Funds of Knowledge: Early Learning in Burmese Families

The purpose of this study was to explore the funds of knowledge of two Burmese families and how this knowledge might foster their children’s learning in the United States. The data used to inform this article included field notes based on observations, artifacts, and interviews with the parents and children of the families. The findings of this study revealed the following four types of funds of knowledge that were shared by these two families: cooking Burmese food, gardening, religious literacy practices, and literacy practices that support the maintenance of the home language. The findings also indicated that these types of funds of knowledge contributed to the children’s vocabulary growth and their exploration of scientific knowledge and facilitated their multilingual development. The findings suggest that the funds of knowledge of refugee children should be valued, shared, and incorporated into classrooms in multiple ways. This study also calls for ongoing research to explore the funds of knowledge of refugee children.