KnowledgeMatters for Educating Multilingual

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 7:45 am - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: International and Comparative Perspectives on Language Education

Abstract

In this study, twenty-four rural in-service teachers engaged in-home visits of emergent multilingual students. These home visits were a key component of a constructivist parent-teacher approach used to support understanding of relationships between home and school. They provided teachers with an understanding of families’ views of children, and uncovered the resources present in the rural communities where they work. As a result, teachers’ understanding of rural families, of funds of knowledge, and of language and literacy practices existing in the homes dramatically improved. After this experience, teachers incorporated the newly gained knowledge in their classroom teaching and empowered themselves to become advocates for the families.

Author

• Claudia Peralta, Boise State University