Abstract

This is a qualitative study of the literacy practices of eight families who live in San Andrés and San Pedro, Cholula, México. The study looked at how fathers´ literacy experiences affect their attitudes toward the own children´s literacy, and how the fathers´ attitudes affect their children´s literacy development. It also looked at the extent to which fathers in the research community engage in literacy practices with their children. Whether or not the families provide a "reading environment" in the home was assessed, based on two criteria: (1) a variety of reading material in the home, and (2) a home where at least one parent reads regularly for pleasure.

All fathers who participated in the study want their children to have the benefits of learning to read and write, whether or not they themselves had positive experiences while learning to read and write. The fathers do not want their children to have negative experiences, but they do want them to receive the benefits that one derives from being literate. It was found that they are aware of the benefits of spending time with their children in literacy activities, despite popular beliefs to the contrary. It was also shown that there is a range of awareness among the participant families as to the importance of encouraging their children to read regularly, not only by making reading materials available, but also by their own example of reading for pleasure. Although the parents see helping with schoolwork as important, they have different degrees of involvement with this activity. Some of the families reported that the main literacy activity in their homes is homework. It was also been shown that fathers and mothers are willing to share the responsibility of helping their children learn to read and write.

Some of the implications include the need for teachers to be aware that children are influenced by how their parents view reading, and that since not all students are encouraged to read by their parents, teachers need to be aware of the importance of encouraging students to read for pleasure. Also, parents possess untapped Funds of Knowledge that the schools should take advantage of.

Full document (archivo pdf, 1.4 mb)

Table of content

Chapter 1. Introduction and Literature Review

Chapter 2. Setting and Participants

Chapter 3. Data Collection and Analysis

Chapter 4. Results

Chapter 5. Discussion and Conclusion

References

Appendix A. Letter to Families

Appendix B. Linguistic Census

Appendix C. Letter to Families

Appendix D. Questionnaire for parents and children

Appendix E. Case Study Student Interview

Appendix F. Literacy Inventory

Appendix G. Structured In-depth Interview

Appendix H. Permission Letter

Full document (archivo pdf, 1.4 mb)

Vance, C. 2005. Literacy practices of Mexican fathers and this influences the literacy acquistion of their children. Tesis Maestría. Lingüística Aplicada. Departamento de Lenguas, Escuela de Artes y Humanidades, Universidad de las Américas Puebla. Octubre. Derechos Reservados © 2005.