PUB TYPE Reports Research/Technical (143)

This study investigated patterns of social interaction among four preservice teachers and kindergarten children in the context of literacy-enriched play centers. Specifically, the study addressed the following questions: Is there a relationship between preservice teachers ' beliefs about children's literacy knowledge and the way in which they provide literacy information; and, to what degree do preservice teachers ' interactions contribute to children's literacy learning? Over a period of 3 months, data were collected using ethnographic techniques of interviews, observations, field notes, and audio tapes. Patterns in the data indicated that preservice teachers and kindergarten children literacy conversations were predominantly adult-initiated and adult-controlled. Furthermore, interview data analysis suggested that preservice teachers' sociocultural beliefs influence their interactional style. Namely, those preservice teachers who believe that African-American children have deficient language skills seemed to adopt a cultural deficit model of teaching, while the preservice teachers who believed that the children were capable language users seemed to adopt a culturally responsive model of teaching. (Contains 16 references.) (Author/WJC) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ea