Why Teachers Continue to Struggle with Funds of Knowledge Despite Its Promise: A Comparative Study of Bangladesh and the United States

• In Event: AERA Research in Progress Roundtable Session Two
  In Invited Roundtable: Research-in-Progress RT064 (Thursday)

Abstract

This comparative qualitative study explores why teachers continue to struggle with implementing the Funds of Knowledge (FoK) approach despite its equity-oriented promise. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with fifteen elementary teachers, ten from Bangladesh and five from the United States to examine perceived barriers to incorporating students’ home and community knowledge into classroom instruction. Preliminary thematic analysis indicates that U.S. teachers face institutional barriers such as standardized curricula and limited family engagement, while Bangladeshi teachers encounter structural and cultural challenges, including large class sizes and hierarchical relationships. These early findings suggest that FoK enactment is constrained by both local conditions and global patterns of standardization. Further analysis and member checking will refine these interpretations.

Author

• Evana Nusrat Dooty, West Virginia University