Quality of the Literacy Environment in Inclusive Early Childhood Special Education Classrooms

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the quality of the literacy environment in inclusive early childhood special education (ECSE) classrooms ( N = 54). The first aim was to describe the quality of the literacy environment in terms of structure (i.e., book materials and print/writing materials) and instruction (i.e., instructional support). The second aim was to examine the interrelationships among teacher and classroom factors and the quality of the literacy environment. Results showed that, on average, the quality of the structural literacy environment was low to moderate, and the quality of the instructional literacy environment was generally low. Only one factor, the number of children who were dual-language learners, related to the quality of the structural literacy environment, whereas the quality of the instructional literacy environment was positively associated with two teacher-level factors (teacher education and self-efficacy) and negatively associated with one teacher-level factor (the number of language and literacy workshops attended). Study findings suggest the need to examine ways to improve the literacy environment of ECSE classrooms and to better understand sources of variance with respect to the literacy environment.