Date of Award

8-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Executive Leadership

First Supervisor

Dr. Arlene Hogan

Second Supervisor

Dr. Amy Cermele

Abstract

Latino children often enter kindergarten with uneven access to early literacy experiences, and families play a central role in their early learning. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of Latino families who participated in bilingual early literacy library programs with their young children (ages 0–5) in a public library system in a major metropolitan area in a northeastern state. Eight Latino parents and caregivers completed semi-structured interviews, conducted in English or Spanish, that were analyzed through bracketing, horizontalization, and the development of textural and structural descriptions and a synthesized essence. Analysis produced six themes across the three research questions. Families described the library as a free, trusted, and culturally and linguistically affirming family resource; they carried interactive reading, everyday literacy, and home language practices into their homes and grew in confidence; and they defined success as their children’s observable literacy growth, readiness for school, and a shared process of family learning in which they saw themselves as their children’s first teachers. The essence of the experience was the public library becoming a trusted extension of the home, with families moving from access, to belonging, to a growing sense of agency. The findings inform recommendations for libraries, early childhood programs, and educational leaders seeking to strengthen culturally responsive family engagement and to address barriers of scheduling, awareness, and uneven resources.

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