Family Literacy is an intergenerational program that brings parents and preschool- or elementary-age children to school together. It can provide a depth in education that allows learning opportunities for children and the adults in their lives. As relationships are built, learning becomes circular between parents, children, and teachers. This…

The COVID-19 pandemic caused many sectors of America to rethink the way they navigate life. However, adult learners in family literacy programs across the country demonstrated exceptional resiliency. The National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) focused on supporting essential literacies (including digital), social-emotional well-being, and…

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused increasing economic and physical vulnerability of many Americans. There has also been a surge in poverty, housing insecurity, food insecurity, long-term unemployment, and challenges with health care access and use. This first article in the forum examines how the field of adult education continues the pattern of…

We evaluated an early literacy initiative implemented in partnership with faith-based organizations. Heads of the initiative train church leaders to host monthly literacy events during which those leaders educate parents about child development and model dialogic reading behaviors while caregivers and their children follow along. A survey and…

The purpose of this study was to examine how African American grandmothers caring for their grandchildren promoted literacy for themselves and for the children in their care. A descriptive-qualitative approach to collecting and analyzing data was deemed most appropriate for addressing the study questions. In-depth interviews were held with eight…

Raising the literacy levels of young children is a major concern in many countries for which various programmes have been suggested. One of these is family literacy programmes. In previous meta-analyses wide variability in effects has been found and it has been suggested that this is partly caused by variability in implementation quality. This…

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to extraordinary changes in family literacy instruction, forcing face-to-face programmes to shift rapidly (or "on the fly") to online, remote instruction. This study is one of the few on online teaching and learning in family literacy and, to the knowledge of the authors, the first on emergency remote…

Family-focused early learning programs aim to assist parents in supporting their young children language and literacy development. This study examined program access and learning opportunities for diverse families across a wide range of community-based settings in one eastern Canadian province. As well, the study examined practitioners'…

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,…

The increasing number of English learners in local communities in the U.S. include both children and their family members. There is an urgent need to provide educational support for both generations of English learners. In this report from the field, a partnership program using a two-generation approach is described. Based on interviews,…

Urbanization is causing a major shift in Extension's programming throughout the United States. We present results of a nontraditional urban program (the Parent-Child Reading Enhancement Program) that is being implemented by Alabama Cooperative Extension System's Urban Affairs and New Nontraditional Programs unit. Findings suggest that this…

Family literacy refers to parents and their children using literacy together at home. They participate in literacy experiences in a natural way during their daily routines. Studies on family literacy show its impact on the children's literacy development. For more than five decades, family literacy studies have demonstrated the importance of the…

The authors of this article begin with an introduction to the holistic concept of family literacy and learning and its implementation in various international contexts, paying special attention to the key role played by the notions of lifelong learning and intergenerational learning. The international trends and experiences they outline inspired…

Latino families face several challenges when they immigrate to the United States. School-based early childhood programs involving families with a holistic approach indicate effectiveness toward integrating both children and families into the school community. This paper explores, through informal conversations with administrators, teachers, and…

This chapter focuses on the importance of approaching economic education pedagogy as a whole-family learning process, especially in high immigrant and culturally diverse neighborhoods.