The Impact of the Funds of Knowledge Approach from Teachers' and Families' perceptions. A Qualitative Study

A large number of studies have demonstrated the benefits of a positive home-school relationships for the development and learning processes of children. In particular, these benefits are more salient in home-school discontinuities situations characterized by a high sociocultural diversity. In this context, the funds of knowledge approach arise as an inclusive approach to facilitate educational contextualization processes and to generate relationships of mutual trust between teachers and families. In the present study, the program has been implemented in a classroom with 3-year-old children, from a public school with a high rate of students with families from abroad, analyzing the perception of the teachers and, for the first time in the available literature, of the participating families. The instruments used for the research were questionnaires, administrated before and after the funds of knowledge approach design and implementation, given to teachers and interviews to family members after the ethnographic visits carried out by teachers. The results show the establishment of stronger relationships between teachers and participant families. In particular, families highlight a greater trust towards teachers, a higher participation in the school and in particular they emphasize the appreciation and recognition of their skills, knowledge, and practices as a positive aspect.