The knowledge and experiences that children bring to school is a function of what they have learned at home and is a key element for successful literacy. Purcell–Gates and Dahl (1991) show how children who begin school with higher levels of emergent literacy knowledge, the literacy behaviours that typically develop in the early years of a child's life, have an advantage over those with less developed vocabulary or limited awareness of print and literacy concepts. As would be expected, those with higher emergent literacy have a better understanding of the purposes of reading and experience greater success at learning to read and write in school. Purcell–Gates (1996) later added that not only the frequency of the literacy events, but their complexity will predict the level of emergent literacy knowledge in children.

This study has shown how literacy as a socially constructed concept may be defined in various ways, depending on the expectations and attitudes of the particular interest group involved. It should also be noted that many people still erroneously tend to focus on what they label as the "literacy problem", seeking to understand this "problem" relationship among literacy, education, employment and culture; and the differences between those with low and high levels of literacy in their community.

It is imperative that educators and policy makers address the notion of literacy in ways that will reflect an understanding of the word literacy in its broadest sense to include multiple literacies, which are socially situated. Future research would be important for building on the findings from this study, to refine the power notions in the bureaucracy of the school and the greater society and to connect parental attitudes and child behaviours. Researchers and teachers should work collaboratively to better understand the complex nature of family literacy in low–income homes.