This dissertation study examines urban and bilingual children's dialogue in the contexts of school and home. First and second graders talked about children's literature in literature circles throughout one academic school year. I was guided by the following main purpose in this qualitative classroom study: What issues of language diversity and culture do first and second grade students discuss in home and school contexts? Data sources connected to the children's dialogue in school included audiotapes, transcripts, response journals, and field notes. All families discussed the literature and three bilingual families consistently audiotaped their home discussions. The findings from this research demonstrate that working class bilingual children and their families do have the resources to construct rich literacy experiences through dialogue related to complex issues of language diversity and culture. Key issues that parents and children discovered to be relevant for discussion in the home and school contexts are: literacy, positionality within society, and resistance to structural inequality. Additionally, this study reveals how the home context ultimately scaffolds the child's native language by acting as a linguistically rich resource for the child. The child draws upon his or her linguistic resources from the home and has linguistic support as he/she enters the primarily English dialogue within small group literature circles in the schooling context. This study demonstrates the significance of drawing upon the home as a resource to support children in their native languages. Additionally, this study examines how one classroom uses children's native languages as a resource.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/280471 |
| Date | January 2003 |
| Creators | Fain, Jeanne G. |
| Contributors | Short, Kathy G. |
| Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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