Multiliteracies in Rural Schools:

Abstract

Multiliteracies is a paradigm for language and literacy, in which all languages and literacies are valuable, meaningful, and serve a purpose in meeting the needs of the learner within their social contexts. Multiliteracies are enacted and negotiated through different languages, technologies, and modalities and are represented in homes and communities of English Learners (ELs) or emergent bilinguals (EBs), representing their bi- or multilingual identities. Within rural communities, these family multiliteracies differ from the predominantly English-monolingual contexts found within schools, but have the potential to reshape rural educators’ conceptions of literacies. Redefining literacy holds significance in rural communities where resources, including highly qualified teachers, are often scarce or distant. Employing a collective-case study, our study explores the family-based literacy practices of 20 EB families from two rural Midwestern communities. Findings demonstrate that family’s home literacies are associated with complex multilingual and multimodal practices.