Engaging Families in Their Own Neighborhoods

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: Building on Community Assets in Education

Abstract

The question of how to support the early literacy development of children experiencing marginalization through systematically under-resourced urban schools and neighborhoods has been taken up in a variety of ways in educational research. The correlation between socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity and literacy is well documented, however, this research has mostly been within the context of schools. This work addresses the issue of family engagement and literacy within an out-of-school, neighborhood context. Specifically, in my case study of one Detroit nonprofit, I will be exploring the structures and systems of the organization, including staff development, and how they are used to engage families around literacy programming at distinct hubs located in high-poverty, African American and Latinx neighborhoods across a city.

Author

• Margaret O. Hanna, University of Michigan