Access to literacy is critical to children's futures, but formal education may be insufficient for fostering early literacy, especially in low-resource contexts. Educational technologies used at home may be able to help, but it is unclear whether or how children (and families) will use such technologies at home in rural communities, particularly…

Family engagement is pivotal to student development and academic achievement, particularly for students of color with disabilities and those from historically underserved culturally and linguistically diverse communities (Delale-O'Connor et al., 2020; Fehrer & Tognozzi, 2018; Impact of Family Engagement, n.d.). Unfortunately, the…

Research Findings: The current study examined the use of a newly developed instrument for measuring parental literacy beliefs in a highly diverse urban Dutch sample of 35 parents, participating in a family literacy program. The instrument was used to explore a new conceptualization of parental literacy beliefs and associations between beliefs and…

This article features a multilingual family literacy project to enhance family engagement in children's literacy development. First, the authors expand the emerging framework of translanguaging beyond the individual competency toward a collaborative practice across family/community members and diverse sign systems. Then, the authors describe how a…

Parents who participate in family literacy and family learning programs gain new skills and knowledge through Family Service Learning projects. They increase their social capital and self-efficacy, especially developing leadership and advocacy skills, when they focus on issues of concern and relevance on behalf of themselves and their children. A…

This qualitative case study examined urban teachers' perceptions and experiences of family literacy practices and partnerships in urban schools, homes, and communities during remote learning. Research shows that collaboration among schools, families, and communities can help improve overall educational outcomes and literacy development of children…

Educators and researchers consider vocabulary development foundational in young children's language and literacy learning and for academic achievement; adult-child shared book reading is potentially a rich site for word learning and concept development. In this article, we report on how an immigrant father and his four year old daughter, English…

This study examined the free book giving program of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library and its influence upon storybook reading and early literacy within one county-wide setting in the United States. Family literacy and early literacy experiences are known to be critical to young children's literacy development. The study found that children who…

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…

Research Findings: It has been proposed that the home literacy environment may influence the development of early number skills. However, the results of studies examining the association between home literacy experiences and early number skills are mixed. This could be due to the way that the home literacy experiences are conceptualized and…

In this study, northern Canadian rural and Indigenous parents provided valuable information about the self-initiated writing that their two- through nine-year-old children do at home. In interview responses, participating parents told stories about the writing materials and spaces they make available to children for writing. They talked about how…

The Home Learning Environment (HLE) focuses on everyday learning habits in families to support children's competency development. In this study, we used multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) analyses to compare two theoretical dimensions and three methods for assessing the HLE and their associations with linguistic and mathematical competencies of…

As the number of dual language learners (DLLs) increases globally, it is critical that well-developed questionnaires are available to researchers and educators that capture the characteristics and language experiences of preschool DLLs and their families. To fill this need, the Center for Early Care and Education Research-Dual Language Learners…

Primary school children develop literacy practices in various domains and situations in everyday life. This study focused on the analysis of literacy practices of children aged 8-12 years from the perspective of their families. 1,843 families participated in the non-experimental explanatory study. The children in these families speak Spanish as a…

This article presents findings from the first year of a multiyear investigation of the implementation of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library (DPIL) book distribution program as part of one community's long-term initiative to improve early literacy skills. The authors describe (a) the study's logic model and associated theory of change, (b)…