Family Literacy Programs Research Articles

Family literacy programmes in South Africa: Should we take note?

Background: South Africa has one of the lowest-performing education systems in the world. By the fourth grade, many learners are already 2 or more years behind their peers, especially in mathematics and literacy. Family literacy programmes as a form of home-school partnership are often proposed as an early intervention to support early literacy learning. Family literacy programmes remain a new concept in South Africa and little formal research has been undertaken on the nature, availability and implications of such programmes in this country. Aim: The aim of this article is to investigate family literacy programmes currently running in South Africa by means of a theoretical framework. Setting: The data presented here are the result of an electronic search comprising books and journal articles for the period 1990–2019. Methods: For this article, a qualitative analysis was undertaken, using concept analysis as the main data collection technique. Key words such as ‘family literacy’, ‘family literacy programmes’, ‘intergenerational literacy’ and ‘home-school partnerships’ were used to produce a sample obtained by simple random sampling. Results: An inductive data analysis approach was followed to identify and discuss programmes that fit the attributes and criteria of family literacy programmes and to make recommendations towards partnership attributes, resource and activity attributes, and future research to clarify implications. Conclusion: If family literacy programmes are to gain momentum, researchers must continue to unpack what this concept holds to ensure such programmes yield optimal results, not only for participating families, but also for the South African schooling system in general.

CREATIVE FATHERHOOD BEHIND BARS: THE READ TO YOUR CHILD PROGRAM

More than one-half of incarcerated people in the USA are parents of minor children. Family literacy and read-aloud programs not only provide these parents with ways to connect and communicate with their children, but also encourage children’s learning and literacy development through creative means. Research on such programs, however, is scarce. This article presents an analysis of one such family literacy program operating in a rural Pennsylvania prison. Using qualitative data, the authors describe the Read to Your Child/Grandchild (RYCG) program and the experiences of the 11 fathers who participated in the program in fall 2018. The article examines how the program bridges gaps between fathers and children in communication, physical presence, and literacy development; the unique benefits the program’s components afford its participants; and the fathers’ acts of creativity and creation while in a restricted carceral setting.

Measuring Parental Literacy Beliefs in a Socio-Economically, Linguistically and Ethnically Diverse Sample

ABSTRACT Research Findings: The current study examined the use of a newly developed instrument for measuring parental literacy beliefs in a highly diverse urban Dutch sample of 35 parents, participating in a family literacy program. The instrument was used to explore a new conceptualization of parental literacy beliefs and associations between beliefs and parental demographic characteristics. Data were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative techniques. The instrument revealed that parents in this sample preferred meaning-oriented and facilitative practices to stimulate their children’s literacy development, in which understanding the meaning of language and print is seen as the starting point in literacy development and in which teaching occurs indirectly, in an embedded child-centered approach. Parental preferences were associated with a variety of beliefs. Parents who did not speak Dutch, the majority language, with their children were more inclined toward directly instructing their children compared to parents who did speak Dutch with their children. The instrument proved to be effective in exposing the nature of and nuances in parental literacy beliefs in a diverse sample. Practice or Policy: Our newly developed instrument can be used by professionals working with family literacy programs to gain insight into the literacy beliefs of diverse groups of parents.

International Migrants, Family Literacy and Pact

The purpose of this study is to examine the components of a family literacy program that brought international migrants into Primary Classrooms in the Rocky Mountain Region in the US. The literacy program included four components: 1) Children's Education of direct child instruction of literacy and language skills; 2) Adult Education of parent instruction of English as Second Language (ESL); 3) Parent Time of parent education and support group; and 4) Parent and Child Together Time (PACTT), where the parents get to be an interactive part of their child’s classroom with the teacher present. PACTT is a unique opportunity in facilitating cultural integration and parental engagement, while providing participants opportunity to observe first-hand the reality of education in the United States as well as being active ELLs. Drawing on multiple social and educational theories and research, data from interviews, observation, and focus group yielded data that contributes a more inclusive discourse and new knowledge to the educational community regarding international migrants and their dreams and hopes for the success of their children.

Family Literacy Development Strategy in Community Learning Center (CLC) Fatumation in The Liquica District of The Timor Leste Democratic Republic (RDTL)

The Democratic Republic of East Timor as a newly independent country is faced with various problems in the field of education, including the family literacy program. The family as the smallest unit in social life needs to get the main attention in an effort to increase their dignity and with various programs that are directly able to empower it. One of the institutions that carried out the process was that which was carried out by CLC. This study aims to analyze the family literacy development strategy implemented by CLC Fatumasi. The research method used is qualitative, with participatory, ethnographic and collaborative research approaches. Data collection is done through observation, interviews, and documentation studies. The strategy taken is to implement eight steps, namely: identification of family literacy learning needs, the survey of resource potentials, priority scale analysis of learning needs, preparation of family literacy program design, preparation of family literacy curriculum, developing family literacy learning materials, application of family literacy learning, and follow up on family literacy development.Keywords: Family Literacy, Community Learning Center (CLC)

The Implementation of Eating Healthy Program in Early Childhood


 
 
 Eating habits develop during the first years of a child's life, children learn what, when, and how much to eat through direct experience with food and by observing the eating habits of others. The aim of this study is to get a clear picture of the Eating program Healthy, starting from the planning, implementation, supervision, and evaluation as a case study of nutrition education; to get information about the advantages, disadvantages and effects of implementing a healthy eating program for children. This research was conducted through a case study with qualitative data analysed using Miles and Huberman techniques. Sample of children in Ananda Islāmic School Kindergarten. The results showed the Healthy Eating program could be implemented well, the diet was quite varied and could be considered a healthy and nutritious food. The visible impact is the emotion of pleasure experienced by children, children become fond of eating vegetables, and make children disciplined and responsible. Inadequate results were found due to the limitations of an adequate kitchen for cooking healthy food, such as cooking activities still carried out by the cook himself at the Foundation's house which is located not far from the school place; use of melamine and plastic cutlery for food; the spoon and fork used already uses aluminium material but still does not match its size; does not involve nutritionists.
 Keywords: Early Childhood, Eating Healthy Program

Home literacy environment and reading comprehension in Spanish primary education

BackgroundResearch has suggested that one of the most important variables for the development of reading comprehension is the home literacy environment, composed of the literacy interface and what is known as the limiting environment. The current study investigated Spanish children's reading comprehension in relation to these two dimensions.MethodData have been drawn from measures of reading competence and the Learning to Read Survey undertaken for the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2016 assessment in Spain. Our secondary analysis of the PIRLS 2016 data has enabled the production of two multiple regression models from a sample of 14,595 Spanish pupils aged 9–10 years old.ResultsThe analyses performed have allowed us to determine the limiting environment elements that relate to the reading comprehension results. Moreover, they have highlighted the importance of the literacy interface prior to schooling. Both variables of the home literacy environment appear to be linked with the reading comprehension results taken from the PIRLS 2016 and may orientate the improvement of reading skills at home.ConclusionsOur research supports the implementation of family literacy programmes in Spain, especially for low‐income families, which might enhance their literacy interaction with their children in the early stages. The promotion of family literacy programmes oriented to preschool children could improve not only emergent literacy skills but also the social value of literacy from a sociocultural perspective.HighlightsWhat is already known about this topic Reading comprehension is a crucial skill in education. Owing to its links with the common teaching and learning methods in primary education, a weak or late development of reading comprehension may impede academic outcomes. Literacy development may be influenced by the socioeconomic status of families. Although important, there are other familial factors influencing children's literacy development. For this reason, the concept ‘home literacy environment' offers a wider perspective on the nature of the links between families and literacy. The home literacy environment has been described as the mixture of two different dimensions: the literacy interface and the limiting environment. An analysis of both dimensions shows the importance of the activities promoted and carried out by families (the literacy interface). What this paper adds There is a scarcity of research about the development of reading comprehension among primary pupils and its relationship with the home literacy environment in Spain. Family context is currently one of the less well‐understood aspects of the Spanish educational system. The current research points to the Spanish families' limiting environment as one of the elements that may predetermine, from early childhood, the later development of reading comprehension. The research identifies variables within the home literacy environment which are more relevant to the development of reading comprehension. Implications for theory, policy or practice The first implication is that literacy development and reading comprehension depend not only on the socioeconomic status but also on the number, nature and diversity of activities offered within a family. Improvement and enrichment of these activities could enhance pupils' reading comprehension. Both a limiting environment and the literacy interface have a fundamental role in Spanish pupils' reading comprehension, in line with previous research in other countries. Consequently, family programmes that aim to address specific aspects of the literacy interface and limiting environment could improve the literacy development of children. At the moment, for the most part, the Spanish education system has little opportunity to influence the limiting environment of children. Therefore, there needs to be more emphasis on the implementation of programmes designed for families, supporting and assessing activities related to the literacy interface. In Spain, these programmes are rare; so, for this reason, educational institutions and relevant social agents should collaborate to design and implement such programmes.

“Well, That Just Comes with Being a Mama”: The Gendered Nature of Family Literacy Programs

Drawing on ethnographic research, this paper investigates the gendered involvement in early literacy programs at one central library in the Greater Toronto Area. This study consisted of observations and field notes across family literacy programs, along with in-depth interviews with librarians and mother attendees. In particular, this research explores the invisible labour of mother involvement in “family” literacy programs targeting children aged 0–8, along with the role of librarians in structuring such early literacy programs. Referring largely to Griffith and Smith’s (Mothering for schooling, RoutledgeFalmer, New York, 2005) notion of the mothering discourse, this study suggests that there are specific kinds of early literacy work that are deemed “appropriate” and “valued” (i.e., taking trips to the library; being read to daily, turning everyday domestic labour into teachable moments), and certain individuals (i.e., moms) who are assumed or expected to carry out such work at home. This study also reveals that both mothers and librarians continue to participate in dominant discourses of mothering, specifically in relation to early literacy work assumed to prepare children for schooling. Such findings have implications for future research that considers mothering work and early resource supports for families.

Facilitating critical literacy among preliterate Maya immigrants through family literacy: Implications for university-community-school partnerships

ABSTRACT This study investigates the role of a family literacy program in facilitating critical literacy among Maya immigrant parents as evident in their ability to navigate inhospitable institutional structures, re-writing their role as advocates for their children in school decision making. The study highlights the conscientization that emerged among participants and researchers through a critical approach to literacy education. The analysis of interviews with six Maya immigrants reveals the manner in which the program has supported participants’ advocacy for their school-age children and awareness of their sense of agency, while also raising researchers’ consciousness of the institutional barriers encountered by marginalized communities. By viewing school decision making through the perspectives of immigrant parents, educators are urged to critically examine how their policies and practices, including university-community partnerships, perpetuate or interrupt the oppressive v. emancipatory potentiality of education among marginalized communities.

Shared literacy sponsors: moments that sustained learning and challenged neo-deficit ideologies in programmatic family literacy

ABSTRACT Family literacy programmes operate on the periphery of American education and often employ a deficit orientation toward minoritized families; still, parents view these programmes as language-learning resources. This ethnographic study explores the experiences of Latina mothers enrolled in a school-based family literacy programme in Nebraska to understand what sustained their involvement. Utilising Brandt’s (2001. Literacy in American Lives. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press) literacy sponsorship framework, it suggests that the programme personnel somewhat shared the mothers’ literacy sponsorship and, consequently, provided a learning experience that supported participants in meeting their goals. Observation and interview data showed two partially agreed upon sponsors of literacy: enriched livelihoods and spending time with children. Despite variations in other perspectives and goals, each had similar continuing stakes in participating in the programme. This agreement illuminated how the programme was responsive to mothers’ goals, despite its deficit lens, and suggests a vantage point for developing more culturally congruent family literacy programmes.

Creating Books in Communities: A Book Making Program with Families in a Remote Community in Western Australia

This article describes the needs analysis, implementation and outcomes of a pilot program aimed at creating books with families in ways that represent their language and culture. Creating Books in Communities is part of Better Beginnings, a state-wide program, developed by the State Library of Western Australia, for children and their families, that aims to develop literacy skills through fostering a love of books and language. Literature about the importance of recognising and valuing home languages and culture in supporting early literacy learning and the impact of family literacy programs is explored to provide a background to the program. The process of Creating Books in Communities is described in detail—it involves collaboration between librarians, early childhood partners, and community based artists working with families to produce a high-quality book. The impact of the program is explored through the voices of all the participants, revealing a number of positive family and community outcomes. We conclude the article by identifying six key factors related to the success of the program, which can be used as guidelines for implementation of the program both nationally and internationally.

Evaluating the effectiveness of a family literacy programme on the attainment of children with English as an additional language – a cluster randomised controlled trial

ABSTRACTBackground: A cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted to test whether the offer of Family Skills, a programme targeted at the parents of reception year (4–5 year-old) pupils with English as an Additional Language (EAL), raised attainment.Purpose: There is little existing evidence of whether family literacy programmes delivered in school settings are effective in raising attainment among pupils with EAL in the English context. This study seeks to address this gap.Programme description: Eleven two and a half hour sessions were delivered during the school day, by trained trainers, to the parents of pupils with EAL. Sessions aimed to enhance parents’ knowledge of effective literacy strategies.Sample: In total, 115 primary schools in England were recruited to the study. Each school identified pupils in reception year that had EAL. The parents of these children were invited to take up the programme.Design and methods: A two-arm parallel cluster randomised control trial was conducted, with schools randomised to intervention and control conditions. The primary outcome measure was literacy attainment. The evaluation also included a mixed methods process evaluation.Results: The estimated effect size for the primary outcome based on adjusted intention-to-treat analysis, with a full set of covariates, was 0.03 (95% CI: −0.14 to 0.21). Not all parents invited to take up the intervention did so and it proved difficult to obtain a reliable measure of take-up.Conclusions: Estimated effect sizes ranged from 0.13 in an unadjusted analysis to 0.03 in the full-adjusted analysis. Our results do not reach statistical significance at the 95% level. We discuss ways the intervention might be improved and address the issue of the low take-up of Family Skills.

Robust Respect

This paper is rooted in an assumption that the tenacity of deficit thinking in family literacy programs in Canada is partly a reflection of our colonial settler history. I explore how embracing an ethic of “robust respect” may offer a way of re-orienting family literacy programs away from deficit thinking and towards relationships. Drawing on observation of the Traditional Aboriginal Parenting Program, I describe how “robust respect” is characterized by building respectful relationships, valuing the other, and acknowledging the historical and political context in which family literacy work is located.

Effects of a Family Literacy Program for Latino Parents: Evidence From a Single-Subject Design.

Purpose This study investigated the effects of a family literacy program on Latino parents' language practices at home and their children's oral language skills. The study examined the extent to which (a) the program called Family Reading Intervention for Language and Literacy in Spanish was effective at teaching low-income, low-education Latino parents 3 language strategies (i.e., comments, high-level questions, and recasts) for reading aloud and (b) parent implementation of the target strategies influenced children's language skills. Method Five Latino mothers and their Spanish-speaking preschool children participated in a multiple-baseline, single-subject design across participants. Program initiation was staggered across the mothers after obtaining a stable baseline. Data on parent and child outcomes were collected across 3 experimental conditions: baseline, intervention, and follow-up. This study employed visual data analysis (e.g., level, trend, variability) to examine the program effects on parent and child outcomes. Results The program had an important effect on parental use of comments and high-level questions, but less impact on recasts. In addition, the program had a notable effect on the children's use of different words and conversational turns, less effect on inferences, and no effect on the mean length of utterance in words. Conclusion Family Reading Intervention for Language and Literacy in Spanish is an effective program to extend and enrich the reading practices that low-income children from a culturally and linguistically diverse background experience at home. The results have implications for family literacy programs aimed at minority Spanish-speaking families.

Annelerin okuma yazmaya hazırlık sürecine ilişkin görüşleri

Bu araştırmanın amacı, annelerin okuma yazmaya hazırlık sürecine ilişkin görüşlerinin belirlenmesidir. Nitel desende yürütülen araştırma sürecinde uygulanan Aile Temelli Okuma Yazmaya Hazırlık Programının öncesinde ve sonrasında aileler ile yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmeler yapılmıştır. Araştırmanın çalışma grubu, Kars ilinde Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı’na bağlı bir ilkokulun anasınıfında eğitimin gören 25 anne oluşturmaktadır. Araştırmanın verilerini elde etmek için yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme formu kullanılmıştır. Araştırmada ailelerin okuma yazmaya hazırlık sürecine ilişkin görüşlerini ve uygulamalarını belirlemek için içerik analizi yapılmıştır. Elde edilen bulgular, uygulanan programının öncesinde ve sonrasında ailelerle yapılan görüşmelerin farklılaştığını, ikinci görüşmelerde ailelerin okuma yazmaya hazırlık sürecine ilişkin görüşlerinin ve uygulamalarının olumlu yönde değiştiğini göstermiştir.

Helping parents enhance vocabulary development in preschool children: Effects of a family literacy program

Family literacy programs seek to improve a wide range of developmental aspects, of which an important one is how parents develop their children’s vocabulary. The effects of these programs are limited, partly because they appear to give insufficient guidance and support to parents in changing how they interact with their children. To increase the impact of family literacy programs, two ways to support parents in changing their interaction behavior were examined: active learning during parent group meetings (AL) and technology-enhanced learning with real-time interaction support (TL). The effects on vocabulary were investigated in children involved in preschool education programs. In an experimental design with partially randomized clusters, 223 preschool children were enrolled in a family literacy program with AL, TL or in the control condition without a family literacy program. Results showed that children in the AL condition made larger receptive vocabulary gains than control children, whereas TL children showed similar gains to controls. Children in all three conditions made similar gains in productive vocabulary. These results demonstrate the strength of AL and shows the complexity of implementing TL.

Guatemalan Mayan book-sharing styles and their relation to parents’ schooling and children’s narrative contributions

Little is known about parents' book-sharing styles in indigenous communities undergoing social and cultural change. This study investigated Guatemalan Mayan parents' book-sharing styles and their relation to parents' schooling experience and children's narrative contributions. Thirty parents and their first-grade children (ages 7–9) were audiotaped sharing a worded picture book. Most parents either adopted the role of the sole narrator (40%) or shared the role of the narrator with their children (40%); other parents focused on teaching literacy skills (20%). Guatemalan Mayan parents with greater schooling experience were more likely to adopt the sole-narrator style than other styles. Children whose parents adopted the sole-narrator style contributed significantly less to the story (both in amount and type of new information provided) than children whose parents adopted other styles. Implications for family literacy programs working with Guatemalan Mayan and other indigenous communities are discussed.

Exploring the effectiveness of the Family Literacy Programme with Singaporean preschool children at risk of literacy difficulties

Exploring the effectiveness of the Family Literacy Programme with Singaporean preschool children at risk of literacy difficulties

“No peeing on the sidewalk!”: Family literacy programs in culturally, linguistically, and socially diverse communities

The purpose of this article is to reflect on three decades of working in family literacy initiatives in diverse communities. We review the literature on children’s emergent early literacy development and family literacy and describe the conceptual framework, including socio-cultural theory, cultural models of learning and ethnotheories, culturally responsive pedagogy, and bilingualism and first or home language maintenance. We also describe the development and evolution of the various projects and their contexts after which we share some of the key things we learned from working with families and communities, including challenges. In conclusion, we highlight key insights garnered from this body of work for various stakeholders including teachers.

Associations between in-the-moment behavior of children, family literacy program use, and Latina mother-child book reading

ABSTRACTThis study examined how in-the-moment behaviour of children and family literacy programme use are associated with the affective quality of mother–child interactions and the content of maternal utterances that occurred during book reading. Ninety-Two Latina mother–child dyads were included. Mothers frequently exhibited warm/positive behaviour and discussed the immediate content of the book. Children were highly engaged and many of them alternated between English and Spanish when discussing the content of the book. Language mixing of children was positively associated with the number of maternal utterances on the immediate content of the book, while negatively associated with that on reading the text. Child’s engagement in book reading was associated with the affective quality of mother–child interactions, but not with the content of maternal utterances. Family literacy programme use, especially parent–child interactive literacy activities service was positively associated with the number of maternal utterances on the content of the book.