In Chapter 2 that follows, I offer a review of pertinent literature regarding literacy in low-income homes and family interactions to provide background on the historical, political, social and economic issues that affect literacy. I show how family literacy has arisen as a hybrid theme in educational research and discourse over the last two decades, melding concerns with adult literacy with children's emergent literacy and early school reading and writing. In viewing literacy as a social practice, there is an emphasis on understanding schools as a mechanism for producing social inequality.

I highlight key studies in the literature on family literacy. Some emphasize the importance of literacy in the home for literacy development, often finding fault with lower class families in not assuming school literacy as a standard. Others emphasize the dedication and commitment of lower income families by engaging in activities to support their children's schooling success. However, their activities may not be mainstream. These approaches to family literacy then compensate for the deficit or build upon parents' and household literacy practices to support their children's literacy development.

Other strands of research focus on parents' use and sense of agency with literacy. This type of research views parents as important models for guiding their children. Program strategies focus on strengthening the literacy abilities and uses people have already as resources in their lives, while assuming the coherence of children's literacy development with parental orientations to reading and writing.