traditions of growing up in a culturally diverse community. This contrasts with international research on concepts for diversity. However, observations of the PST capacity to translate this into their settings, to recognize and reflect the children's diverse backgrounds, appear to be limited to western ‘instrumental' models of literacy primarily aimed at activities related to school subject knowledge and skills. An overall finding from the research suggests that the experiential nature of the KK playgroup model facilitates and enables PST to create learning communities that then promote better bridges between the KK and their university experiences. These findings suggest ongoing research with the participants to clarify how literacy, in relation to facilitated playgroups, could more clearly enable PST to draw on their cultural identities.