Relating prekindergarten teacher beliefs and knowledge to children's language and literacy development

The current study examines the associations between teachers' beliefs and knowledge and children's learning during the prekindergarten year. This study describes the degree to which 262 prekindergarten teachers' beliefs and knowledge regarding children's language and literacy skills are related to learning over the prekindergarten year. Teacher beliefs were not predictive of children's skill development. However, teachers' knowledge of language positively predicted children's gains in expressive vocabulary skills. In addition, teachers' knowledge of literacy predicted children's gains in print knowledge. Understanding these associations is important as the field continues to develop mechanisms for evaluating and training early childhood educators.