Exploring the Relationship Between Phonological Awareness and Reading Ability: From Elementary Teachers’ Perspectives

Abstract

The present study investigated the way elementary school teachers perceive the importance of phonological awareness in their classroom experiences. To achieve the aim, 75 elementary school teachers of both genders with diverse years of experience and qualifications from 25 elementary schools in Khorram Abad, Iran were selected. In order to obtain the data, the modified version of the Likert-type questionnaire designed and developed by Dahmer (2010) was used. The findings indicated that the teachers not only do recognize the importance of phonological awareness as a reading skill but they also consider it as a prevention strategy for reading acquisition which can play a vital role in elementary school students' reading ability. The data was useful in bringing about an awareness of how theoretical understandings linked to phonological awareness relevance and usage are actually occurring in the context of elementary classroom.