Written culture in early childhood education

a systematic review

Abstract

This article addresses the relationships between children and written culture and their implications for pedagogical practice in Early Childhood Education. It aims to understand the ways in which children approach and participate in written culture, focusing on two major questions. First: what are the perspectives addressed in the literature in regards to written culture in Early Childhood Education? And second: among the investigations, what interventionist approaches are used in promoting written culture in Early Childhood Education and in the first years of Elementary School? Based on a Systematic Literature Review (SLR), carried out using the scientific literature published in Portuguese and Spanish, between the years 2010 and 2020, we present the panorama of academic production in this thematic universe. The results indicate that encouraging participation in  written culture is desirable and feasible for this age group, and it is important to intentionally foster spaces and moments for these activities. The results point to a diversity of possible interventions and strategies – which need to be aligned with the children's worldview – favoring the construction of meaning by the child in a playful manner. Based on the results of the SLR, a teachers’ guide with suggestions for pedagogical work was created and made available as an Open Educational Resource (OER).