Siblings as Mediators of Literacy in Linguistic Minority Communities

Abstract

This paper argues for the need to move beyond the paradigm of parental involvement in reading which presently informs home/school reading programmes for linguistic minority children in the UK. The first part of the paper examines the literature informing the current model showing the marked absence of studies on the role played by siblings as mediators of literacy in a new linguistic and cultural environment. The second part of the paper presents an analysis of reading sessions taking place in a group of Bangladeshi origin families living in London and shows ways in which older siblings provide finely-tuned 'scaffolding' closely adjusted to the reading ability of the individual child. Through a combination of ethnographic and ethnomethodological approaches, a complex syncretism of Qur'anic and school literacy practices is revealed in the interaction between child and older sibling. Finally, a comparison between home and school reading sessions shows how a more detailed knowledge by the teacher of her linguistic minority children's home reading patterns may enable her to build more successfully upon their existing learning strategies.