CHAPTER 5
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart.
And try to love the questions themselves. Introduction
Research for this thesis was born out of my desire to expand my awareness
about family literacy and make an original contribution to the book of
knowledge in family literacy. In this final chapter, I present an overview
of my
research
followed by an interpretation and discussion of the key findings presented
in Chapter 4. As I write this chapter, I remain committed to seeking
the truth and representing fairly all the voices I heard in my research
while passing no value judgments since as Horsman (1999) reminds me, my own
knowledge is only partial and all knowledge is "shaped by [one's]
own social location and multiple identities" (p. 29).
My choice of title for this dissertation, Voices from the Heart,
and my practice of overlaying the chapter titles and description of each
participant
with a carefully selected quotation containing the word heart was intentionally
done. I took much time and care to select quotations that encapsulate a key
point or theme pertinent to the section or person for which it was intended.
Further, and more important was my reason for the choice of the word heart. I wanted the repetition of this word to serve as a continual reminder that
this study is about individuals who are alive, as represented by the heart.
Additionally, the word heart serves to prompt the reader for the need to
listen to the voices of the participants to access their thoughts and sort
out the experiences they share. As outlined in Chapter 1, heart is viewed
as the seat of all emotions and to understand how the participants' thoughts
contribute to who they are once must be reflective. |