A Qualitative Study of Home-School Literacy Connections Between Korean ELL Families and Their Children's Early Childhood Teachers

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to provide some opportunities to four Korean families of English-language learners (ELLs) and their children's teachers to share their literacy practices and resources in support of children's literacy development. Their shared support was constructed at three abstract levels: home-school relations, cultural bridges, and literacy resources. A constructivist grounded theory-based approach to data generation was employed, using a wide variety of data collection methods, such as questionnaires, interviews, observations, photography, and video recording. Grounded analysis, content analysis, and narrative analysis were performed on the data. The study found that the families and teachers did their best to support their ELL children within their own experiences and beliefs. In addition, the activity of reading a classroom storybook at home could bridge the isolation and separation between their own practices, improving synergy. Lastly, based on the findings, a home-school connections model was proposed.