CONCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES ON THE FORMATION OF READING AND WRITING IN PRESCHOOL OF BUCARAMANGA-COLOMBIA

Abstract

This study arose from the need to understand how preschool teachers interpret and implement literacy practices in their classrooms at a private educational institution in Bucaramanga, Colombia. The main objective was to characterize and understand how they conceive and develop their pedagogical practices around literacy and the development of the communicative dimension in early childhood. To this end, a methodological approach was established based on a qualitative approach and a descriptive and interpretive design. First, the teachers' discourses and pedagogical interventions were analyzed from a comprehensive perspective. Then, tools such as non-participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and a review of institutional documents were used, which provided insight into classroom practices and their correspondence. The results indicate traditional practices such as syllable repetition, the use of flat letters, and rigid, calligraphic writing. This gap between theory and practice limits children's creativity and reduces the possibilities that language offers as a tool for understanding and transforming their world. Despite the constraints imposed by the pandemic, such as direct interaction with students and some institutional restrictions during data collection, a critical analysis of literacy instruction in preschool was conducted. This process concludes with the importance of recognizing the child as the protagonist and recommends strengthening teachers' ongoing training processes around communicative approaches and promoting pedagogical spaces focused on children's literature, oral expression, symbolic creation, and play as pillars of communicative development.