Building Meaningful Partnerships with Families to Promote Early Literacy Development: Implications for Practitioners

Abstract

This research to practice paper summarizes the findings of a study that sought to understand Head Start families’ existing beliefs and practices about early literacy. Guided by the “funds of knowledge†perspective (Moll, Amanti, Neff, & Gonzalez, 1992), this approach views families as resourceful, competent, and essential partners in their child’s learning. Families were asked to complete The Family Literacy Survey, which included Likert scale-items and open-ended questions. The findings found that while families’ valued early literacy learning, they reported few home activities related to children’s specific early literacy skills (i.e., writing the child’s name, learning letter sounds), instead relying on the Head Start program to address the development of these skills. Practical implications are detailed including supporting families’ knowledge of early literacy and building on their existing literacy practices.