LITERACY MATTERS –THE 21ST-CENTURY CHILDREN’S OPINIONS ON THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LITERACY

Although teaching of reading skills and the prerequisites of literacy are extensively studied, children's opinions on learning to read are not. The aim of this research was to reveal children's opinions on learning to read at the time they start school. Forty-three children (23 girls, 20 boys), aged six and a half years, were interviewed preceded by measurements of their level of literacy. Children were divided into three groups: the good readers (n= 8, 19 %) who were able to read easy texts; the ones who recognized some words (n=16, 37 %) or letters but were not exactly able to read; and the non-readers (n=19, 44 %) who recognized some letters but were not able to read words. Data were analyzed with the phenomenographic method. Learning to read appeared as a surprising and pleasant experience, but also demanding. School entrants showed strong belief and trust in their own abilities to learn to read and were careful and realistic when evaluating them. A challenge of today's teaching is to pay attention to all children with their various skills and learning perceptions to secure each individual child's learning, especially when instructing them with new methods and means. Multiple literacies are considered necessary for succeeding in the postmodern world.