The Importance of Early Childhood Education and School Starting Age in the Reading-Writing Learning Process

This study is aimed to determine the importance of school starting age and prior early childhood education experience in the process of learning to read and write. The study was carried out with first grade students enrolled in four public schools in Bursa city center and their teachers. A descriptive model which involves analysis of subject and events within their specific conditions was used as study method. Quantitative data were collected through the Reading Skills Scale and Dictation and Writing Skills Scale developed by Obalar (2010) which were completed by the students’ teachers. Qualitative data were collected by a teacher interview form which was prepared according to a review of the relevant literature and first grade acquisitions. Ten primary school teachers were interviewed. The interviews were video-taped. Independent Sampling Mann Whitney U-test was used to analyze quantitative data. Content Analysis method was used to analyze qualitative data. The findings showed that there was a significant difference between 60-71 months old students and 72 months old and older students in terms of school starting age in favor of older students; and that there was a significant variation in terms of prior early childhood education experience in favor of the students who received early childhood education.  Findings support the results obtained from the teacher interviews.