Teacher Responsive Strategies in Early Literacy Development: A Case Study in Suburban Jakarta
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21009/jpud.v20i1.55548Keywords:
early literacy, case study, culturally responsive pedagogy, culturally responsive teaching, responsive strategiesAbstract
This study aims to analyze the responsive strategies used by teachers in developing early childhood literacy in suburban Jakarta. A qualitative desciptive collective case study involved observations and interviews in six urban Jakarta early childhood institutions, with data analyzed thematically using Miles and Huberman’s interactive model. Data were thematically analyzed using the lens of Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT). The findings show that teachers implemented responsive strategies through contextual learning media, role-play activities, individual support, and children’s participation in classroom decision making. However, challenges remain, including the dominant use of worksheets, limited attention to phonological awareness and reading comprehension, the prevelence of English-baesd litercy media over the mother tounge, and suboptimal parental involvement in home literacy activities. The study concludes that early literacy development should be balanced, meaningful, and culturally grounded. Strengtening teacher capacity in implementing comprehensive responsive strategies are building active partnerships with families is essential for establishing a strong foundation for early literacy.
References
Alshatti, T., Al-Sulaihim, N., & Abdalla, F. A. (2020). Home-Based literacy practices of Arab mothers from Kuwait. Speech, Language and Hearing, 23(3), 133–145. https://doi.org/10.1080/2050571X.2019.1581464
Baroody, A. E. (2016). Associations among preschool children’s classroom literacy environment, interest and engagement in literacy activities, and early reading skills. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 14(2), 146–162. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X14529280
Bennett, S. V., Gunn, A. M. A., Gayle-Evans, G., Barrera, E. S., & Leung, C. B. (2018). Culturally Responsive Literacy Practices in an Early Childhood Community. Early Childhood Education Journal, 46(2), 241–248. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-017-0839-9
Borisova, I. (2013). Investing Early for Exponential Outcomes. Save the Children US. http://www.savethechildren.org/atf/cf/%7B9def2ebe-10ae-432c-9bd0-df91d2eba74a%7D/EDU_ELM_BRIEF_WHITE_PAPER_FINAL_AUGUST_2013.PDF
Brock, A., & Rankin, C. (2008). Communication, Language and Literacy from Birth to Five. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Brooks, P. J., & Kempe, V. (2014). Encyclopedia of Language Development. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Clarke, L. (2021). Supporting teachers’ practice through professional learning and development: What’s happening in New Zealand early childhood education? Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 46(1), 66–79. https://doi.org/10.1177/1836939120979063
DAP: NAEYC Position Statement, NAEYC (2020). NAEYC.org/DAP
Delgadova, E. (2015). Reading Literacy as One of the Most Significant Academic Competencies for the University Students. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 178(November 2014), 48–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.03.145
Gavelek, J. R., & Raphael, T. E. (2021). It’s a Wonderful Life: William H. Teale’s Contributions to Early and Emergent Literacy. Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, XX, 238133772110246. https://doi.org/10.1177/23813377211024628
Gay, G. (2000). Culturally Responsive Teaching : Theory , Research , and Practice. New York and London: Teachers College Press, Columbia University.
Gay, G. (2015). The what, why, and how of culturally responsive teaching: International mandates, challenges, and opportunities. Multicultural Education Review, 7(3), 123–139. https://doi.org/10.1080/2005615X.2015.1072079
Gestwicki, C. (2017). Developmentally Appropriate Practice Curriculum and Development in Early Education 6th Edition. USA: Cengage Learning.
Gordon, A. M., & Browne, K. W. (2011). Beginnings and Beyond: Foundations in Early Childhood Education. Wadsworth Cengage Learning. https://www.routledge.com/Encyclopedia-of-Early-Childhood-Education/Fromberg-Williams/p/book/9780415753395
Gunn, A. A., Bennett, S. V, Alley, K. M., Estanislado, S., Iv, B., Cantrell, S. C., Moore, L., Welsh, J. L., Alberton, A., Bennett, S. V, Alley, K. M., Iv, S. B., Cantrell, S. C., Moore, L., & Revisiting, J. L. W. (2020). Revisiting culturally responsive teaching practices for early childhood preservice teachers. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 00(00), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/10901027.2020.1735586
Hilaski, D. (2020). Addressing the mismatch through culturally responsive literacy instruction. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 20(2), 356–384. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798418765304
Inoue, T. (2018). Can earlier literacy skills have a negative impact on future home literacy activities? Evidence from Japanese. Journal of Research in Reading, 41(1), 159–175. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9817.12109
Jalongo, M. R. (2014). Early Childhood Language Arts (sixth edit). Pearson.
Kosnik, C., Menna, L., Dharamshi, P., & Beck, C. (2018). Constructivism as a framework for literacy teacher education courses: the cases of six literacy teacher educators. European Journal of Teacher Education, 41(1), 105–119. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2017.1372742
Langeloo, A., Deunk, M. I., Lara, M. M., & ... (2020). Learning Opportunities of Monolingual and Multilingual kindergarteners and their Early Literacy and Executive Functioning Development. Early Education and …. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10409289.2019.1697607
Machado, E. (2017). Fostering and Sustaining Diverse Literacy Practices in the Early Childhood Classroom. Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, 66(1), 309–324. https://doi.org/10.1177/2381336917718178
Majzub, R. M., & Rashid, A. A. (2012). School Readiness Among Preschool Children. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 46(Schweinhart 2003), 3524–3529. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.06.098
Mangen, A., Hoel, T., Jernes, M., & Moser, T. (2019). Shared, dialogue-based reading with books vs tablets in early childhood education and care: Protocol for a mixed-methods intervention study. International Journal of Educational Research, 97(June), 88–98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2019.07.002
Martin, A. D., & Spencer, T. (2020). Children’s Literature, Culturally Responsive Teaching, and Teacher Identity: An Action Research Inquiry in Teacher Education. Action in Teacher Education, 42(4), 387–404. https://doi.org/10.1080/01626620.2019.1710728
Moran, C. E., & Senseny, K. (2016). An examination of the relationship between a child’s developmental age and early literacy learning. Cogent Education, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2016.1169577
NELP. (2008). Developing Early Literacy. In The National Early Literacy Panel (Vol. 2, Issue 1). http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2910925&tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract
Neumann, M. M., Worrall, S., & N, D. L. (2019). Validation of an expressive and receptive tablet assessment of early literacy. Journal of Research on …, 0(0), 1–16. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15391523.2019.1637800
Ornstein, A. C., & Hunkins, F. P. (2016). Curriculum: Foundation, principles and issues, 7th edition. England: Pearson.
Sadler, J. (2007). Early Childhood Education: The Promise, the Challenges. Forum on Public Policy Online, 2007(2), 1–13.
Schryer, E., Sloat, E., & Letourneau, N. (2015). Effects of an Animated Book Reading Intervention on Emergent Literacy Skill Development: An Early Pilot Study. Journal of Early Intervention, 37(2), 155–171. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053815115598842
Shanahan, T., Cunningham, A., Escamilla, K. C., Fischel, J., Landry, S., Lonigan, C. J., Molfese, V. J., Schatschneider, C., & Strickland, D. (2008). Developing Early Literacy Skills: A report of the national early literacy panel. In Reading Research Quarterly (Vol. 45). https://doi.org/10.1598/RRQ.45.1.2
Shanahan, T., & Lonigan, C. J. (2010). The National Early Literacy Panel: A summary of the process and the report. In Educational Researcher (Vol. 39, Issue 4). https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X10369172
Sigþórsson, R., Altun, D., Tantekin Erden, F., Snow, C. E., Bingham, G. E., Jeon, H. J., Kwon, K. A., Lim, C., Carroll, J. M., Holliman, A. J., Weir, F., Baroody, A. E., Kalindi, S. C., McBride, C., Dan, L., Kim, Y. S. G., Lee, H., Zuilkowski, S. S., Lysaker, J., … Yoon, H. S. (2019). Current Understandings of What Works to Support the Development of Emergent Literacy in Early Childhood Classrooms. Reading Teacher, 51(2), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1111/cch.12641
Slicker, G., & Hustedt, J. T. (2020). Children’s school readiness in socioeconomically diverse pre-K classrooms. Early Child Development and Care, 190(15), 2366–2379. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2019.1582527
Suggate, S. (2018). From infancy to adolescence: The longitudinal links between vocabulary, early literacy skills, oral narrative, and reading comprehension. Cognitive Development, 47, 82–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2018.04.005
Tompkins, G. E. (2016). Language Arts: Patterns of Practice 9th edition. Boston: Pearson.
Towson, J., Canty, M., Schwartz, J., Barden, S., & Sims, T. (2020). Adolescent Mothers’ Implementation of Strategies to Enhance Their Children’s Early Language and Emergent Literacy Skills. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 41(4), 231–241. https://doi.org/10.1177/1525740119855630
Vernon-Feagans, L., Bratsch-hines, M., & Varghese, C. (2018). Early Literacy Skills Through a. 118(4).
Walgermo, B. R., Frijters, J. C., & Solheim, O. J. (2018). Literacy interest and reader self-concept when formal reading instruction begins. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 44, 90–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2018.03.002
Wearmouth, J. (2017). Employing culturally responsive pedagogy to foster literacy learning in schools. Cogent Education, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2017.1295824
Webb, G. L., & Williams, C. J. (2018). Factors affecting language and literacy development in Australian Aboriginal children: Considering dialect, culture and health. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 16(1), 104–116. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X17693417
Wildová, R., & Kropáčková, J. (2015). Early Childhood Pre-reading Literacy Development. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 191, 878–883. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.04.418
Wolf, S., Turner, E. L., Jukes, M. C. H., & Dubeck, M. M. (2018). Changing literacy instruction in Kenyan classrooms: Assessing pathways of influence to improved early literacy outcomes in the HALI intervention. International Journal of Educational Development, 62(July 2017), 27–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2018.02.004
Wood, E., & Hedges, H. (2016). Curriculum in early childhood education: critical questions about content, coherence, and control. Curriculum Journal, 27(3), 387–405. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585176.2015.1129981
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
JURNAL PENDIDIKAN USIA DINI work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)



