This dissertation is comprised of two manuscripts about influences on early childhood educators' classroom literacy practices, including their perceptions of themselves as literacy educators and their literacy content knowledge. With yearly increases in the numbers of children enrolled in child care outside of the home (Barnett, Hustedt, Friedman, Boyd, & Ainsworth, 2007) the need for positive experiences and well-trained educators to provide those experiences, particularly related to literacy skill development, has become evident. The first manuscript draws on data from 28 early childhood educators and 105 children and used a structural equation model to examine the relationship among early childhood educators' a) perceptions of themselves as literacy educators, b) literacy content knowledge, c) pedagogical literacy content knowledge, d) classroom literacy practices, and e) children's literacy growth. Examination of the model suggests educators' perceptions of themselves as literacy educators influenced classroom literacy practices one and one half times more than literacy content knowledge and contrasts with the negative effect of pedagogical literacy content knowledge. Indirect effects were noted for literacy growth, with changes in literacy content knowledge, pedagogical literacy content knowledge, and perceptions of themselves as literacy educators (POTALE) suggesting changes in classroom literacy practices. The educator variables explained 67% of the variance in children's literacy growth in this study. This finding provides initial evidence that professional development for educators should include opportunities designed to help early childhood educators see themselves as literacy educators rather than focus solely on literacy content knowledge as a change mechanism for educators' practice. Discussion focuses on the implications for future research and professional development in light of this finding. The second study examined whether there was a relationship between early childhood educators' classroom literacy practices and literacy content knowledge, pedagogical literacy content knowledge, and these two constructs combined. A total of 27 educators were observed using the Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO) Pre-K Tool and completed surveys to assess their literacy content and pedagogical literacy content knowledge using a slightly modified version of the recently developed Survey of Teacher Knowledge (SOTK). Spearman's rank order correlation was used to assess the relationship however, the relationship was not significant between the ELLCO and SOTK or the subscales for these measures. Regression analyses also did not show a relationship between classroom literacy practices and combined literacy content and pedagogical literacy content knowledge (CLCPLCK), nor literacy content knowledge or pedagogical literacy content knowledge separately. Aggregated results of the SOTK indicated that educators in the study demonstrated breadth of literacy content knowledge but lacked depth in knowledge related to phonological awareness and writing. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
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