The influence of a progressing reader on his non reading family : an ethnographic study

Abstract

Initially the inquirer of this study was the tutor for the child in this family. During the course of the tutoring, the inquirer realized that the child's family members were all professed non readers. As the child she tutored became a reader the inquirer began to study the family in order to investigate the progressing reader's influence on his non-reading family members. The inquirer intervened in order to provide literacy facilitation for the family members. This study was conducted following the guidelines of naturalistic inquiry. The findings were recorded and working hypotheses were created from the findings in order to explain the influences of the child on his family. The progressing reading ability of the child influenced the family members in many ways. The print in the home environment increased as the child grew in reading ability. The family also began to engage in various literacy activities. Furthermore, the literacy related emotional/motivational climate of the home became more positively directed as the child progressed as a reader.