Family, Culture, School, and Community: Reflections on Language and Literacy Development.

A study qualitatively analyzed the recollections of nine women concerning their early language and literacy development as it related to the family, cultural, school, and community experiences and contexts. Subjects were enrolled in a graduate education seminar in language development, ranged in age from 24 to 48 years, and had diverse professional experiences, personal backgrounds, and language backgrounds. The students kept journals reflecting on their personal histories of language and literacy development, particularly from preschool years to the end of adolescence, recalling significant events, situations, and people in their learning and ways in which their learning and language use made a difference in their lives. Inductive schematic analysis of the entries was conducted to discover themes and patterns within and across individual experiences in nine topic areas: family and home; peers/friends; school/teachers; books/literacy; oral/aural traditions and experiences; culture and language(s); community/environment; perceptions of self (characteristics and experiences); and trauma and major life events. Results are summarized in each topic area, and some general conclusions are drawn. Contains 26 references. (MSE) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** Running Head: FAMILY, CULTURE, SCHOOL, AND COMMUNITY kr) tf) Family, Culture, School, and Community: Reflections on Language and Literacy Development Judith C. Lapadat University of Northern British Columbia Paper presented at: American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting Montreal, QC, Canada April, 1999 Judith C. Lapadat Education Program University of Northern BC 3333 University Way Prince George, BC, Canada, V2N 4Z9 ph. (250)960-6667 fax (250)960-5536 e-mail: lapadat@unbc.ca U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) llikThis document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. CI Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. 2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE 1 PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Family, Culture, School, and Community: Reflections on Language and Literacy Development Judith C. Lapadat University of Northern British Columbia Family, Culture, School, and Community 1 Judith C. Lapadat Education Program University of Northern BC 3333 University Way Prince George, BC, Canada V2N 4Z9 The development of language occurs across multiple contexts throughout one's life. However, as of yet, there has been relatively' little research on language development across the lifespan. The purpose of my study was to investigate the ongoing language and literacy development of educated adults as contextualized by their early experiences. I am interested in the stories people tell about their lives, and the ways in which they interpret these stories. In this talk, I will present a portion of the larger study -a qualitative analysis of nine women's written recollections of their early language and literacy development, as rooted in family, cultural, school, and community experiences and contexts. Theoretical framework Constructivists describe knowledge as cognitively and socially constructed by learners, in context (Edwards & Mercer, 1987; Hicks, 1996; Lapadat, 1995; Lemke, 1989). Knowledge construction is mediated by language, and, simultaneously, reciprocally influences language meanings (Bloome & Bailey, 1992; Giles & Coup land, 1991, Mercer, 1993). This viewpoint assumes diversity of participants, content, processes, and outcomes (Delpit, 1990; Lapadat, 1997). The views and interpretations of research participants, the teachers and learners themselves, are seen as essential to understanding the nature of knowledge and learning processes (Eisner, 1999; ICirsch, 1993). Yet much of the basic theoretical work of tracing language and literacy