Throughout the English-speaking world, children from bilingual backgrounds are being educated in mainstream classrooms where they have little or no opportunity to use their mother tongue. Second and third generation children, in particular, are assumed to be learning sufficiently through English only. This study investigated how British…

Argues for the need to move beyond the paradigm of parental involvement in children's early literacy through story-reading practice, which presently informs home-school reading programs, to consider a wider framework for family and community involvement. Illustrates the experiences of two children reading with their mother and sister. (Author/VWL)

Examines the contrasting interpretations of reading brought by young children of Bangladeshi origin and their teachers into school. The author questions the universal relevance of western school-oriented models on how reading is learned. Reading programs that are culturally responsive to the varied communities they serve must be designed. (49…