A qualitative study of literacy instruction in one home school setting
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to qualitatively document what occurred during literacy lessons in one home where parents taught their own children. My goal was to understand home-education events from the parents' and children's perspectives, and to determine the literacy beliefs of the parents and how those beliefs affected instruction. Through the theoretical perspective of hermeneutic phenomenology I interpreted the experiences of each family member as they interacted during literacy instruction. Through the constant comparative method, I analyzed the observation, interview, and text data. The unique contribution this study makes is that it describes and helps readers understand literacy instruction as it occurred in one home education setting over an extended period of time. This dissertation represents the limited number of studies involving observations of parents as they teach reading and writing to their children. Overall, my findings indicate that literacy lessons were structured, planned, and organized. Both parents used a variety of sources to make thoughtful decisions about literacy instruction. Describing and interpreting the literacy lessons that took place in the observed home-education setting, I generated three assertions. The first assertion is that the parent-teachers hold beliefs about teaching and learning that influenced the instruction they provided their children. The second assertion is that the parents established foundational themes, based on their religious beliefs, that were woven throughout the curriculum. In this home the three themes that undergirded all instruction included life applications, character qualities, and Bible concepts. The third assertion is that the parents provided individualized instruction for their four children through a combination of literature-based and skills-based curricula. The data suggest that in this one home, the parents provided literacy instruction based on complete, structured plans. The parents had a set of beliefs about teaching and learning that guided the way they taught.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Dillon, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Curricula|Teaching|Literacy|Reading instruction|Religious education
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