Family Literacy or Adult Basic Education? Making Room for Adult Learners in Public Schools

• In Event: Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: Home Literacy

Abstract

This ethnography studies the cultural space of an ELL family literacy program to unveil how the conception of ‘family literacy’ varied when the program was appropriated into action. Instead of multigenerational print literacy learning, the Chesterfield Public Schools (CPS) Family Literacy Program was an amalgamation of adult education and parent-school partnerships. Recognizing family literacy programs as venues through which adult education can be included in public education is essential for envisioning how schools can better serve pluralistic populations, resulting in educational opportunities for learners of all ages. Absent such attention, the status quo of some stakeholders being better served by schools will persist and the democratic promise of American schooling will continue to be under realized.

Author

• Jennifer Stacy, California State University - Dominguez Hills