Early Childhood Pre-reading Literacy Development

The early years of a child's life (3-6 years) are seen as a period, which is a significant phenomenon in the process of lifelong education of the individual. This period provides the foundation for children to develop some of their abilities and experts claim that if we fail to make the most of this period, it will be difficult to “catch up”. This is also true for reading literacy development; in early childhood it is referred to as pre-reading literacy. Early childhood education and upbringing currently focuses on personality-orientated model in the Czech Republic and other European countries as well. It is based on a premise that every child is an individual with unique talents, abilities, motivation, and ways of learning. This model is put to use by implementing individual approach in education and upbringing of every child. The paper will show basic principles of early childhood education and upbringing in the Czech Republic; it will introduce the early childhood education curriculum and present the findings of the research on pre-reading skills of children aged 5-6.5. This research was conducted at the Faculty of Education, Charles University in 2010-2012. The findings showed significant differences among pupils, but also plenty of room for improvement in nursery school teachers approach. In addition to the research conclusions, the text will also provide recommendations for the practice of nursery schools and for the training of prospective nursery school teachers.