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ETD Abstract Container

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An Investigation into the Funds of Knowledge of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse U.S. Elementary Students' Households

Kinney, Angela
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1393235629

Abstract Details

, EdD, University of Cincinnati, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Literacy and Second Language Studies.
This study focused on household funds of knowledge or "historically accumulated bodies of knowledge and skills essential for household functioning and well-being" (Gonzalez, Andrade, Civil, & Moll, 2001). A Funds of Knowledge approach provides both a methodological and theoretical lens for educators, and those who work to prepare them, to understand both themselves and their students in more complex ways. Participants included five culturally, economically, and linguistically diverse students and their families. The study setting was a middle- and working-class first-ring suburb in the Midwestern United States. Data collection included visits to home, church, and Sunday school settings; observations in Language Arts classroom settings; and informal conversations and ethnographic semi-structured interviews with students, parents, and teachers. Data sources included interview transcripts; fieldnotes and reflections on those fieldnotes; and data collected from each student's school cumulative folder. I coded parent and child interview and home visit data to create a multifaceted portrait of each household. Additionally, I analyzed the classroom observations, cumulative folder data, and teacher interviews to gain a sense of the child as a student; the type of language and literacy instruction taking place in the school; and the perspectives of the teacher toward working with a diverse population. Findings reveal that households possess a breadth and variety of resources, skills, bodies of knowledge, and strengths. This study explores ways of integrating these local resources with academic content. Further, these findings provide compelling counterevidence to deficit discourses by demonstrating that these households possess valuable knowledge and experiences.This study focused on household funds of knowledge or "historically accumulated bodies of knowledge and skills essential for household functioning and well-being" (Gonzalez, Andrade, Civil, & Moll, 2001). A Funds of Knowledge approach provides both a methodological and theoretical lens for educators, and those who work to prepare them, to understand both themselves and their students in more complex ways. Participants included five culturally, economically, and linguistically diverse students and their families. The study setting was a middle- and working-class first-ring suburb in the Midwestern United States. Data collection included visits to home, church, and Sunday school settings; observations in Language Arts classroom settings; and informal conversations and ethnographic semi-structured interviews with students, parents, and teachers. Data sources included interview transcripts; fieldnotes and reflections on those fieldnotes; and data collected from each student's school cumulative folder. I coded parent and child interview and home visit data to create a multifaceted portrait of each household. Additionally, I analyzed the classroom observations, cumulative folder data, and teacher interviews to gain a sense of the child as a student; the type of language and literacy instruction taking place in the school; and the perspectives of the teacher toward working with a diverse population. Findings reveal that households possess a breadth and variety of resources, skills, bodies of knowledge, and strengths. This study explores ways of integrating these local resources with academic content. Further, these findings provide compelling counterevidence to deficit discourses by demonstrating that these households possess valuable knowledge and experiences.
Susan Watts Taffe, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Jory Brass, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Connie Kendall, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Chester Laine, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Education
linguistics; linguistic diversity; Funds of Knowledge; midwestern cultivators; linguistic resources; linguistically diverse students; culturally diverse students; sociocultural language and literacy scholars

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Kinney, A. (2013). An Investigation into the Funds of Knowledge of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse U.S. Elementary Students' Households [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1393235629

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Kinney, Angela. An Investigation into the Funds of Knowledge of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse U.S. Elementary Students' Households. 2013. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1393235629.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Kinney, Angela. "An Investigation into the Funds of Knowledge of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse U.S. Elementary Students' Households." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1393235629

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1393235629
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© 2013, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.