Family Literacy: An Annotated
Bibliography
(August 2000)
Part A: Family Literacy
Section 4: Program Descriptions
The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. (1989). First
teachers. Washington, DC: Author.
This book contains a brief introduction which discusses the problem
of illiteracy in the United States, the intergenerational transmission
of literacy, the beliefs underlying family literacy programs, and
how family literacy programs address illiteracy. The book consists
of "snapshots" of the following 10 family literacy programs:
(1) Parent and Child Education (PACE) Program; (2) The Kenan Trust
Family Literacy Project; (3) SER Family Learning Centers (FLCs);
(4) Parent Readers Program; (5) MOTHERREAD; (6) Mother's Reading
Program; (7) Arkansas Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters
(HIPPY); (8) Parents as Partners in Reading; (9) Parent Leadership
Training Project; and (10) Avance Family Support and Education Program.
For each program, information is provided regarding how and why
the program was developed, the setting, funding, and components
of the program, evidence for the success of the program, and advice
for policymakers and practitioners. A summary chart which details
the goals, population, outreach efforts, funding, support services,
materials, special features, and outcomes is also presented. A list
of program contacts and other sources for information on literacy
conclude the book. This book is helpful to individuals interested
in learning about the different types of family literacy programs
and efforts, as well as how to contact programs or centers for more
information.
Crowther, J., & Tett, L. (1997). Literacies not literacy.
Adults Learning, 8(8), 207–209.
Advocating a sociocontextual approach (see Auerbach, 1989), this
article features a family literacy program entitled "Connect."
The Connect program has an emphasis on individuals and their unique
literacies. Curriculum is included into the everyday lives of students.
Staff is committed to a particular vision that integrates work purpose
and understanding with practice. A feature of this program is a
pedagogical approach to knowledge. Knowledge in classrooms is constructed
along the premises of we know/they know, we don't know/they know,
we know/they don't know, and we don't know/they don't know. Connect
works to start with the premise of we know/they know whereas other
programs that take a more school-model approach implement a curriculum
from a we know/they don't know approach. The authors suggest that
this model provides an open-ended and creative environment sensitive
to the context and the culture that families bring with them to
the program.
Daisey, P. (1991). Intergenerational literacy programs: Rationale,
description, and effectiveness. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology,
20, 11–17.
Educators have acknowledged that a continuing focus on the mechanics
of reading will not alleviate the literacy problem. As a result,
the focus of attention has shifted to the family and the critical
role it plays in the acquisition of reading skills. This article
discusses the rationale behind the growing number of intergenerational
literacy programs and how they target adult strengths to facilitate
the literacy of an entire family. The three intergenerational projects
evaluated were the Family Literacy Center at Boston University,
the Parent Readers Program at the City University of New York, and
the Kenan Trust Family Literacy Project. In addition, Daisey describes
the Even Start legislation that provides funding for the ontinuing
evaluation of family literacy programs.
Darling, S. (1992). Family literacy: Parents and children learning
together. Principal, 72, 10–12.
Darling states that a mother's literacy is the best predictor of
a child's academic success. In addition, parents who are undereducated
or intimidated by schools often do not become involved in their
child's learning. Darling states that the most effective literacy
programs are intensive and include the whole family. The author
discusses the Kenan Family Literacy Model and how its goal of breaking
the intergenerational cycle of illiteracy is addressed by the program's
components. The literacy programs based on the Kenan Model include
the following four components: adult basic skills instruction; early
childhood education; parent time; and PACT (parent and child together).
Preliminary results indicate that this model is effective for both
the children and the adults. Darling reports that parents are more
likely to continue with family literacy programs than with other
adult education programs.
McIvor, M. C. (Ed.). (1990). Family literacy in action: A
survey of successful programs. Syracuse, NY: New Readers Press.
This book intends to cover a variety of family literacy programs
that value the adult role in shaping a child's literacy development.
The author highlights eight innovative intergenerational and/or
family literacy programs: Marion County Library Family Literacy
Program; Beginning with Books; Parent Readers Program; Motheread;
Project WILL; The Kenan Family Literacy Project; Mothers' Reading
Program; and Take Up Reading Now. Included is a list of the funding
sources, participants, and outcomes for each program.
Monsour, M., & Talan, C. (1993). Library-based family
literacy projects. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.
The connection between the public library and family literacy programs
is becoming increasingly stronger as a result of the Bell Atlantic/ALA
Family Literacy Project and the Families for Literacy program initiatives.
This publication serves as a directory of library-based family literacy
programs, and reports on their development as a legitimate approach
to the problem of low literacy. It describes twelve outstanding
library-based family literacy programs and identifies certain program
components that can be replicated in libraries everywhere to facilitate
program expansion.
Morrow, L. M., Tracey, D. H., & Maxwell, C. M. (Eds.). (1995).
A survey of family literacy in the United States. Newark,
DE: International Reading Association.
This book, intended for use by teachers, parents, and policymakers,
describes the historical development of the field of family literacy,
as well as a current picture of family literacy in the United States.
It offers detailed information about specific programs in the field
in its more than 100 sources concerning family literacy. In addition
to an Overview section, there are several other sections providing
informative entries: Parent Involvement Programs; Intergenerational
Programs; Research on Naturally Occurring Literacy in Families;
Agencies and Associations Dealing with Family Literacy; and Further
References About Family Literacy.
Nickse, R., Speicher, A. M., & Buchek, P. C. (1988). An
intergenerational adult literacy project: A family intervention/prevention
model. Journal of Reading, 31, 634–642.
This article discusses the effectiveness of the Collaborations for
Literacy program, an intergenerational adult basic education and
literacy program at Boston University. Two important research questions
are examined: (1) Does the intergenerational approach have a positive
impact on beginning adult readers; and (2) What are the benefits
to the children of parents enrolled in an intergenerational program?
In addition to its basic teaching curriculum, various other intervention
techniques were used in the study, including weekly consultation
for tutors and learners, literacy "socials" for parents
and their children, and inservice training for tutors on literacy-related
topics and techniques. Preliminary data on adult participants suggest
that vocabulary and comprehension reading gains were made as a function
of the number of hours spent in tutoring. No results were available
yet for children. Based on the preliminary analyses, the authors
report ten important suggestions to keep in mind in the development
of a successful intergenerational literacy program.
Nuckolls, M. (1991). Expanding students' potential through
family literacy. Educational Leadership, 49, 45–46.
This article describes Parents and Literacy (PAL) family literacy
program in Tucson, Arizona. PAL began with parent classes and has
evolved into a home visitation model. The author discusses three
findings from this project that have implications for those who
are interested in implementing a family literacy program within
a conventional educational system: all staff members must feel ownership
over the program; recruitment and retention of parents must be central;
and evaluation of the program cannot be measured merely quantitatively.
Quintero, E., & Huerta-Macias, A. (1990). All in the family:
Bilingualism and biliteracy. The Reading Teacher, 44, 306–312.
This article discusses several aspects of the Family Initiative
for English Literacy (FIEL) project employed by the El Paso Community
College Literacy Center. It includes the rationale for the model
on which the project is based, a description and assessment of the
project's goals, the content of the curriculum, and implications
for classrooms with language minority students. A detailed account
of one family's progress within the program is also provided.
Quintero, E., & Velarde, M. C. (1990). Intergenerational
literacy: A developmental, bilingual approach. Young Children,
45, 10–15.
Quintero and Velarde describe the development and implementation
of El Paso Community College's model Intergenerational Literacy
Project. The project uses a developmental approach to teach Spanish-speaking
parents and their children together to improve their literacy skills
in both Spanish and English. In addition to a general overall description
of the project, the article discusses important assumptions regarding
literacy development upon which the program is based as well as
key curriculum components. A brief explanation of the program's
effect on parents and children concludes the article.
Richards, R. T. (1998). When family literacy begins on the job.
Educational Leadership, 55(8), 78–80.
This article offers a description of a family literacy program at
Winthrop University in South Carolina. This program intends to help
employees improve their on-the-job literacy skills through activities
involving their families and homes. Three approaches characterize
this program: using children's literature, work-related literature,
and personal literature. Participants receive job training activities
at work and then as part of the instruction, relate these activities
to their homes and their families. For example, by learning and
responding to literacy strategies used when eading children's literature,
the program intends for the participants to use these strategies
when reading for personal pleasure or work.
Segel, E., & Friedberg, J. B. (1991). "Is today liberry
day?": Community support for family literacy. Language Arts,
68, 654–657.
This article discusses Beginning with Books, a literacy agency affiliated
with the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. The authors describe three
family literacy programs implemented by Beginning with Books to
promote children's and adults' literacy: (1) the Gift Book Program,
which draws on existing community services to help distribute picturebook
gift packets to families with young children; (2) READ TOGETHER,
a program that provides child care and one-on-one storybook reading
sessions for children while their parents partake in literacy tutoring;
and (3) Read-Aloud Parent Clubs for Head Start parents in which
parent-child storybook reading is discussed and modeled and books
are given out at each meeting for parents to read to their children
at home. The authors believe that all three program can easily be
replicated and provide sources to obtain additional information
on Beginning with Books.
Weinstein-Shr, G., & Quintero, E. (Eds.). (1995). Immigrant
learners and their families: Literacy to connect the generations.
Language in Education: Theory and Practice, 84. (ERIC Document
Reproduction Service No. ED 379 964).
This document is a collection of essays intended for the reader
who wishes to learn about programs and curricula for adult immigrants
and their children. The first section's theme is collaboration.
An overview of projects implemented in California for language minority
families is presented. Two chapters focus on the collaborative process
experienced during the implementation of two literacy programs.
The second section, Curriculum: Drawing on Learner Strengths, is
comprised of four chapters that each discuss the ways in which specific
programs develop curricula to build on participants strengths. Projects
discussed in this section include one based on research and participants'
needs, one which promoted writing and reading as a form of "social
action," one which linked the curriculum to the participants'
outside world, and one which had success in using story-telling
with a reading program for mothers. In the last section, the following
issues are identified: (1) the need to learn more about the participants
and their existing literacy practices; (2) the need to develop innovative
ways to measure and evaluate change and success within literacy
programs; and (3) the need to generalize to the other contexts
in which immigrant families learn.
Winter, M., & Rouse, J. (1990). Fostering intergenerational
literacy: The Missouri Parents as Teachers Program. The Reading
Teacher, 43(6), 382–386.
There is growing agreement among educators that interventions targeting
child literacy must more broadly recognize the entire family as
the client, and must respect the culture and value system of that
family. The Missouri Parents as Teachers program (PAT) employs this
family-centered approach and has become the model for early childhood
family education in Missouri. This paper describes the services
the program offers, their curriculum, how PAT promotes literacy,
and the variety of parent-child activities. Implications for local
school districts are discussed. A general evaluation of the project
is also included.
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