ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how race, ethnicity, and culture are implicated in family literacy programming; such diversity-related topics have been neglected in much of the research on family literacy. The chapter begins by defining terms and then discusses three conceptual tools—cultural models, funds of knowledge, and antiracist education—that can inform how educators work with families from varied racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic groups. Next, the chapter highlights one practice, storybook reading, that demonstrates cultural variations in families’ literacy practices. The chapter concludes by describing how two programs responded to cultural challenges. Throughout, the authors emphasize the need to respect cultural variations in how families practice literacy, valorize families’ racial/ethnic and cultural identities, and combat oppressive practices that uphold the literacy practices of White, wealthier families as the standard.
