Abstract:
The pursuit of improved literacy in early childhood education is a way to close the
nation’s achievement gap between young children learning in poverty and their more
affluent peers. Preschool teachers’ abilities to effectively deliver instruction may be the
key to further narrowing this gap. These assumptions prompt the urgent need for early
intervention programs focusing on literacy education for preschool children from low income, working-class families, especially in urban areas. Preschool teachers also need improved training in early literacy skills-building and professional development to
acquire proficiency in early literacy education. This qualitative multiple case study
explored the operative elements of a new professional development program framed by
transformative learning theory that may transform teaching practices by motivating urban
preschool teachers to use shared book reading strategies to promote early literacy for
their students.
