A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Section 3: Family Literacy Practices

Delgado-Gaitan, C. (1990). Literacy for empowerment: The role of parents in children's education. London: Falmer Press.
This ethnographic study describes a Mexican Spanish-speaking community in the United States and is intended for both researchers and school personnel. The main research questions address how parents assist their children in the education process, and how parents socialize each other in dealing with the school. As part of the study, the author followed 20 families with children participating in second- and third-grade. To understand how parents helped their children, the ethnography focused on the literacy practices in the classroom and the home. The author also focused on parent involvement and attended school events such as parent meetings, parent training workshops, and informal interactions between families and school personnel. The book concludes by discussing theoretical, practical and policy implications

Delgado-Gaitan, C. (1996). Protean literacy: Extending the discourse on empowerment. London: Falmer Press.
This book focuses on a discussion of empowerment related to the author's earlier ethnography (Delgado-Gaitan, 1990). Emphasis is placed on the researcher's role of facilitator and advocate in helping families participate in the school community. Using critical ethnographic techniques, Delgado-Gaitan helped parents to establish COPLA (Comite de Padres Latinos), an organization to empower parents by representing their interests with the school system. Because of the concern with reading underachievement of Spanish-speaking children, one activity initiated by COPLA was the Family Literacy Project. This project intended to have children read at home with their parents and have the family report to the teacher in order to monitor literacy performance. Delgado-Gaitan argues that families were not empowered in their children's education with the Family Literacy Project. She suggests that claiming "cultural space and political voice and utopian visions" through activities like those conducted by COPLA are not enough to counter inequalities embedded in political and economic structures, although these activities offer potential for transformation.

Heath, S. B. (1983). Ways with words. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
This book reports on an ethnographic study of the language of children in communities in North Carolina. The two communities, "Roadville," a white working class community of textile mill workers, and "Trackton," a black working class community of older farmers and younger textile mill workers, are only a few miles apart. Heath also investigates a third group of individuals and calls them townspeople. Townspeople are middle class individuals who live in "Trackton" and "Roadville." There are deep cultural differences among the groups of people in the communities. Heath describes how these cultural differences affect language and literacy patterns (or "ways with words"). This book serves as an excellent background for people working with children from different cultures.

Purcell-Gates, V. (1995). Other people's words: The cycle of low literacy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
The author presents a case-study of a family dealing with the consequences of low literacy. A young urban Appalachian mother concerned with her inability to read to her second grade child joins a university-based literacy center designed for children. Purcell-Gates follows this family for a 2-year period as mother and son learn to read and write together. She describes the progress the pair makes toward literacy and their eventual success in the context of social, cultural, and cognitive factors, all of which must be taken into account when understanding the learning process of individuals.

Taylor, D. (1983). Family literacy: Young children learning to read and write. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
In this book, Taylor follows over 3 years six middle-class families that each have a successful reader. This ethnographic work provides insight into the ways in which children successfully learn to read and write through their participation in the everyday experiences of family life. The last chapter of the book explains the importance of using ethnographic methodology in the study of child literacy outcomes.

Taylor, D., & Dorsey-Gaines, C. (1988). Growing up literate: Learning from inner-city families. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
In Taylor's second book, she and Dorsey-Gaines follow four inner-city African-American families. In this qualitative study, the reader learns that children from these families can be successful readers, even in the face of overwhelming poverty and unfortunate circumstances. Like the middle-class families Taylor studied previously, these families provided literacy experiences for their children in their everyday lives. However, they are distinguished from the middle-class families in that they often used literacy activities as a means to an end (e.g., applications for food stamps, AFDC, WIC, and student financial aid forms). The authors of the book recommend their work for educators, researchers, and policymakers.

Voss, M. M. (1996). Hidden literacies: Children learning at home and at school. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Voss reports on a year spent systematically observing and talking with a group of children in their home and school settings. In the role of participant-observer, she used field notes and audiotape recordings to collect samples of children's writing and reading. In the process, she shares with the children's parents and teachers her observations and consequently gains information not typically available to other educators. Using this information, she discusses a number of basic questions related to children's literacy. Throughout her study, she shows that although words are important, there are other forms of literacy (e.g., cultural and media literacy) and these need to be taken into account in teaching children. One of the most important topics she addresses is how schools and parents can work together for the sake of their children's learning.

Section 2: Family Literacy Program Studies

Section 4: Program Descriptions