Analyzing Epistemological Considerations Related to Diversity: An Integrative Critical Literature Review of Family Literacy Scholarship

Abstract

The purpose of this review of family literacy scholarship was to examine the epistemologies underlying both family studies and reviews of family literacy studies. We were especially concerned with those epistemological issues related to the cultural, class, racial, gender, ethnic, and linguistic diversity of people served by family literacy programs. Our rationale for focusing on epistemology and diversity was that research on family literacy has often been framed in ways reflective of epistemological views of diversity, including such binaries as ‘strengths and deficits,’ ‘literate and illiterate,’ and ‘home‐school match and mismatch,’ among others. We searched major electronic databases for reviews of family literacy research and then employed bibliographic branching to identify other reviews yielding 273 reviews of which 213 were substantive. We subjected the 213 substantive reviews to an analytic review template to identify the degree to which diversity was addressed and how it was addressed. We conducted citation coding to identify major citations in each review. We then identified a set of comprehensive edited volumes and subjected the introductions, tables of contents, list of contributors, and references to diversity to a critical discourse analysis emphasizing underlying epistemologies. Findings included the dominance of White women scholars in family literacy research, the incorporation of both modernist and postmodernist epistemologies, and the absence of substantive concern with diversity in a majority of family literacy studies. Findings also showed that more recent reviews were less focused on modernist visions of family literacy as a means to address social problems and more focused on relationships between home and school literacies and the diversity of literacy practices found in homes. In addition, we found that recent reviews showed an increased focus on international and transnational contexts as well as literacy within specific local communities. We discuss these findings as reflecting the complex and diverse environments in which family literacy takes place with their multiple goals. We also discuss the importance of making underlying epistemological assumptions visible so that complexities and contradictions can be acknowledged and addressed.

A Study of Home Emergent Literacy Experiences of Young Latino English Learners

“…In a recent meta-analytic study Compton-Lilly et al (2012) reviewed 213 substantive studies on family literacy practices. They found that much of the family literacy scholarship was framed in terms of strengths and deficits of families.…”

“…Compton-Lilly et al (2012) concluded that it is crucial for family literacy practitioners, schools, and educators to be aware of the funds of knowledge brought into the school by children and families. The researchers argue that it is critical that school and family literacy practitioners build on the rich diverse literacy practices brought into the classroom.…”

“…The disparity between teachers' expectations and Latino ELs is often interpreted through the lens of a deficiency and remediation, failing to realize the diversity of experiences and capitalize on inherent strengths (e.g. Compton-Lilly et al 2012). This empirical study explores the diversity of home literacy experiences of young Latino EL children entering kindergarten and the relationship between those early experiences and subsequent school achievement.…”

Culture at the core : the impact of culturally relevant professional learning on teacher beliefs and practice : a collection of scholarly papers.

“…This might include grandparents, aunts, uncles, older siblings, step and/or foster families. "Family literacy" must be as a diverse as the families of America, thus must include more than mothers and children (Compton-Lilly, Rogers, & Lewis, 2012).…”

“…Critical Literacy Theory does not accuse teachers of consciously dooming their students to failure; however it suggests that educators recognize how minority and impoverished populations have historically been placed at a disadvantage (Compton-Lilly et al, 2012;Morrow & Tracey, 2012) and contends that those systems of inequality have fundamentally shaped the nature of our society, including our schools (Auerbach, 1989;Morrow & Tracey, 2012). According to Freire, education is never neutral; it either liberates or domesticates .…”