This study aims to examine family video game literacy practices and parental perspectives on incorporating video games into elementary classroom literacy instruction to explore the relationship between children’s out-of-school digital literacies and traditional school-based literacy practices.
A qualitative case study was conducted with 33 K-5 students and 15 parents from a Midwestern elementary lab school during a unit on video games. Data were collected through student artifacts, parent surveys, interviews and observations. Qualitative thematic analysis was used to identify patterns related to family gaming practices and parental perspectives.
Video games serve as shared texts between children and family members, creating meaningful intergenerational literacy experiences that bridge home and school contexts. Children positioned themselves as experts during family interactions, disrupting traditional educational power dynamics and demonstrating literacy skills through video game strategy guide creation and gameplay instructions. Parents’ perspectives evolved from initial surprise and concern about treating games as texts to recognizing their literacy value and noted increased communication about school activities. Parental support increased when games were framed as legitimate literacy texts within intentional instruction.
This research challenges assumptions about parental resistance to video games in school and contributes to the limited literature on how video games and gaming can function as family literacy practices. The study demonstrates that educators can use video games as effective bridges between home and school literacy practices, contributing to an expanding understanding of what constitutes legitimate family literacy engagement in digital contexts.
