Navigating Parental Dilemmas in Early Literacy

This book examines how parents navigate early literacy dilemmas through illustrative cases from three culturally and linguistically distinct contexts-English-speaking New Zealand, bilingual Arabic-English UAE, and Mandarin-speaking China-representing challenges faced by families globally.

Qilong Zhang is an Associate Professor of Early Childhood at United Arab Emirates University. Since 1990, he has worked as a teacher educator and researcher in China, New Zealand, and the UAE. His publications include a strong focus on early literacy and parental involvement.

Part I: Conceptual and Theoretical Foundations 1. Understanding Parental Dilemmas in Early Literacy: A Universal Challenge 2. Theoretical Lenses on Early Literacy Part II: Descriptive Practice in Early Literacy 3. Parenting for Early Literacy in an English-Dominant Context 4. Parenting for Early Literacy in an Arabic-English Bilingual Society 5. Parenting for Early Literacy in a Chinese Monolingual Setting Part III: Cross-Contextual Analysis and Implications 6. Shared and Divergent Parental Dilemmas in Early Literacy Across Three Contexts 7. A Contextual Model of Parental Dilemmas in Early Literacy 8. From Description to Prescription - Addressing Parental Dilemmas Through Pragmatising Part IV: Conclusion and Future Directions 9. Looking Back and Looking Ahead