Funds of knowledge—a conceptual critique

Abstract

The concept of ‘funds of knowledge’ is critically reviewed, tracing a history of the term's changing use since its original conception by Vélez-Ibáñez and Greenberg in the late 1980s, and discussing its relevance in adult literacy and numeracy classrooms. An attempt is made to locate the concept within wider theoretical frameworks, and in particular to relate it to Bourdieu's notion of cultural capital. The article concludes that while the concept of funds of knowledge is powerful in disrupting discourses of deficit, practitioners or researchers who are committed to this approach need to be critically reflexive to avoid imposing their own, however well-intentioned, cultural arbitraries on learners.