“We Keep the Education Goin’ at Home All the Time”: Family Literacy in Low-Income African American Families of Preschoolers

ABSTRACT

Researchers have examined the impact of family on child literacy among low-income African American families and preschoolers considered to be at risk for not being ready for kindergarten. Quantitative studies identify family-parental variables associated with poorer literacy outcomes, whereas qualitative studies detail family practices that promote child literacy development. Addressing the limitations of social address variables in quantitative research, and the paucity of research on preschoolers in qualitative research, this study examines the home-based literacy practices of 20 low-income, African American families with preschoolers in Head Start transitioning to kindergarten. Using qualitative interviews informed by a resilience framework, we found that home-based literacy activities were carried out within teams of diverse kin who worked together to promote children's school readiness. Family literacy teams expanded the literacy resources available to preschoolers, providing a rich literacy environment for children's development. These findings contribute to our substantive understanding of literacy practices within low-income African American families, resilience theory, and culturally relevant home-school collaborations.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Hatch project 793-357 [accession number: 1007545]. Megan-Brette Hamiliton assisted with bibliographic searches and literature reviews, and preliminary analyses. Maria Greaves-Safadi Barnes assisted with data collection. Kimberly Crossman and Aisha Griffith assisted with transcribing. Lenese Clark, Jazmin Landa, Theola Maxon, Judine Sabal, Sally Trann, and other members of the Ethnographic Research Lab team in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at UIUC, also contributed to the research project. We gratefully acknowledge the enthusiastic involvement of our participants and the Mariette Myers Preschool, who made this study possible.

Notes

¹ Pseudonym for Head Start program.

² Pseudonym for neighborhood.