In Chapter 5, the final chapter, I articulate my findings, draw some conclusions and suggest implications and recommendations for future research and practice from an interpretation and discussion of the findings. I also highlight the contributions of this study to scholarship in the field of family literacy. Insofar as the thesis displays differences among the low-income families, my results support arguments that class cannot be taken in a simple way to characterize families or children from them. Further, while the families show active uses of literacy and support for children's development, my research supports claims that literate commitments and strengths can be found in poor families.

I show how social structures and policy affect educational practice and how educational issues interact with a range of broad social issues. I promote a view of multiple literacies, the integrity of literacy practices of which the communities are part and the need to challenge power relations in education and the inequalities they generate. The value of thinking critically and knowing how to use language and literacy for improving one's life is described. Finally, in order to provide readers with a structure to ground family literacy programs, I propose a model.

Appendixes follow Chapter 5. They contain copies of items used in this study including consent and assent forms, summary information about the study, the interview guide, questionnaire, and analysis forms.