Reading and Writing Readiness among Children of Anganwadi Centres: Emergent Literacy at Foundation Stage

Archana Kumari and Garima Kalla
IIS (Deemed to be University), Jaipur, Rajasthan

Pages:24-31

Emergent literacy pertains to the initial phases of learning to read and write that take
place prior to formal teaching. It lays the foundation not only for future academic success
but also improves their imagination, critical thinking, and problem-solving abilities. To
find out the reading and writing readiness of children enrolled in the Anganwadi centres,
data was collected from 60 children of Anganwadi centres located in Jaipur city by
using the Reading Writing skills scale developed by Narendra Singh. A self-prepared
checklist was also used to find out the availability of learning materials at the centre.
The finding revealed that only 1.66 percent children could score on the higher side and
66.6 percent children scored below average in the assessment. Except in visual
perception, no significant difference was found in any domain of reading and writing
skills of children with respect to their gender and age. As far as availability of learning
material is concerned, only 25 percent of Anganwadi centres were found to have sandbox,
writing sheets, clay or any kneading materials which are required for developing fine
motor skills and eye-hand coordination, a prerequisite for developing writing skills in
children. There were no attention or memory books found in any of the centres. The
findings of the research point to the necessity of implementing a comprehensive plan
that includes educators, parents, community members, and appropriate resources in
order to address the problem of children in Anganwadi centres having limited emergent
literacy and create a supportive environment that supports their literacy development

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