There has been a consensus in research and practices that social and cultural aspects of lives contribute to literacy development, particularly in second language learning. The conception of literacy has been shifting from the lens of formal literacy learning in school settings into broader opportunities in sociocultural contexts, and some may…

Given the need to enhance the academic language and early literacy skills of young children from low-income homes and the importance of the home literacy environment in supporting children's development, the purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand the home literacy environment of low-income African-American and Latino mothers of…

The authors examined whether different measures of print exposure assess the same underlying concept and how these different measures relate to vocabulary breadth and depth. One hundred forty-seven students attending the third year of kindergarten in Jining, China, were assessed on nonverbal IQ, vocabulary breadth and depth, and their knowledge of…

The influence of a role model is critical to the motivation in teaching and learning English and the teacher's identity. This paper explores the factors that influence the teacher identity and beliefs and values of an English teacher who was actively engaged in teaching and was considered a powerful and energetic role model until her death at the…

This study investigates the learning and work of a community of practice that engaged in a specific inquiry around family/community literacy and the development of a culture of caring that would connect family/community/school literacies in ways that allowed their mostly Latino/a students to develop positive student identities, enhanced personal…

While existing research documents the effectiveness of summer reading programs, little is know about how and to what degree children actually read the books that are sent home or how families engage with these texts. We took this opportunity to dive in and explore what happened when books were sent home to low-income, culturally diverse families.…

Family literacy initiatives are historically rooted in positivism. In relationship to family literacy, the positivist paradigm is dangerous, as it strips the participants of power and removes their opportunities for voice. In response, a socially just approach to family literacy intervention is offered here. This approach embraces the context of…

This paper explores the changing roles of families in children's developing literacy in the UK in the last century. It discusses how, during this time, understandings of reading and writing have evolved into the more nuanced notion of "literacy." Further, in acknowledging changes in written communication practices, and shifting attitudes…

We examined the cross-lagged relations between the home literacy environment and literacy skills in Japanese, and whether child's gender, parents' education and child's level of literacy performance moderate the relations. One hundred forty-two Japanese children were followed from Grades 1 to 2 and assessed on character knowledge, reading fluency…

This study employs the Specificity Principle to examine the relative impacts of external (input quantity at home and at school, number of books and reading frequency at home, teachers' degree and experience, language usage, socioeconomic status) and internal factors (children's working memory, nonverbal intelligence, learning-related…

The focus of this article is on how translanguaging, which is defined as a language practice that transcends formal language boundaries, was used as a linguistic tool and resource for expressing thoughts, emotions, and understandings of and around English and Spanish texts. Focusing on translanguaging as a medium for learning, the authors begin…

Partnerships are dynamic, negotiated spaces encompassing community organizations and interprofessionals. Partnerships support young children and families as they transition from home to school. Interprofessionals create a culture for learning and accessible resources. Early childhood centers, public health and libraries develop collaborative…

The purpose of this study was to explore the ways emergent bilingual first-graders draw on multiple linguistic resources during reading assessments and the participation of their Spanish-dominant parents in those assessments, as children engaged in English and Spanish retelling tasks. Informed by a translanguaging lens, sociopsycholinguistic and…

Home language (HL) effects on academic language literacy have been extensively discussed. However, previous research has mostly focused on Indo--European languages. This study extends the literature by using data (n = 17,600) collected in a diversified language area: Guangxi, China. We examined the effects of four HLs and four socioeconomic…

Initiatives to integrate technology in schools are continuously increasing, with efforts to bridge the "homework gap" and provide technology access in low-income households. However, it is critical to include nondominant parents in technology adoption decisions in order to avoid mirroring past patterns of inequality in home-school…