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…

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…

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 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,…

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…

School districts often find it challenging to teach strategies and skills in literacy development to the parents of the students they serve. These challenges underscore the importance that parents understand the research-based strategies teachers use to assist their children at home with literacy development. In order to support parents'…

This study examined how parents' own learning affected their support for their children in a school-based Family Literacy Programme. Seventy-two children in junior kindergarten (4-year-olds) and senior kindergarten (5-year-olds) and their parents participated in the programme; complete data were available for 52 parents. Comparisons of pre- and…

The purpose of this case study was to investigate the home literacy practices of parents who take on dual roles as both teachers of literacy to their children and students in General Education Development (GED[R]) programs. We interviewed 12 GED teacher-student parents to explore how literacy practices within the home environment affected both the…

Accounts of fathers' reluctance to engage with locally based family learning groups rarely acknowledge the relationship between learning and identity. This tends not to be the case in parallel accounts of women's reluctance to become involved in groups or networks where the mainstream clientele is male. Drawing on the case study of a national…