Addresses the issue of diverse literacies and the problems of privileging a dominant form of literacy at the expense of those from non-mainstream cultures. Illustrates how the literacy practices of working-class families and communities can be incorporated into learning programs. Stresses the need to legitimate the vernacular literacies of the…

Explores how family literacy practices are connected to social institutions that sustain or transform participants' awareness or reproduction of class identities and the inequities inherent in these interactions. Looks at the complexity of one African-American, working-poor family's literacy practices in their connections to social institutions.…

Summarizes results for parents of the original evaluation and the follow-up of Family Literacy Demonstration Programmes at four sites in Wales and England. Finds that parents benefited in employment, study, qualifications, literacy, and ability to help their children, and involvement with their children's schools. (RS)

Describes the "Message Board" activity in a preschool classroom (a voluntary sharing of important events or messages on large or student-sized chalkboards). Describes its three stages of learning; how to do it; social interaction; language development; and how it guides emergent literacy and is part of a developmental process. (SR)

Reports the results of a series of peer group discussions with adolescent mothers enrolled in a family literacy program. Finds that literacy was seen as important because it served as a tool to address economic and social concerns; and parents' goals for themselves focused on independence, being a role model to their children, and self-respect.…

Reviews the recent professional literature on family literacy programs, with a focus on the use and role of children's literature, specifically multiethnic texts, within those programs. Describes children's literature in family literacy and discusses the role of multiethnic literature in family literature. Presents three examples of family…

Shares stories of the author's family's literacy projects in schools, at home, and on the street to explore how critical literacy can become part of everyday lives and dreams for a better future. Articulates the seriousness of these projects, how these projects spring from our questions and interests, and how they can inform educators about…

Presents a graduate student's reflective memoir of literacy practices experienced as a college student in South Korea. Considers how literacy can be a sociopolitical practice that struggles to free all people, including the oppressors. Rethinks literacy practices in relation to recent historical events--the reunion and rebuilding of family…

Community action and social change have roots in personal family narratives that connect members within the same household, between families and schools, and between families across national borders. In two northern California communities, the value of computer literacy lies in the personal narratives that unite these families to each other,…

Most literacy experts agree that "literacy is regarded as a social practice, rather than as merely a set of decontextualized or abstract skills such as decoding symbols to sounds or finding the main idea of a passage" (Handel 1999; Barton, Hamilton, and Ivanic 2000). For example, very young children may learn to appreciate that being read to…

It is a fine tradition of Chinese to instill in children the concept of "filial piety" in home education. In recent years, however, "piety education" is getting weaker and even neglected, especially among the one-child family in Mainland China. The authors of this article argue that in order to continue and develop the fine…

Living in an age of communication, literacy is an extremely integral part of our society. We are impacted by literature during our infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. "Literacy for the New Millennium" includes information from specialists in the field who discuss the influence of popular culture, media, and technology on…

The 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) assessed the English literacy skills of a nationally representative sample of more than 19,000 U.S. adults (age 16 and older) residing in households and prisons. NAAL is the first national assessment of adult literacy since the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey. Three types of literacy were…

This brochure presents new perspectives and opportunities in family literacy. The brochure offers seven ideas as a definition of family literacy, and discusses why family literacy is important. It also discusses three areas where family literacy is taking place (studying the ways literacy is used by families, parent involvement initiatives, and…

The Even Start Family Literacy Program is intended to help break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy by improving the educational opportunities available to low-income families with limited educational experiences. Based on state and national evaluations, this report for policy makers and practitioners summarizes what has been learned about the…