Keep Your Head Up: An Examination of Out-Of-School Literacy Practices in an Intergenerational Family System

The asset-based qualitative study used a phenomenological approach within a Community Cultural Wealth framework to question the practices of an intergenerational family system in the Southeastern United States. The study investigated the family system’s out-of-school literacy practices and the exposure to culturally relevant literature. The study revealed that an elder who actively participated in rearing school-aged children intentionally introduced culturally relevant literature. Similarly, the study revealed that the primary caregivers did engage their school-aged children in conversations related to social justice and introduced them to culturally relevant texts. However, a child's inquiry into the topic initiated primary caregivers’ introduction to culturally relevant literature. Lastly, the study revealed that discussions and demonstrated advocacy were the preferred methods of transmitting CCW capitals, but literature was not.