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Young children and their mothers’ early literacy practices: a case study from Saudi Arabia

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Abstract

This study reports the findings of extensive ethnographic research in which six preschoolers were observed for 2 years at a preschool in Saudi Arabia. Drawing on the sociocultural perspectives of literacy learning, this study focuses on the early literacy practices in the Saudi home context of two preschoolers and their mothers. The data described in this study were derived from mind maps created with the children and interviews with their mothers. Several sociocultural concepts were used as analytical frameworks following a thematic approach. This study suggests that early literacy is a social and cultural practice embedded and constructed in a sociocultural context. Moreover, the findings indicate how children’s early literacy practices at home occur within a social process through interactions with adults and siblings and how these practices reflect Saudi Arabian Islamic culture and identity. Furthermore, the findings highlight the significance of using participatory techniques (mind maps) to hear children’s voices in research.

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Data availability

The data that supports the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks go to the children, mothers, and the preschool where this study took place. I would also like to thank Professor Eve Gregory and Dr Vally Lytra for their insightful feedback to earlier drafts of this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Early Childhood, College of Education, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Hanadi Fahad Alothman

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  1. Hanadi Fahad Alothman
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Correspondence to Hanadi Fahad Alothman.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethics approval

Ethical considerations have been taken into account in the light of the code of ethical principles that is stated in the Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research (British Educational Research Association (BERA). Since this article comes from the author’s PhD thesis, the study was approved by the relevant authorities (Ethics committee, Department of Educational Studies at Goldsmiths, University of London) and the higher authority of the preschool where the study was conducted.

Human ethics and consent to participate

Consent letters were obtained from all participants in this study.

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Alothman, H.F. Young children and their mothers’ early literacy practices: a case study from Saudi Arabia. AJLL (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44020-023-00055-1

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