A Look at Home Literacy Experiences and Parental Support: A Case Study

The action research study is a case study looking to identify the home literacy practices that encourage parent involvement and best support the literacy development of a kindergarten student. Children require a literacy-rich home environment where a parent’s involvement engages the child in meaningful literacy events. Through seven home visits where the mother and child were observed during literacy-based interactions, it was found that parent involvement and the strategies employed at home effect literacy development. Teachers and schools need to break the barriers in place which make it difficult to support parents. There should be a focus on how to get resources, materials, and strategies into parents’ hands so they can better support their child’s learning from the home.