There is limited research concerning literacy practices of Syrian and Burmese refugee students and their families in the U.S. To help address this gap, drawing upon New Literacy Studies, this qualitative study explores the social literacy practices of Syrian and Burmese refugee families and how these practices are situated in wider cultural…

Little research has examined young children's reading preference by text type. We examined 37 children reading, evaluated their reading experience, and surveyed parents for at-home reading practices and parent predictions of their child's text preference. Framed by social learning theory using a multiple-case study research design, data analysis…

This article reports a study that explored young children's digital literacy in the home. The aim of the study was to identify the range of digital literacy practices in which children are engaged in the home and to explore how these are embedded into family life and involve family members. Four children, two girls and two boys aged between 2 and…

Families moving to new settings mix and blend languages as they are influenced and shaped by their new social contexts and the languages around them. This unique phenomenon has been described as language contact or linguistic transformation (Fishman, 2001; García, 2009). Little research, however, has been conducted related to the dynamic languages…

This article examines the digital storytelling practices between an African American mother and son. We used agency as a theoretical framework to explore how the two exercised their own power to collaborate on their digital story. As digital technologies became part of their practice, challenges and tensions arose when both participants attempted…

Drawing on sociocultural theories of language and literacy practice and Curdt-Christiansen's theoretical framework of family language policy (FLP), this multiple case study investigates the perceptions, practices, and challenges regarding heritage language maintenance (HLM) of Chinese immigrant families in a mid-sized Midwestern American city. The…

This is a qualitative case study that explores conversational interactions during book-reading practices in a Mandarin-speaking Chinese American family between the mother and her two young children. The study employs a sociocultural lens and the concept of translanguaging to describe the characteristics of interactional practices during book…

In the past, physical barriers such as geography and distance limited global communication. In this paper, we explore how young children in immigrant families engage in transnational literacy practices. Specifically, we explore the transnational funds of knowledge that result from those experiences. This three-year longitudinal collective case…

Mobile technology is now ubiquitous in families' lives and, as such, provides fertile ground for organic technology learning embedded within everyday home practices, like oral storytelling. This article explores the experiences of three Latinx women participating in a family digital storytelling program held at an East Los Angeles Head Start…

This study examines the effects of family involvement on the literacy gap between rural and urban Chinese primary students via mediation analysis. Altogether, 1080 students in Grades 1, 3, and 5 were randomly sampled from three urban and three rural primary schools from Shandong and Guizhou Provinces, representing eastern and western China,…

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…

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…

Home literacy practices are extremely important in developing early language and literacy skills. Children from lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds may be at risk, not because their family literacy practices are inferior, but because their culturally defined literacy practices may not be consistent with school literacy expectations. To…

Briya Public Charter School is a free family literacy program in Washington, D.C. Adults study English, digital literacy, and parenting, while children receive a high-quality early education. Briya integrates the educational experiences of parents and children, building on families' strengths to help improve their educational, economic, and social…

Previous research on digital storytelling (DST) has focused chiefly on children and youth, but we know little about how it is used in non-formal adult education. This article analyzes a DST class in rural Ireland, which was organized by a family literacy program and offered for parents at an elementary school. Data sources included fieldnotes,…