ERIC Number: ED639077
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 350
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-3801-8168-6
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Language and Literacy in Out-of-School Contexts: A Case Study of Children from Zomi Refugee Backgrounds
Hillary A. Libnoch
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, The Ohio State University
Oftentimes those within a particular minoritized group (e.g., refugees) are assumed to have had the same language and literacy experiences or to hold the same language- and literacy-related values and beliefs. This fails to consider the variation that exists both across and within these groups. Children from refugee backgrounds attend elementary schools across the country and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, we know very little about the language and literacy experiences of young refugee children in the United States. In order to provide appropriate support to children from refugee backgrounds, it is necessary for educators to understand students' repertoires of cultural practices. Educator knowledge of these repertoires can prevent overgeneralization or oversimplification of refugee children's backgrounds and experiences and can challenge the assumption that the practices in which they engage in their communities are fixed or static. Thus, the aim of the current study was to examine and document the language- and literacy-related practices of a group of children from refugee backgrounds at their church, afterschool program, and homes (in both offline and online spaces). In recognition of the dynamic nature of these practices, I paid particular attention to the ways in which the children's repertoires of practice shifted from first through third grade and again as they navigated changes resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. Consequently, I engaged in an ethnographically-informed case study between 2018 and 2020. Research occurred in two phases. During Phase 1, I engaged in participant observation, conducted staff and family interviews, and collected artifacts (e.g., church programs, photos of the research site). With the onset of coronavirus, I added a second phase of data collection to the study. Due to COVID-19, data in Phase 2 was limited to (a) interviews with children and staff members via phone or Zoom and (b) the collection of artifacts including photos and writing samples created by the children in response to oral prompts presented during interviews. Using repertoires of practice as a lens to examine the data, I engaged in both activity setting analysis and thematic analysis to uncover patterns and themes. Findings indicated that the social organization of focal children's out-of-school activity settings allowed them to participate in a variety of language and literacy practices, including but not limited to reading leveled books (physical and digital) in English; engaging in child-initiated talk in multiple languages around literacy tasks; writing, reading, reciting, and performing Zomi Bible verses; using text and emojis to communicate with peers online; and creating, editing, and sharing online videos. The children's community, family, and individual histories both shaped and were shaped by each of these settings in various ways. Before the pandemic, the children possessed strong cognitive, social, and spiritual foundations likely cultivated by (a) the opportunities they had to build their repertoires of language and literacy practice, (b) the continuity present within and across their out-of-school activity settings, and (c) the spaces they had to socialize around literacy and to establish their identification with Zomi culture. I argue that it was these foundations that ultimately carried them through the pandemic. Not only did children adapt quickly to the abrupt changes forced upon them, but they also exhibited agency and ingenuity in the ways they handled those changes. Adding these findings to the extant literature and to future studies on children's language and literacy can lead to a greater awareness of the complexity of human activity by attending to the fluidity and hybridity of practices that result from both internal (e.g., participant agency) and external (e.g., coronavirus) changes. Additionally, educators can use the current findings to augment their knowledge base on the language and literacy practices of children from refugee backgrounds and use them to promote an asset-based approach to working with refugee communities. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Refugees, Language Usage, Young Children, After School Programs, Churches, Family Environment, Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, COVID-19, Pandemics, Literacy, Coping, Adjustment (to Environment), Experience
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Grade 1; Primary Education; Grade 2; Grade 3
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A