Summary

In this chapter, I have reviewed pertinent literature to ground the research questions for my study. I have presented background information on the field of family literacy along with a discussion of highlights from literacy studies contained in the literature. The areas of poverty, literacy and family interactions have been explored from a critical theory perspective. Auerbach's socio-contextual model and Bourdieu's concepts of habitus and cultural capital were highlighted to help me more fully conceptualize my general overarching question regarding literacy practices and perceptions of low-income families, as well as to help situate my three sub-questions:

  1. How do family literacy practices and events unfold in these low-income homes?
  2. How is literacy embedded in families' social practices and relationships between schools and homes?
  3. What conditions and factors within the family contribute to family literacy and the enculturation of children into these practices?

My developing framework accounts for a variety of structural factors that serve as determinants to either impede or promote family literacy. As outlined in this chapter, those who have used deficit-based explanations of literacy pathologize illiteracy as a social ill and fail to account for the structural factors. Proponents of deficit-based explanations also suggest that literacy directly leads to personal and social economic advancement, which I have shown is a gross simplification that fails to account for the many intervening factors.

In the next chapter, I present information to justify my choice of a qualitative research paradigm and a case study design for my study. I introduce the participants, data collection methods and analysis techniques. Finally, I conclude with a discussion on the procedures taken to ensure the trustworthiness of my study.