How we started: the family literacy programme in Slovenia

Different research on literacy demonstrates that the family has an important impact on literacy in general and it seems that there may be an inter‐generational transfer of literacy level and reading habits within families. In order to compensate for lack of encouragement of reading at home, different initiatives have been developed involving work with children and adults, because of their stronger influence on the whole family. The more effective methods are those that include members of the same family, especially parents and children. The Slovenian Institute for Adult Education has developed a family literacy programme for parents and their children called ‘Read and Write Together’. This is aimed at parents with a low standard of education who have children in the initial years of elementary school. At that time, parents are very motivated to help their children to succeed at school, but their own basic skills need some refreshment before they are able to help their children. The school programme involves two teachers, 50 hours of organised schoolwork and 25 hours of planned homework.     

Home–School Literacy Bags for Twenty-first Century Preschoolers

Combining home–school literacy bags with preschool family literature circles provided a strong foundation for family involvement at home and school during this year-long Reading Partners project, and helped parents become essential partners in their children’s literacy development. Using home–school literacy bags, children and parents learned how to combine expressive arts and emergent literacy strategies including alphabet recognition, phonemic and phonological awareness, and oral language fluency. State-of-the-art activities designed for each of the multiple intelligences met the needs of diverse students with many different learning styles and interests. As families participated in fall and spring school-based Festivals in which they shared the literacy bags in small group family literature circles, they demonstrated children’s emerging literacy skills in a relaxed, yet highly engaging atmosphere.     

Disadvantaged preschool children from rural areas: the importance of home practices and nursery attendance in the development of early literacy skills / Niños preescolares vulnerables de sectores rurales: importancia de las prácticas del hogar y la asistencia a jardín infantil en el desarrollo de habilidades de alfabetización temprana

Abstract

This research analyses the impact of home practices, sociodemographic variables (family income and parents’ education) and attendance at a formal education programme prior to the development of early literacy skills of 240 children (four years old) from rural and urban disadvantaged families starting nursery school in Chile. The results show that the development of literacy skills was higher in urban children. In rural areas, family practices (words games) and family income had the most predictive weight on the performance of children and no differences were found between those who attended a prior educational programme and those who remained at home; while in urban areas, programme attendance had the highest impact, so that children who remained at home attained a lower developmental level, similar to those of rural areas. The implications of these findings for educational practice and policy are discussed.     

Empowering immigrant women through bilingual fairy tales: linking family and school literacy practices / Empoderar mujeres inmigrantes a través de los cuentos bilingües: trazando puentes entre las prácticas de alfabetización en la familia y la escuela

Abstract

This paper presents the theoretical and methodological foundations of the Teixint Cultures ‘Weaving Cultures Together’ project: a communitarian research-action programme aimed at providing literacy skills in Catalan for African immigrant women, which uses their ‘Funds of Knowledge’ to develop bilingual books in Catalan, Arabic and Mandinka for their children. The results show the benefits of implementing projects that promote literacy activities at home as well as the empowerment of immigrant women.     

Fathers' involvement in young children's literacy development: Implications for family literacy programmes

Relatively few studies of family literacy programmes have investigated parents' experiences and whilst a number of such programmes have been specifically aimed at fathers, little is known about the involvement of fathers in programmes which target both mothers and fathers. This article reports fathers' involvement in a family literacy programme and their home literacy practices with their young children. The article provides a definition of family literacy and describes the context of the study, which was carried out in socio‐economically disadvantaged communities in a northern English city. Fathers' participation in their children's literacy was investigated through interviews at the beginning and end of the programme (n = 85) and home visit records made by teachers throughout the programme. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of these data indicate that, while fathers' participation in the family literacy programme was not easily visible, almost all fathers were involved to some extent in home literacy events with their children. During the programme, teachers shared information about literacy activities and the importance of children having opportunities to share literacy activities with their parents. Data indicate that fathers who were not mentioned by mothers as having been involved in their children's literacy were significantly more likely to be on a low income than those who were reported as being engaged with their children in home literacy activities. Fathers in the study were involved in providing literacy opportunities, showing recognition of their children's achievements, interacting with their children around literacy and being a model of a literacy user. Although involved in all four of these key roles, fathers tended to be less involved in providing literacy opportunities than mothers. While fathers and sons engaged in what might be described as traditionally ‘masculine’ literacy activities, fathers were more often reported to be involved with their children in less obviously gendered home literacy activities. The article concludes with discussion of implications for involving fathers in future family literacy programmes.     

Book review of Rallying the Whole Viage: The Comer Process for Reforming Education

This study tested the feasibility of an intervention designed to increase the frequency and quality of shared reading among low-income parents and their young, 2- and 3-year-old children. The program was based on an interactive reading method known to facilitate children's receptive and expressive language skills. Study participants were 61 children and their parents; they resided in 1 of 2 socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. Prior to the intervention, few parents reported frequent home reading, and most children's language skills were at or below that of others' their age. After the intervention, the frequency of home reading more than doubled, and significantly more parents reported their children enjoyed shared reading. This study demonstrates that relatively simple, inexpensive, community-based programs can change the home language and literacy activities of families with young children, including those most likely to begin school less "ready" than their middle-class peers.     

Developing scales to measure parental mediation of young children's internet use

With children using digital media at ever younger ages, media-education becomes a pressing issue for parents. As there is hardly any research on how parents guide the online activities of toddlers and young children an internet-survey was held among 792 Dutch parents of children aged between 2 and 12 years. Factor analysis revealed that for the internet, parents partly use the same strategies they also apply for television and video games: ‘co-use’, ‘active mediation’, and ‘restrictive mediation’. In addition, they also utilise new strategies: ‘supervision’ and ‘technical safety guidance’. Mediation was mainly predicted by the child's age and online behaviour (e.g., gaming, social networking), as well as by the number of computers in the home and the parents' gender, education and computer/internet skills. Finally, parents also use more mediation when they expect that the internet has a positive effect and particularly when they believe that it has a negative impact.     

From promises to practices: the fate of educational software in the home

Abstract

Thirty-two families were given six market-leading, educational CDROMs each, and usage of them was logged over 11 weeks. These children and their parents were also interviewed on three occasions. Although parents and children were enthusiastic upon receipt of the software and envisaged that it would be a useful learning tool, children's use of these titles rapidly declined to an average of between only 10 and 25 minutes a week. Children spent most of their time using these products alone; collaboration with other family members was minimal. This is compared with parents' examples of other learning activities that take place as a whole family. Parents and children were asked to discuss the perceived qualities of the CD-ROMs. Parents had limited insight into how this home computer experience might relate to their children's experience in classrooms and they made little reference to informal theories of learning and teaching in judging the quality and impact of the software. This was classified as ‘good’ mainly in terms of features that could promote recreational enjoyment. It is concluded that the purchase/provision of a PC and of educational CD-ROMs is not enough, by itself, to foster lively learning practices in the home. Parents and schools need to work more closely together if this is to be achieved.     

Do home numeracy and literacy practices of Greek and Canadian parents predict the numeracy skills of kindergarten children?

Children’s experiences with early numeracy and literacy activities are a likely source of individual differences in their preparation for academic learning in school. What factors predict differences in children’s experiences? We hypothesised that relations between parents’ practices and children’s numeracy skills would mediate the relations between numeracy skills and parents’ education, attitudes and expectations. Parents of Greek (N = 100) and Canadian (N = 104) five‐year‐old children completed a survey about parents’ home practices, academic expectations and attitudes; their children were tested on two numeracy measures (i.e., KeyMath‐Revised Numeration and next number generation). Greek parents reported numeracy and literacy activities less frequently than Canadian parents; however, the frequency of home numeracy activities that involved direct experiences with numbers or mathematical content (e.g., learning simple sums, mental math) was related to children’s numeracy skills in both countries. For Greek children, home literacy experiences (i.e., storybook exposure) also predicted numeracy outcomes. The mediation model was supported for Greek children, but for Canadian children, the parent factors had both direct and mediated relations with home practices.     

Bilingual families as literacy eco‐systems

Mainstream educators tend to assume that families should follow a school‐prescribed pathway, centred on parent‐child storyreading sessions, to help their children become literate and achieve educational success. The research discussed here focuses on case studies of bilingual families with six‐year‐old children growing up in London, and shows that they function in more diverse and complex ways, to achieve the goal of children learning to read and write in English and in Chinese, Arabic or Spanish as well. The skills of different family members (including parents, siblings and grandparents) are harnessed so that they complement each other to foster children's learning. Each family thus operates as a ‘literacy eco‐system’, which is dynamic and open to change. The paper concludes by recommending that early years educators find out more about the systems used by pupils’ families, in order to support the work that is already taking place at home.     

Relations between home numeracy experiences and basic calculation skills of children with and without specific language impairment

The present study examined the relations between home numeracy experiences (i.e., parent–child numeracy activities and parents’ numeracy expectations) and basic calculation skills (i.e., addition and subtraction) of children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) and their peers with Normal Language Achievement (NLA), while taking into account their cognitive and linguistic capacities. Fifty children with SLI and 100 children with NLA were tested on cognitive, linguistic, and basic calculation skills, and their parents filled in questionnaires on home numeracy activities and numeracy expectations. The results showed parents of children with SLI report engaging in fewer numeracy-related activities and have lower numeracy expectations for their children than parents of children with NLA. Furthermore, parent–child numeracy activities were more strongly associated with addition and subtraction for children with SLI. It is thus especially important that parents of children with SLI are made aware of their important role in the development of their child's basic calculation skills.     

The impact of a collaborative family/school reading programme on student reading rate

Student reading skills are below grade level in many schools and professionals are constantly searching for new ideas to enhance reading curricula. To address this problem in one elementary school, a parent/school reading programme was implemented. Parents were encouraged to increase the amount of time spent reading with their children at home and the school provided easily accessible reading materials, suggestions for encouraging reading at home, prizes and special activities. Programme participants demonstrated a higher increase in reading rate and accuracy than the matched peers. Prior to implementation and at the end of the reading programme, parents and students who chose to participate in the programme reported positive attitudes toward reading together. Implications of these results are discussed and an emphasis is placed on expanding research in the area.     

Parents' views of the efficacy of conductive education in Sweden

Parents of children who have participated in a conductive education programme in Sweden were asked questions about their reasons for choosing the programme, the expectations they had of it and how they were fulfilled. The results showed that the parents were satisfied with the development of their child, and wanted to continue to take part in further courses with their child. They appreciated the intensive training and found it motivating and enjoyable for the child. They wanted an intensive training for their child because they believed that active training could help the child to develop. The parents learned more about cerebral palsy at the courses and now understood why and how they could train their child. Most of the parents continued the training at home with the child. They experienced financial difficulties in participating in further courses, and found it difficult to stay away from work and family for a long period of time.     

An interview study of why parents conduct intensive ABA home training for their child with autism spectrum disorder. An analysis from the lens of the dialectical disability model

The number of parents undertaking an intensive home training programme of children with disabilities (e.g. Applied Behavioural Analysis) has increased. It reveals a paradox in current disability research and policies. On the one hand, policies in general are aimed at inclusion through movement of social barriers for participation, grounded in the social model of disability. On the other hand, intensive home training is based on the aim of rehabilitation through intensive training of individual cognitive and social skills, an approach grounded in a bio-medical model. Intensive home training programmes are supported by political legislation that enables parents to partake the training and hire the necessary helpers. How is this paradox viewed from the perspective of the parents? From the departure of the dialectical model of disability – and its central concepts of developmental incongruence, developmental time and social agency – two mothers practising home training with their children with autism disorder were interviewed about their motives for home training and subsequent experience with their child. Results showed that the motive to home training was to create a local congruence that allowed the child to thrive. Intensive home training also restored the mothers’ sense of agency vis-à-vis their child’s development. However, home training might not abolish the need for adaptations of the child’s social practices outside the family. It is discussed how societal support to home training risks to hinder higher order reorganisation of developmental opportunities that are necessary to actualise policy statements of inclusion.     

The Home Literacy Environment and Preschool Children's Reading Skills and Interest

Research Findings: This study explored the association between the home literacy environment (HLE), conceptualized as comprising parents’ reading beliefs and home literacy practices, and preschoolers’ reading skills and reading interest. It also identified factors in the HLE that predict emerging reading competence and motivation to read. A total of 193 children age 6 years from 14 preschools across Singapore and their parents participated in the study. The parents completed a reading belief inventory, a family literacy activity inventory, and a demographic questionnaire that surveyed the child's reading interest. The children were administered a battery of standardized literacy tests. The study found a moderate relationship between the HLE and children's reading competencies and a strong relationship between the HLE and children's reading interest. When parents’ education level and children's age were controlled, hierarchical multiple regression analyses found that family literacy activities contributed more unique variance to children's reading outcomes and reading interest than did parents’ reading beliefs. Active parental involvement was the strongest component of the HLE, with parent–child engagement in reading and writing emerging as the best predictor of both the child's emerging reading skills and reading interest. With respect to reading beliefs, parents’ efficacy in supporting literacy development before their child attended school positively predicted reading competence, as did parents’ affect and verbal participation in fostering reading interest. However, verbal participation negatively predicted Singapore children's reading competence. Practice or Policy: The implications of the results were discussed.     

An evaluation of the impact of an inter‐agency intervention programme to promote social skills in primary school children

This paper describes a social skills programme run in one primary school designed to promote children's cooperative skills and anger management. The programme was staffed by Child and Adolescent Mental Health professionals with educational psychologist and school support. Eight children with severe emotional and behavioural problems participated and completed the 20‐week programme. Pre and post data were collected for the children, parents and teachers. Parents were supported by regular meetings and domiciliary visits from an assistant psychologist. Teaching staff met regularly with the team and had frequent supportive contact with the assistant psychologist. Two educational psychologists‐in‐training made an independent qualitative evaluation of the programme, interviewing the children, their parents and teachers, as well as members of the multi‐agency team. After attending the group, the children showed a significant reduction in their anxiety, parents reported a significant reduction in oppositional behaviour and teachers a significant reduction in attention‐deficit hyperactive difficulties type behaviour. All measures showed a significant or positive trend, although there was some disappointment in the level of parent participation in the school‐based parent meetings. Reasons for this are discussed and the case for multi‐agency social skills interventions is made, along with a broader discussion of the role of the educational psychologist.     

The Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) programme: parental perceptions of its impact in school and at home

The Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) programme is an example of an individualised intervention to support pupils experiencing a range of social and emotional needs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore parents’ constructions of several aspects of the programme: its aims and how these are achieved; its impact on children, within school and home contexts; the function and value of parental contact with ELSAs; and ways in which the programme could be improved. A thematic analysis of the data indicated that a majority of parents perceived the programme to impact positively on social and emotional aspects of development, with skills learned within the ELSA sessions transferring to the home context. Parents also noted several ways in which the programme could be enhanced: improved home–school communication; agreed and measurable targets and outcomes; and plans for children’s next steps. Implications for developments and extensions of the ELSA programme are discussed and the role of educational psychologists within this process is highlighted.     

Using Family Backpacks as a Tool to Involve Families in Teaching Young Children About Healthy Eating

Children’s obesity rates have increased substantially over the past several decades, due in part to unhealthy eating habits. About 75% of preschool-aged children consume fewer fruits and vegetables than recommended for health. Because children begin developing eating habits during early childhood, obesity prevention programs are increasingly targeting young children in early childhood education (ECE) settings and are involving their families in teaching about healthy eating. The purpose of this pilot study is to assess the effectiveness of a family involvement activity known as the family backpack in increasing fruit and vegetable consumption among 4- and 5-year-old children and their parents through hands-on activities that encourage them to explore and discuss fruits and vegetables at home. Forty-two families (22 experimental, 20 control) participated in the study. Families received a family backpack from their child’s ECE teacher and completed activities with their child at home during a specific week. Experimental-group backpacks contained a children’s book and three activities to encourage parent–child discussion about fruits and vegetables; control-group backpacks contained an unrelated book and activities. Children’s and parents’ fruit and vegetable consumption and frequency of serving fruits and vegetables at home were assessed using parent self-report surveys before and after completing backpack activities. Parents in the experimental group, but not the control group, reported increases in their own and their children’s fruit and vegetable consumption after completing family backpack activities. Family backpacks show promise as a tool for early childhood educators to help families reinforce and expand children’s learning and encourage healthy eating habits at home.     

Aligning digital and social inclusion: A study of disadvantaged students and computer access

In this paper we discuss the notion of the digital divide and link it with recent policy designed to promote social inclusion in a project that addressed both issues. Families in low socio economic areas of Australia were given computers and Internet access as part of a project that had as its primary aim to support the participation of disadvantaged families in digital activities at home and in schools. The authors collected data over a period of 3 years that included, pre and post surveys with parents and students, interviews with program facilitators, and focus groups with parents. This paper focuses on selected themes that emerged from the interview and focus group data with the parents and explores the ways in which they perceived having the computer had impacted on their lives and those of their school aged children. This data (surveys, interviews and focus groups) reveals that all family members felt that the ownership of a computer enabled them to feel more confident about their active participation in everyday educational, social and community activities. Parents, teachers and students also reported that owning a computer was important to their lives yet they were not naïve to the fact that they still had a lot to learn in terms of using all the options available to them on the computer. Students noted the increased ease with which they could complete school work and communicate with friends in online contexts and outlined some of the ways in which they used the computer for leisure activities. Parents highlighted the increase in their own digital skill levels and described the ways in which their lives had benefitted from having a computer in the home. Problems associated with connectivity at the beginning of the project, the quality of the machines and inadequate initial training were listed as drawbacks to greater participation. The project represents one attempt to address the digital divide and illustrates how going beyond the dichotomy of a ‘haves’ v ‘have nots’ view of the digital divide is necessary if we want to promote social inclusion.     

As the climate changes: Intergenerational action-based learning in relation to flood education

It is a concern that children represent an under-researched group in flood education and preparedness because as adults they are more likely to experience flooding as the climate changes, and because it suggests their potential today, as agents of change, is being undervalued. Using action-based, participatory methodology with seven to nine-year-old children, a creative and inclusive flood education resource was developed as a stimulus for learning. Evaluation revealed that young children can learn about flooding and preparedness, and that intergenerational learning from child to parent can also occur, with children transferring the messages learned in school to home. However, thematic analysis suggests key factors such as family relationships (empowerment of children) and the parents’ disconnection and dissociation from risk limit the success of intergenerational learning. The implications of these in relation to flood education, flood preparedness, and household resilience levels are explored.