ABSTRACT
Fundamental to any discussion of family literacy and culture are two interpretive issues. The first concerns what we mean by family literacy. Are we referring to parent-child learning, with a specific focus on the development of reading and writing abilities and the transfer of knowledge from parent to child? Are we referring to reciprocal relationships in which a first-generation immigrant child assumes the responsibility of responding to family matters requiring reading and writing and serves as an interpreter for the parents? Are we referring to adults who are learning to read and write at the same time that their children are learning to read and write? Are we referring to literacy as a core of reading, writing, and problemsolving activities and abilities that draw from the social, cultural, and contextual experiences, knowledge, and histories of learners? These are questions with which the field continues to grapple. The second issue questions what we mean by culture and builds on descriptions and understandings of culture and cultural difference in relation to race and as amore encompassing concept. Discussions about culture, in both private and public spaces, can evoke either deep interest or profound discomfort, or, in some cases, both reactions. This chapter considers these two interpretative issues within the context of family literacy and cultural studies research, practice, and the broader notion of inquiry.
