Families are children's first and most important teachers. However, their ability to support children's learning and development at home varies due to knowledge, skills, and confidence. Family interventions aimed at increasing parents' skills are labour-intensive and expensive. In contrast, text messages are low-cost and scalable. Text messages…

The authors detail how 2,000 teachers facilitating summer camps for 8,000 students across a state for three years engaged families in authentic literacy practices. Building relationships, considering families' needs and strengths, and providing authentic learning experiences linked with literacy led to positive changes in family engagement and…

Latino parents support children's academic skills through their involvement in daily living activities. Prior work has focused on conventional literacy (e.g., book reading) and numeracy activities (e.g., teaching numbers). Less-visible home activities that are high-priority, high-value cultural practices in Latino communities are food sharing…

Maternal reports from the UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys were determined whether preschool enrollment strengthened the associations between paternal, maternal, and allocaregivers' (e.g. grandparents, aunts, uncles) engagement in literacy-type and social activities and children's literacy and social skills. The sample consisted of 47,832…

Family engagement is a key component of preschool program quality with the potential to benefit children's early learning skills. Yet, there is limited research on what practices teachers and programs use to engage families and whether these practices are associated with improved child outcomes. This study links administrative data on children's…

Read Two Impress Plus (R2I+) is a fluency-building routine involving students and a more experienced reader in an echo reading process using culturally and linguistically authentic texts. R2I+ was offered as a partnership-centered, culturally and linguistically affirming family engagement to improve the literacy proficiency of students, aged 7-12,…

In this article, we highlight the affordances of agency that is not merely individual, but rather emerges in and through collectivities. We take up these issues within the context of our own work in the field of sociocultural perspectives on literacy and through the methodological vantage point of community-based and participatory research. First,…

Educators continue to advocate for increased family involvement in the education system, so there is value in understanding the reading and literacy histories, beliefs, and actions of parents. It is important for educators to recognize these dynamics because parents not only bring their children to school but they also "bring" the prior…

Students in the music classroom are more culturally and linguistically diverse than ever before. Latinx students are the fastest growing population. Often, these students are neglected through deficit-based pedagogical practices with regard to their cultural and linguistic practices; however, other research into asset-based pedagogical practices…

The Twin Cities PBS "Ready to Learn" project focuses on the building of science and literacy skills of diverse students ages 5 to 8. It also promotes equity for historically underrepresented children in science (race-ethnic minorities, low-income children with disabilities, English Language Learners). The Transformative Transmedia…

Dual language learners are a growing population in early learning and care settings. Young DLLs have the potential to develop proficiency in two languages when provided adequate supports; however, most teachers of young DLLs feel inadequately prepared to support DLLs. Cultivating Oral Language and Literacy Talent in Students (COLLTS) is an…

Literacy is increasingly essential for Americans' health, economic well-being, civic engagement, access to higher education, and social participation. Rapid growth in technology and globalization have increased demand for both universal literacy and higher levels of literacy than in the recent past. Yet national and international assessments…

Health literacy has firmly established the links between literacy skills and health outcomes and is subsequently considered a key strategy for improving the health of disadvantaged populations and addressing social inequality. However, current research findings for improving health literacy have primarily focused on adults and actions within…

The rapid emergence of the Internet is having an historic impact on literacy practices and on the very nature of literacy itself. Each article in this issue has articulated these changes. Each brings a unique and important perspective to its analysis. They illustrate that, today, literacy means many different things to many different people. This…

Culturally and linguistically appropriate strategies for family involvement are essential to ensure successful home-school partnerships. This article explores the use of "dichos," or popular sayings in the Spanish language, as tools that may have the potential to enhance school-home communication. Given their authenticity as constructs of the…