Disrupting the Science of Reading Through Family-Based Multilingual Research: Preservice Teachers as Ethnographers of Literacy

• In Event: The Science of Reading Through a Multilingual Lens: Critical Perspectives from Teacher Education to Policy

Abstract

Dominant interpretations of the Science of Reading (SOR) have become increasingly influential in shaping literacy instruction and teacher preparation. While often presented as scientifically neutral, these frameworks frequently center on monolingual, English-only perspectives and emphasize phonics-driven instruction, marginalizing the multilingual and multimodal literacy practices of children and families. In this presentation, we share findings from the Family Learning Observation and Analysis (FLOA) project, which positions multilingual families as knowledge-holders and preservice teachers (PSTs) as ethnographers of literacy in informal learning spaces.

Developed over multiple semesters in elementary and early childhood literacy courses, the FLOA project engages PSTs in observing multilingual families during community-based museum events. These observations document how families use languages, gestures, materials, and intergenerational talk to make meaning. PSTs conduct ethnographic fieldwork (Frank, 1999), engage in video-based discourse analysis, and design lesson plans informed by their findings. This model challenges decontextualized definitions of reading by centering multilingualism, family knowledge, and sociocultural meaning-making as essential components of literacy (Author & Author, forthcoming; García & Li, 2014).
Our initial study (Author & Author, forthcoming) revealed that although PSTs became more aware of community-based literacies, many struggled to integrate those insights into classroom instruction. Their lesson plans often defaulted to SOR-aligned models rooted in phonics and English-only instruction. This disconnect illuminated the persistence of raciolinguistic ideologies (Flores & Rosa, 2015), which continue to shape PSTs’ understandings of language and literacy despite exposure to culturally and linguistically rich learning environments.
To address these tensions, we implemented a critical redesign of the course (Author & Author, 2025), which expanded the FLOA experience to include two full observation cycles, structured critical reflection, a literacy autobiography assignment, and iterative feedback on lesson plans and curriculum critiques. This design-based approach (da Silva Iddings, 2016) supported PSTs in bridging theory and practice more meaningfully. As a result, participants began to frame multilingualism as a resource, family members as co-educators, and museum spaces as bridges between home and school literacies.

Three key findings will anchor our presentation:
Multilingual families act as architects of literacy: PSTs observed how families drew on multiple languages, modes, and cultural repertoires to support children’s meaning-making, challenging narrow school-based definitions of reading.
Ethnographic observation cultivates pedagogical transformation: Through fieldwork and analysis, PSTs shifted from passive appreciation to active integration of asset-based and multilingual strategies in their instructional planning.
Teacher education must extend beyond classrooms: By moving field experiences into informal community settings, FLOA supports the development of teacher candidates who are better prepared to recognize and leverage the literacies already present in multilingual communities.
In doing so, the project challenges both teacher education programs and state-level literacy mandates to recognize multilingual families not as instructional obstacles, but as critical partners in shaping more just and inclusive definitions of reading. FLOA offers a replicable model for transformative teacher education that bridges research, practice, and advocacy for culturally and linguistically sustaining literacy instruction.

Authors

• Jungmin Lee, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

• Min-Seok Choi, University of Louisiana at Lafayette