Finds that the supportive environment of "women helping women" was the hallmark characteristic of a local Even Start family literacy program and that participants were not consciously thinking about family literacy but joined the program for themselves and gave no indication of seeing the connection between the adult literacy component…

Examined contribution of home reading practices to school reading achievement of European American and Hispanic second graders. Found that how often and with whom children read, and child's initiation of reading were related to reading achievement. Relations were more pronounced for European American boys and Hispanic girls, less so for Hispanic…

This study assessed the emergent literacy skills of 48 4-year-old migrant Mexican American preschoolers in their dominant language and evaluated the amount of literacy exposure in the home and the Head Start program. Results suggested that although both environments influence emergent literacy skills, the home literacy environment has the greatest…

A logit models analysis shows that access to university education in Spain is significantly affected by family income. Lower family income is associated with shorter degree programs; higher family income is associated with longer degree programs and higher degrees. A more determining factor is family cultural and educational level. Scholarships…

Describes a literature conference for the Harlem community on choosing and using self-affirming books for African American children. Describes Grandma's Place, a literacy and parent support center with an array of multicultural literature. Describes programs and activities that seek to support literacy, strengthen the family, and provide access to…

This study initiated inquiry regarding family and community literacies of children in British Columbia. The study applied descriptive and correlational statistics to large-scale assessment data from generalizable regional samples in the province and found distinctive regional portraits. Findings suggest that educators should go beyond information…

Describes the collaborative process and the lessons learned when the staff of a family-literacy program and an evaluator worked together to design and implement a portfolio assessment that was used to collect program-evaluation information for the Even Start program over two years. Discusses opportunities to collaborate in the development of this…

Examines specific effects of home literacy on the development of word decoding and reading comprehension from first through third grade. Results reveal that parents' instructional and social-emotional quality had an effect on the development of reading comprehension, but not on word decoding. (Contains 62 references and 4 tables.) (GCP)

Aims to build upon the existing home literacy practices of a group of three- and four-year-old children living in the United Kingdom. Develops literacy materials and resources which could be borrowed from nursery and used within the home to promote children's literacy development. Indicates that much of children's reading was focused on popular…

This article, in response to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), is based in the belief that members of an educational community must collaboratively reflect and act on issues to develop a truly effective program. NCLB calls for sweeping reforms in education. The main focus of the reform plan is on creating "stronger accountability…

Utilizing an effective literacy program as a case study, the social-constructivist approach to family literacy is discussed in this article. The role of literacy programs as mentor to the apprentice family and the consequent transformation of family to child-mentor is described. Through review of an effective faintly literacy program, it is…

Research indicates that both home literacy activities and direct instruction of reading skills promote reading development. The current study investigates how parent-led direct teaching activities impact emergent literacy. Preschool children (n = 47) were administered subtests from the Test of Early Reading Ability-3 and the Kaufman Survey of…

Two case studies of adult GED (General Education Diploma) students and their kindergarten-aged children are presented. The construct of "capital," as described by Pierre Bourdieu (1986), is applied specifically to the children's and adults' reading practices. These case studies are analyzed in terms of various forms of official…

School districts are central players in the child care delivery system: they operate a mix of child care centers and programs, serve a range of children of different ages, and fund their programs from a variety of federal, state, and local sources. This report provides a range of programmatic and fiscal information about the federal and state…

This article explores the current situation of university students taking part time jobs as tutors in families. This is very popular in China, especially in cities and towns. After systematic investigations, the author suggests that the office of student affairs in Chinese universities should play a substantial role by providing opportunities for…