Early Home Literacy Practices of the Prairie Band Potawatomi People

Abstract

Home experiential differences theory suggest Native American (NA) students face unfamiliar customs when attempting to navigate U.S. public schools, which places them at a disadvantage for academic success compared to their peers. Such disadvantages are evident through their overrepresentation in special education programs, their low performance on grade-level achievement tests, and their considerable high school drop out rates. The theory further suggest if the mismatch between school and home cultures could be alleviated, NA students might then be able to demonstrate their true academic abilities at school. To accomplish this, though, significantly more information needs to be collected on the specific home practices of NA students. As experiences with early literacy have been found to have positive effects on later academic outcomes, it was believed that a look into such practices would be most informative. The purpose of this study, then, was to investigate potential home environmental differences in the area of early literacy for a single tribe of NA students, the Prairie Band Potawatomi. A survey was developed and distributed to primary caretakers of the children that attend Prairie Band Potawatomi’s early childhood center inquiring about the frequency they engage in certain early literacy practices and the cultural relevance of such practices for their families. As mainstream emphasis in early literacy often involves dialogic shared book reading and NA culture historically supports oral storytelling traditions, questions about the significance of these practices were especially emphasized. The results of the study suggest that not only did most respondents report participating in shared book reading and oral storytelling frequently with their children but also supported that characteristics of mainstream book reading were viewed as culturally appropriate. Clinical implications for educators working with this specific tribe are discussed, as well as general directions for future research in this area.