Conclusion

Some educational researchers criticize social reproduction theories for being too mechanistic and unable to capture the complexities of life. However, researchers have not found a fitting alternative; they continue to grapple over how to carve out a theoretical perspective that is in line with family literacy. The preceding discussion highlights the difficulty of applying a model to family literacy that looks at socio-contextual factors since one must get into the homes and hearts of those being studied to understand the complexities of their lives and the difficulties they face before being able to help them effectively. Thus, I recognize the value in using a critical theory perspective for studying family literacy in low-income homes. Its emancipatory ethic and method allows for silenced voices to be heard and not only recognizes but acknowledges and addresses the power differential in human relations. Critical self-reflexivity is promoted as a means to help open the world of possibility to the disempowered, and may result in empowerment.

Following my explorations of the sociocultural context, power, the formation of individual identity as they relate to family literacy, and choosing culturally relevant pedagogy, I have located a gap in the literature around critical social theory as a foundation for learning and acquiring literacy. In learning about literacy, one must determine the social positions that are both challenged and held as individuals learn relationships with their social world. This has led me to move toward developing a framework for situating my research questions which I will present in the next section. My model is emergent and subject to further refinement and revision as my inquiry and understanding progress. The revised model appears in here in Chapter 5.