Continuity and change in home literacy practices of Hispanic families with preschool children

Nancy J. Perry, Sascha Mitchell Kay, Ashley Brown

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

30 Scopus citations

Abstract

The aim of this qualitative study was to examine how Latino immigrant families incorporate schoolbased interactive literacy activities into their existing home literacy practices. Findings revealed that Hispanic parents appropriate school-related literacy activities into their existing repertoire when they believed it would best help their children to succeed academically. At the same time, parents modified school-related literacy activities to reflect their existing cultural beliefs and practices. These complex patterns of adapting school literacy practices into home literacy interactions revealed that Hispanic parents: (a) emphasise pleasure and interactivity in literacy activities; (b) merge supportive and direct instruction scaffolding strategies into home literacy instruction; (c) impart moral messages while engaging in interactive literacy activities with their children; and (d) activate linguistic resources by creating opportunities for bilingual literacy events to occur during school-designed interactive literacy activities.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)99-113
Number of pages15
JournalEarly Child Development and Care
Volume178
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2008

Keywords

  • Early childhood education
  • Family literacy
  • Hispanic families

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Social Psychology
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Pediatrics

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