Finding and using students' funds of knowledge and identity in superdiverse primary schools: a collaborative action research project

Sociocultural diversity in classrooms can result in inequality, when discontinuities between school and home make children perform below their abilities. Funds of knowledge/identity theory makes a plea for building on the skills and knowledge that students acquire in their families, communities and peer groups, and that may not be recognised by teachers, when they are from different sociocultural backgrounds to their students. In a collaborative action research project the authors investigated how primary school teachers can use students' funds of knowledge/identity (FoK/I) in their superdiverse classrooms. Data were collected through pre-structured logbooks, teacher interviews and focus groups. The analyses result in a framework that suggests ways to find students' FoK, and that categorises FoK/I-related teaching practices along two dimensions: (1) individual students' resources vs. collective resources; and (2) scope of the teaching activities. The authors also identify sources of FoK/I and discuss the pedagogical competences teachers need to integrate FoK/I into their teaching.