Pre-service teachers enroll in teacher education programs accompanied by their varying perceptions of teaching and learning based on their various experiences at school and home. This study was conducted to examine the impact of an early literacy teacher preparation course on pre-service teachers' perceptions of teaching emergent literacy. Data includes narrative responses taken from an open-ended survey question administered to 106 participants enrolled in a K-6 teacher preparation program at a southern public flagship university. A constant comparative analysis indicated that participants' perceptions were impacted by a variety of components discussed in the course as well as field experience.