Perspectives and practices of 'stay-at-home mothers' in relation to the early literacy development of their children

dc.contributor.advisorFerreira, Annelie
dc.contributor.authorSolomon, Belinda André
dc.date.accessioned2015-11-25T07:25:33Z
dc.date.available2015-11-25T07:25:33Z
dc.date.issued2009-11
dc.description.abstractThe study operates under the belief that the period of early childhood is a critical time in the life of every individual; that it is crucial that a sound foundation is laid as far as a child’s early literacy development is concerned and that the mother’s role in this development is critical. Using the Vygotskian sociocultural perspective of education as a philosophical guide, the study addresses two main questions, namely: What are the perspectives of ‘stay-at-home mothers’ regarding their role in the in the early literacy development of their children; and what are the daily practices of these mothers in this regard? This qualitative, multiple-case study investigates the perspectives and practices of a group of ten middle-to-high-income ‘stay-at-home moms’ and mostly ‘stay-at-home moms’ in relation to the early literacy development of their young children. Over a period of approximately seven months, individual and focus-group interviews and observations were conducted in the homes of participants. The results show that both similarities and differences exist amongst participating mothers in terms of their perspectives and practices. The participants generally operate within the following models (or combinations thereof): facilitator-supporter; companion-teacher; and role model. The participating mothers find their experience as ‘stay-at-home moms’ both rewarding and challenging. They tend to put their challenges, which seem overwhelming to some of them at times, into perspective by considering the current positive results of their investment for their children and for themselves and by looking forward to good results which they expect to see in the future. In spite of the fact that participants are generally knowledgeable about what early literacy entails and about what they should be doing as critical role-players in this development, findings in this study indicate that SAHMs would benefit from both professional and informal support and training. Finally, the perspectives and practices of ‘stay-at-home moms’ is an under-researched area, particularly in South Africa. Educators, parents and the community at large would benefit from increased research in this area as well from the implementation of specific programmes to provide support, training and intervention where necessary.en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11660/1895
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherUniversity of the Free Stateen_ZA
dc.rights.holderUniversity of the Free Stateen_ZA
dc.subjectVygotskyen_ZA
dc.subjectMothers’ rolesen_ZA
dc.subjectSociocultural perspectiveen_ZA
dc.subjectYoung childen_ZA
dc.subjectEarly literacy developmenten_ZA
dc.subject‘Stay-at-home mothers’en_ZA
dc.subjectEarly childhood educationen_ZA
dc.subjectChild developmenten_ZA
dc.subjectChild development -- South Africa -- Bloemfonteinen_ZA
dc.subjectDissertation (M.Ed. (Psychology of Education))--University of the Free State, 2009en_ZA
dc.titlePerspectives and practices of 'stay-at-home mothers' in relation to the early literacy development of their childrenen_ZA
dc.typeDissertationen_ZA
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