The purpose of this review of family literacy scholarship was to examine the epistemologies underlying both family studies and reviews of family literacy studies. We were especially concerned with those epistemological issues related to the cultural, class, racial, gender, ethnic, and linguistic diversity of people served by family literacy programs. Our rationale for focusing on epistemology and diversity was that research on family literacy has often been framed in ways reflective of epistemological views of diversity, including such binaries as ‘strengths and deficits,’ ‘literate and illiterate,’ and ‘home‐school match and mismatch,’ among others. We searched major electronic databases for reviews of family literacy research and then employed bibliographic branching to identify other reviews yielding 273 reviews of which 213 were substantive. We subjected the 213 substantive reviews to an analytic review template to identify the degree to which diversity was addressed and how it was addressed. We conducted citation coding to identify major citations in each review. We then identified a set of comprehensive edited volumes and subjected the introductions, tables of contents, list of contributors, and references to diversity to a critical discourse analysis emphasizing underlying epistemologies. Findings included the dominance of White women scholars in family literacy research, the incorporation of both modernist and postmodernist epistemologies, and the absence of substantive concern with diversity in a majority of family literacy studies. Findings also showed that more recent reviews were less focused on modernist visions of family literacy as a means to address social problems and more focused on relationships between home and school literacies and the diversity of literacy practices found in homes. In addition, we found that recent reviews showed an increased focus on international and transnational contexts as well as literacy within specific local communities. We discuss these findings as reflecting the complex and diverse environments in which family literacy takes place with their multiple goals. We also discuss the importance of making underlying epistemological assumptions visible so that complexities and contradictions can be acknowledged and addressed.
Recent conceptions of identity view people’s identities as multiple and situated. The ways we see ourselves are filtered through the relationships we share with others, the knowledges and experiences we bring, and the contexts within which we live and learn. McCarthey and Moje (2002) explain that the identities we construct shape our literacy practices while literacy practices become a means for acting out the identities we assume. This case study demonstrates how children’s identities and cultural resources intersect and converge during literacy learning. Fieldnotes, running records, and audiotaped interviews are used to construct a case study of a reluctant African American student that illustrates the ways students’ identities are constructed and revised in conjunction with literacy learning. This case study demonstrates how teachers can access children’s cultural resources to support literacy learning.
While existing research documents the effectiveness of summer reading programs, little is know about how and to what degree children actually read the books that are sent home or how families engage with these texts. We took this opportunity to dive in and explore what happened when books were sent home to low‐income, culturally diverse families. Specifically, my doctoral students and I used home visits and interviews to better understand how students and family members engaged with summer reading books. By the end of the summer, we had a gained an expanded understanding of how our summer reading program both built upon and extended families’ existing literacy practices.
S Two case studies of adult GED (General Education Diploma) students and their kindergarten‐aged children are presented. The construct of “capital,” as described by Pierre Bourdieu (1986), is applied specifically to the children's and adults' reading practices. These case studies are analyzed in terms of various forms of official “reading capital” and locally valued reading and schooling practices. The results suggest that children and families possess rich resources that are often ignored, devalued, or denied in schools. The findings of this study challenge the applicability of Bourdieu's description of capital to local communities. Se presentan dos estudios de caso de estudiantes adultos del GED y sus hijos en edad de asistir al preescolar. El concepto de “capital”, como lo describe Pierre Bourdieu (1986), se aplicó específicamente a las prácticas de lectura de los niños y los adultos. Estos estudios de caso se analizan en términos de varias formas de “capital de lectura” oficial y prácticas de lectura y escolaridad valoradas localmente. Los resultados sugieren que los niños y las familias poseen ricos recursos que a menudo se ignoran, devalúan o niegan en las escuelas. Los hallazgos de este estudio presentan un desafío a la validez de aplicar la descripción de capital de Bourdieu a las comunidades locales. Zwei Untersuchungsstudien von Studenten der Erwachsenenausbildung GED (General Education Development) und ihren im Kindergartenalter befindlichen Kindern werden vorgestellt. Der Begriff von „Kapital,” wie durch Pierre Bourdieu (1986) beschrieben, ist bewußt auf Lesepraktiken von Kindern und Erwachsenen angewandt. Diese Untersuchungsstudien sind in Begriffen verschiedener Formen offiziellen „Lesekapitals” analysiert und in Lese‐ und Unterrichtspraktiken lokal geschätzt. Die Resultate lassen vermuten, dass Kinder und Familien reichliche Ressourcen besitzen, die in Schulen oft ignoriert, abgewertet oder vorenthalten werden. Die Erkenntnisse dieser Studie fordern die Anwendbarkeit von Bourdieus Beschreibung von Kapital für ortsgebundene Gemeinschaften heraus. Ce texte présente deux études de cas portant sur des adultes préparant le diplôme de GED (Développement général en éducation) et leurs enfants d'âge préscolaire. Le concept de « capital », tel qu'énoncé par Pierre Bourdieu (1986), est appliqué spécifiquement aux pratiques de lecture des enfants et des adultes. Ces études de cas sont analysées en fonction des différentes formes du « capital lecture » officiel, de la lecture telle qu'elle est valorisée localement, et des practiques scolaires. Les résultats suggèrent que les enfants et les familles possèdent des ressources qui sont souvent ignorées, dévaluées ou niées au sein l'école. Les résultats de cette étude constituent un défi pour l'applicabilité de la description du capital de Bourdieu à des communautés locales.
In the past, physical barriers such as geography and distance limited global communication. In this paper, we explore how young children in immigrant families engage in transnational literacy practices. Specifically, we explore the transnational funds of knowledge that result from those experiences. This three-year longitudinal collective case study involves ten children from immigrant families who have come to the United States from around the world. The students entered the study in four-year-old kindergarten, grade 1 or grade 2. Each year, we collected observations, spoken data and studentcreated artefacts (e.g. writing samples, maps, photographs). Data sources were designed to highlight the various spaces that the immigrant families occupy or have occupied over time (i.e. home/neighbourhood/ school; native country/country of residence). Our reading and rereading of coded data across the sample led us to focus on families' digital transnational practices and children's transnational awareness. We argue that these funds of knowledge should be recognized in classrooms and schools and that they have the potential to contribute to the nurturing of cosmopolitan perspectives for all children.
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