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Dr. Charlene K. Endrizzi Publishes Research Regarding Family-School Literacy Partnerships

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Posted on Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Dr. Charlene Klassen Endrizzi, professor of literacy education at Westminster College, authored a chapter entitled “Photos as Bridges into Hidden Literacy Lives” published in Reclaiming Early Childhood Literacies: Narratives of Hope, Power, and Vision edited by Rick Meyer and Kathy Whitmore.

In her chapter, Klassen Endrizzi outlines her research collaboration with seven Westminster alumni (who were student teachers at the time) and four kindergarten teachers at Campbell Elementary in Campbell, OH during the spring of 2014. The researchers sought to understand the importance of kindergarten children reading out-of-school texts in everyday settings with family members.  They discovered some purposeful literacy moments that naturally occurred between children and family members.

"The families of the kindergarten students shared photos showed them reading fast food menus and shopping mall signage, newspaper comics and cleaning products at home and much more," added Klassen Endrizzi

Klassen Endrizzi continues to research family-school literacy partnerships, as examined in her book about teacher professional development entitled Becoming Teammates: Teachers and Families as Literacy Partners.

“Today teachers realize that families are essential learning partners but struggle to find simple ways to value each child’s literacy funds of knowledge,” said Klassen Endrizzi. “My teacher research with Westminster student teachers, Campbell teachers and fifteen diverse families provides an example of one simple pathway (photos) for bridging the communication gap between teachers and families.”

For more information, contact Tom Fields at fieldste@westminster.edu or 724-946-7190