Phonological Awareness and Early Childhood Education

Teachers Perception in Linhares-ES

Abstract

Phonological awareness is an important skill for the literacy process as it allows individuals to perceive the connection between letters and sounds in the alphabetic writing system. This research aims to analyze teachers' perceptions of phonological awareness and its influence on the literacy process of 4-year-old students at an Early Childhood Education school in the municipal education network of Linhares-ES. To achieve this objective, interviews were conducted with four lead teachers of 4-year-old classes, and observations were made in two 4-year-old student groups at a municipal early childhood education school in Linhares-ES. Based on the collected data, the results indicate that phonological awareness is not unknown to the teachers, but its definition still raises doubts. Some teachers reduce it to phonemic awareness, others confuse it with the phonics-based method of teaching literacy, or define it in terms of traditional methods. Activities that involve and stimulate phonological awareness are rarely used in the daily practices of the interviewed teachers. It was observed that most of the activities employed in the literacy process are printed materials, with few activities that explore the mental ability of reflection and manipulation of sound units.