Literacy as a Vehicle to Facilitate Families' Dreams and Possibilities

• In Event: Expanding Notions of Family Literacy Across Time and Communities

Abstract

Family literacy research and programs typically focus on children’s literacy experiences in the home and their impact on children’s educational achievement. From this perspective, adults are assumed to be role models and/or supporters of children’s literacy development (Anderson, Lenters, & McTavish, 2008; Hendrix, 2000; Nutbrown & Hannon, 2003). Despite an extensive body of evidence outlining the rich, varied, and meaningful ways in which families engage with texts in the home and community (e.g., Anderson et al, 2005; Anderson et al., 2010; Author, 2009; Dixon & Wu, 2014; Morgan, Nutbrown, & Hannon, 2009; Purcell-Gates, 1996; Reese, Arauz, & Bazán, 2011), family literacy interventions also typically emphasize storybook reading and other practices that replicate or reinforce school-based literacy practices (Anderson et al., 2010; Dixson & Wu, 2014; Dudley-Marling, 2009). These perspectives imply that the role of family, and thus family literacy programs or interventions, is to support literacy development and academic achievement in children. Yet, schooling and academic achievement are not a means unto themselves; the purpose of schooling is to prepare students for success in the home, the community, and the workplace – in other words, to facilitate dreams and possibilities in the real world.
The purpose of this presentation, therefore, is to trouble typical conceptualizations of family literacy. Instead of asking, “How can families support literacy?”, I ask: “How can literacy support families?” In this presentation, I share data and findings from my research trajectory that examine literacy practices in family settings in order to demonstrate the rich and meaningful ways in which families use literacy to build, sustain, and enhance their “family-ness”. I will draw upon two research studies in particular: an ethnographic case study of Sudanese refugee families in the U.S., and a cross-case analysis of multiple case studies of families from a variety of global contexts. These studies, grounded in the theory of literacy as a social practice (Author5 & Others, 2011; Barton & Hamilton, 1998; Heath, 1983; Purcell-Gates, 2007; Street, 1984), used ethnographic methods to explore individuals’ and families’ literacy practices in home and community contexts. Data and findings from these studies illustrate the ways in which participants use literacy to nurture a sense of family. Parents, children, and extended family members together used texts and literacy practices to (a) facilitate “leisure and pleasure” (Barton & Hamilton, 1998), (b) maintain family relationships, and (c) cultivate a sense of family identity and heritage.
These families’ literacy practices suggest that expanding typical notions of family literacy is imperative toward the goal of better facilitating all learners’ dreams and possibilities. Instead of viewing family literacy as solely a vehicle for improving children’s academic achievement, I argue that educators and researchers must expand the conceptualization of family literacy to include ways in which literacy may be use as a vehicle to enhance family. How might we design research and interventions to emphasize literacy as a meaningful tool for meeting families’ real-world goals related to relationships, heritage, and familial well-being?

Author

• Kristen H. Perry, University of Kentucky