Parents and Teachers Talk about Literacy Success. CIERA Report.

This study examines how parents and teachers in a Central Los Angeles Mexican/Central American immigrant community talk about "successful development" for children. In order to examine how parents and teachers talk about children's academic and social development, the report draws from multiple data sources, such as field notes based on participant observation in homes, classrooms, and community programs; transcriptions of four focus groups with parents; and notes on informal and semi-informal interviews with parents and teachers. The report suggests implications for teachers and researchers working in immigrant populations, such as: teachers will benefit from more specific understanding of families' daily lives; sociocultural studies of literacy can help teachers; and teachers should explore how they can build in their literacy classrooms on the concrete practices in which families engage. (Contains 26 references.) (PM)