“Somos fieles creyentes”: children’s construction of spiritual and literate identities at home

Abstract

Purpose

Set in a Mexican-American community of a US Gulf Coast state, the purpose of this paper was to describe how three young siblings and their family members constructed their spiritual, ethnic and communicative identities within the context of a virtual family literacy program during COVID-19.

Design/methodology/approach

This project was approached as an illustrative case study that focused on one family’s engagement with a children’s book in which the protagonists retell the legend of the Catholic patroness of the Americas, Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Findings

The case study illustrates how the children's spiritual/religious identities were inseparably intertwined with their home literacy practices and their identities as communicators with others. The children’s everyday spiritual/religious practices, routines and activities motivated familial conversations and dialogue that engage and support children’s literacy development.

Originality/value

Although there is a large corpus of scholarship about secular early literacy program for families with preschool children, there are few that describe the recognition and inclusion of families’ spiritual/religious identities.

Citation

Dávila, D. (2022), "“Somos fieles creyentes”: children’s construction of spiritual and literate identities at home", English Teaching: Practice & Critique, Vol. 21 No. 3, pp. 238-253. https://doi.org/10.1108/ETPC-09-2021-0124