Family Literacy Programs Research Articles

‘Better Beginnings has made me make reading part of our everyday routine’: Mothers' Perceptions of a Family Literacy Program Over Four Years

THIS PAPER EXPLORES THE Better Beginnings family literacy program over a period of four years through the eyes of mothers of young children from four diverse communities. It focuses on their reported perceptions of the program and related practices. Better Beginnings, which involves strong cooperation between health professionals, local government and public libraries, was developed by the State Library of Western Australia to encourage parents to share books, songs and rhymes with their babies and young children. The mothers responded to four annual surveys, in which they were asked about their perceptions of the program and its influence on literacy practices and beliefs. Overall, results showed that these mothers reported that they were highly positive about the program; were confident in and valued book-sharing activities; shared books on a regular basis, as did some other family members; and that their child was actively involved in book sharing and related activities. Of particular interest were the mothers' reports of their changing practices as their child matured over the four years of the study and also their child's language- and literacy-related behaviours. Many mothers attributed these changes in practices and behaviours to the Better Beginnings program and gave valuable evaluative feedback for modifications to the program, which has informed its further development.

Evidence from meta-analysis about parental involvement in education which supports their children’s learning

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to understanding of different ways that parents and schools develop and maintain working partnerships to improve outcomes for children by focusing on quantitative evidence about parental involvement (PI). The key questions for this synthesis are: what is the evidence about the extent of impact of PI on cognitive or academic outcomes for children, and how consistent and reliable is this evidence? Design/methodology/approach – This is an “umbrella” review comparing and contrasting findings from 13 meta-analyses across three areas of PI and home/school partnerships: first, general approaches; second, home and family literacy programmes; and finally, targeted interventions focused on individual or specific family need. Findings – There is consistent evidence about the extent of impact from general approaches (three to six months average additional gain for children’s educational outcomes) and for targeted intervention (four to six months), but with a wider range of estimates for family literacy (two to eight months average gain). Variation in approaches and evaluation quality make specific recommendations for practice challenging, though some consistent patterns of findings indicate strategies that are likely to be “good bets” to explore and evaluate. Research limitations/implications – The quality of the underlying studies makes drawing secure implications for practice difficult. The nature of the review means that it does not capture the most recent studies. Originality/value – The paper provides a synthesis of quantitative evidence from 13 meta-analyses to identify where there is consistency in estimates of impact and what is associated with systematic variation in this impact.

Improving Latino children's early language and literacy development: key features of early childhood education within family literacy programmes

Noting the lack of research on how early childhood education (ECE) programmes within family literacy programmes influence Latino children's early language and literacy development, this study examined key features of ECE programmes, specifically teacher–child interactions and child engagement in language and literacy activities and how these features relate to Latino children's early language and literacy development. Participants were 181 Latino children (3–5 years old) from low-income families enrolled in 22 ECE programmes within family literacy programmes. Teacher–child interactions were of medium quality on socioemotional support and low quality on instructional quality. Latino children spent about 20% of their day engaged in language and literacy activities. Multilevel regression analysis results showed that the length of Latino children's engagement in language and literacy activities in ECE programmes was more strongly related to their English oral language skills and alphabet knowledge than the quality of teacher–child interactions.

Family Literacy Programs as Intersubjective Spaces: Insights from Three Decades of Working in Culturally, Linguistically and Socially Diverse Communities

In this article we draw on our three decades of work in culturally, linguistically, and socially diverse communities – an economically depressed, rural community in Eastern Canada, a culturally and linguistically diverse metropolitan area of western Canada and a First Nations community in north-western Canada – to document the development and evolution of a social-contextually responsive family literacy program. We propose that family literacy programs can build on the strengths that families bring and provide an intersubjective space where families and schools can share knowledge in a reciprocal, respectful manner.

Co-constructing beliefs about parental involvement: Rehearsals and reflections in a family literacy program

This article examines the ways in which participants in a six-week family literacy program—graduate students, immigrant parents, and their children—co-constructed a set of norms for appropriate parental involvement during a role-play activity in which they rehearsed placing and receiving phone calls between parents and school staff. The findings highlight an important tension: on the one hand, the graduate students’ actions and stances during the role-plays reveal a set of normative beliefs about what constitutes competent parental behavior in schooling contexts; on the other hand, the graduate students’ participation in the program was formative in challenging and extending (not simply reproducing) those beliefs. The authors suggest that graduate students’ initial stances, and their shifting beliefs, can be situated along a continuum of understanding—viewing teachers’ beliefs along such a continuum can help teacher educators to support them in developing more culturally-sustaining modes of teaching when working alongside immigrant families.

Characteristics of family literacy programmes that improve child literacy, behaviour and parenting skills

AbstractChildren who struggle with reading, a critical component of literacy, may exhibit behavioural problems. Having difficulties in both literacy and behaviour increases children’s risk of poor educational outcomes. We reviewed 82 studies of family literacy programmes and identified 15 empirical studies that reported positive child outcomes related to both literacy and behaviour. All parent participants were characterized by low levels of education and marginalization. These studies indicated that improvements in children’s literacy and behaviour were influenced by parents’ enhanced child-rearing skills and participation in literacy activities at home. As parents gained confidence in their abilities to help their children, they were more likely to become involved in their children’s education, which in turn resulted in children’s greater literacy advancement and positive behavioural activity. The studies were conducted in 11 different countries and indicated cross-cultural consistency in beneficial out...

‘Mommy that's the exit.’: Empowering homeless mothers to support their children's daily literacy experiences

The present study examined how a six-week family literacy programme contributed to supporting the efforts 12 mothers living in a residential shelter were making to foster their preschool children's literacy development. We compared pre- and post-programme interviews to explore whether the mothers applied the literacy strategies discussed in the programme during their daily interactions with their children. Guided by our theoretical perspective, funds of knowledge, data, were analysed through the lens of a Family Strengths Model and thus focused on how learning opportunities were embedded within the families' daily experiences. Findings are presented under two main themes: (1) the mothers' use of the environment as a tool for literacy teaching and (2) use of programme materials and activity ideas in the home environment. Overall, findings indicate that the mothers applied strategies they learned in the programme to their daily interactions with their children, which indicate that the families participating in this study increased their involvement in their children's literacy learning. Our experiences with this transient population illustrate the importance of educators partnering with families, respecting what they are doing to support their children's literacy learning, and building on these efforts by providing them with resources and ideas that support literacy learning. Consideration should be given to the types of resources provided to families living in non-permanent housing in order to maintain their access to literacy activities.

With a little help: improving kindergarten children’s vocabulary by enhancing the home literacy environment

Early linguistic competencies are necessary prerequisites for later reading and writing abilities and thus for a successful school career. Various child and family characteristics have been identified as important predictors of children’s linguistic abilities, such as intelligence or the “home literacy environment” (HLE). Therefore, one way to improve children’s competencies is by enhancing the HLE they live in. Family literacy programs have proven to be successful with this task. However, most interventions used to improve HLE were fairly intensive and costly. In this study a nonintensive intervention procedure was developed to improve both, HLE and linguistic competencies. The sample consisted of 125 German children in their last year of kindergarten (mean child age at the beginning of the study: 5 years, 5 months) and their families who showed an above average socio-economic status. All parents were offered to participate in the intervention, consisting of providing them with relevant information on HLE at one evening meeting and providing an additional individual reading session that introduced them to the concept of dialogic reading. HLE and children’s linguistic competencies were assessed before and after the intervention. Participating and non-participating families did not differ in any of the study variables at the beginning of the study. However, families who participated in the interventions not only improved their HLE, but children in those families also showed greater linguistic competency development when compared with the non-participating group. The results indicate that less intensive interventions can have an impact on home learning environments and children’s linguistic development.

Together in Song: Building Literacy Relationships with Song-based Picture Books

This action research study provided a collaborative social space in which to examine the intersection of shared singing/reading, emergent literacy, and family literacy. In particular, the significance of home literacy engagement with song-based picture books was investigated through the core action of a non-deficit, school-based family literacy program. Data were collected via parent/guardian journals that documented intergenerational home literacy engagement over a two-month period. Findings revealed that shared singing/reading with song-based picture books provided rich opportunities for families to build joyful, literacy relationships while providing kindergarten-aged children with meaningful experiences with text.

Understanding the importance of parent learning in a school-based family literacy programme

This study examined how parents’ own learning affected their support for their children in a school-based Family Literacy Programme. Seventy-two children in junior kindergarten (4-year-olds) and senior kindergarten (5-year-olds) and their parents participated in the programme; complete data were available for 52 parents. Comparisons of pre- and post-programme parent surveys indicated that there was no significant difference in how parents viewed their role in affecting their child’s reading as a result of the programme. However, parents’ teaching behaviour and provision of literacy activity (library visits) with their children significantly increased as a result of the programme. Furthermore, parents’ reported level of enjoyment of literacy activities with their children increased significantly in the areas of reading, drawing and writing. Finally, parents’ goals for attending the programme were aligned with what they described learning from the programme. The results suggest that family literacy programmes help parents to gain literacy knowledge and skills that they then incorporate in daily interactions with their children, particularly when programme objectives match parents’ goals. The findings suggest that parents may benefit from longer programmes to provide them with additional learning strategies for engaging in literacy activities with their children.

Home language and literacy practices among immigrant second-language learners

Because certain home language and literacy practices have been found to be beneficial to monolingual children's literacy development, we examine immigrant children's home language and literacy practices in different countries. Presenting findings from 92 post-2000 articles, we examine research into these practices, what factors influence their occurrence, how they influence immigrant children's development of literacy in the societal language, and what factors seem to moderate or mediate the effects of home literacy activities on societal-language literacy. We found that immigrant families engage in a wide variety of oral language and literacy activities at home, but that most of these practices have not been investigated in relation to immigrant children's literacy development. Book reading, the most-studied practice, seems to promote such development. Additional research is needed into the many factors that influence children's literacy development, including government policies and community context. In addition, researchers need to build on existing descriptive and correlational studies to design and implement innovative school curricula and family literacy programs that connect home and school practices and encourage parental involvement in the school.

Examining Differential Effects of a Family Literacy Program on Language and Literacy Growth of English Language Learners With Varying Vocabularies

Many English language learners (ELLs) and children living in poverty begin school with substantially less English vocabulary knowledge than their monolingual, economically advantaged peers. Without effective intervention, these vocabulary gaps are likely to contribute to long-term reading failure. This quasi-experimental study examined the extent to which a family literacy program (FLP) moderated vocabulary development of 158 ELLs (prekindergarten through third grade) from low-income families in relation to children’s level of vocabulary knowledge (at, moderately below, or substantially below national norms) on program entry. The FLP activities focused on supporting parents’ development of English literacy and on teaching them effective ways to engage their children in authentic, home-based literacy events and practices that could be expected to prepare their children for success in school. Findings indicated that although all children demonstrated substantial language and literacy growth, children with the lowest pretest vocabulary knowledge achieved the greatest vocabulary gains and these gains differed significantly from their demographically matched peers who did not participate in the FLP. Gains for treatment and control children with middle and high pretest vocabulary knowledge (relative to this sample) did not differ significantly. Findings suggest that an FLP emphasizing authentic literacy practices holds particular promise in closing vocabulary gaps among children who enter early childhood classrooms with especially limited English vocabulary knowledge.

Consumer health information

www.ccl-cca.ca/literacy What part of your district would benefit most from a family literacy program? What’s the average literacy level in the area surrounding your library? This kind of granular data on literacy levels across different communities is now available, for free. The Canadian Council on Learning has launched an interactive online map that shows adult prose literacy levels in 52 200 cities, towns, and communities across the country. The map allows you to zoom in and get data on a particular neighbourhood or zoom out and see the patchwork of different literacy levels within a city, town, or region. The map uses data from the 2003 International Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (IALSS), which was conducted by Statistics Canada and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and combines it with 2006 Census data. It displays levels of prose literacy — that is, the knowledge and skills needed to understand and use information from text, such as news stories, editorials, poems, and fiction. The map drives home a sobering point. According to the 2003 data, nearly half of all Canadian adults have low literacy levels (level 2 or below), meaning they are ill prepared for the current demands of society. As many of you know, adult literacy is often measured on a prose literacy scale of 1 to 5. Level 3 is widely considered to be the minimum threshold for coping with the demands of the global knowledge-based economy. That nearly half the population can’t cope with today’s literacy demands should be a wake-up call, especially for those of us concerned with health.

Working with parents to promote children’s literacy: a family literacy project in Uganda

This article discusses the importance of family practices to children’s acquisition of literacy and describes attempts to influence such practices through the institution of family literacy programmes. One of these is the Family Literacy Project in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, which both served as a model and provided material for a similar project at the Kitengesa Community Library in Uganda. The Kitengesa project is described in detail with particular emphasis on an exercise involving the translation of children’s books into Luganda. The project as a whole and the translation exercise in particular elicited a warm response and seem to have been beneficial for both the adult participants and their children. The authors conclude that the project should be continued and extended but that more books are needed that are easy enough for such audiences and that reflect their African experiences.

Literacy and Health Disparities

This chapter explores the relationship between literacy and health disparities, focusing on the concept of health literacy. Recommendations are provided for ways to bridge the health literacy gap for learners in adult basic education and family literacy programs.

Culturally appropriate pedagogy in a bilingual family literacy programme

AbstractResearchers have documented bilingual family literacy programmes in terms of their structure and programming as well as their effect on children's language and literacy development and parents' ability to support such development within the home. What is missing from the discussion is a description of how facilitators mediate understanding within the programme. The purpose of this article is to describe how facilitators working with Karen and Iranian families mediated parents' understanding of the key concepts within the parent‐only segment of a bilingual family literacy programme for immigrant and refugee families in western Canada. Drawing principally from observational field notes at two sites of the programme, we describe the activities and instruction that took place during the introduction to the session, Rhythm, Raps and Rhymes. Supporting data were drawn from a larger 3‐year study. Our findings indicate that the facilitators at both sites mediated the parents' understanding of the benefits of rhythm and rhyme to early literacy by using culturally familiar and relevant content delivered in both the first language of the community and in English, and by drawing from culturally familiar pedagogical practices. Results of this study have implications for the delivery of family literacy programmes within culturally diverse communities.

Mexican Mothers’ English Proficiency and Children's School Readiness: Mediation Through Home Literacy Involvement

Research Findings: Home literacy involvement (e.g., shared book reading) has been linked to enhanced cognitive development and school readiness during early childhood. Furthermore, precursory reading and math skills are key predictors of high school achievement. This study examined prospective relations between Mexican mothers’ English proficiency, their home literacy involvement, and their children's school readiness (i.e., preschool reading and math scores). A large, nationally representative sample of preschool-age Mexican American children (N = 826) was used to test a theoretically derived path analysis that demonstrated that mother-reported home literacy involvement mediated the relation between mother-reported English proficiency and children's reading achievement, but not math. Results were evident even after key family and child characteristics were controlled. Practice or Policy: Findings suggest that Mexican American children's early education and development may be enriched by family literacy programs that enhance their mothers’ English proficiency and increase the frequency of home literacy activities.

Family Literacy Programs: A Source of Transformative Learning

Family Literacy Programs: A Source of Transformative Learning

Family literacy: a project to get parents involved

In this article family literacy as a strategy to address the problem of a lack of preliteracy skills in preschool children will be discussed. A family literacy project developed by the Children's Literature Research Unit in the Department of Information Science. at Unisa in partnership with Project Literacy will be described. This project was started in 2000 in four creches and has now expanded to 19 sites in KwaZulu Natal. Eastern Cape. Limpopo Province and Gauteng. The methodology used and the results from one of the sites will be given. Finally. the role of community libraries in implementing family literacy programmes. and the importance of this as an outreach programme. will be discussed.

Exploring the Literacy Practices of Refugee Families Enrolled in a Book Distribution Program and an Intergenerational Family Literacy Program

This ethnographic study presents findings of the literacy practices of Burmese refugee families and their interaction with a book distribution program paired with an intergenerational family literacy program. The project was organized at the level of Bronfenbrenner’s exosystem (in Ecology of human development. Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1979) to effect a change at the immediate level of the microsytem (i.e., the child’s home life). These two programs–Imagination Library and Storycircles–were organized by the local Literacy Coalition in a Central New York community in the United States in order to assist the refugee families to transition into their new sociocultural context and increase their involvement in the school-based education of their children. Participant observations and interviews with parents and program providers indicated that, while the family literacy practices mostly centered on oral traditions, participation in the two programs led to the familiarity and use of print-based forms of literacy. Additionally, parents reported an interaction with books that were reaching their homes and consciously modeling the shared reading practices demonstrated by the program providers. The linguistic and cultural barriers are discussed in light with the pedagogical implications of the study in finding ways to provide culturally responsive instruction.