Goal: Educators believe that parents can help their children learn to read. But what evidence supports this belief? And if parent involvement does matter, what kinds of parent involvement are most efficient? The goal of this report was to review the scientific literature on parent involvement in the acquisition of reading from kindergarten to…

A case study evaluated the effectiveness of the Even Start family literacy project, which integrates within a single continuum of service three formerly separate curricular components: adult education, early childhood education, and parent education. A series of case study interviews were conducted over a 4-year period with 11 adult participants…

This Congressional hearing discussed the issue of reform of adult education and family literacy legislation. Testimony includes oral and written statements of U.S. senators and individuals representing the following: U.S. Department of Education; National Institute for Literacy; Dallas Can! Academy, Dallas, Texas; Pima County Adult Education,…

Providing a much needed window into children's home lives and learnings, uncovering multiple literacies that need to be valued in their own right, this book shows how familial influences on children lead them to develop particular strengths and describes the features of home learning that teachers should understand and consider. The book tells the…

A study evaluated one local Even Start project, using the results of the final report of the "National Evaluation of the Even Start Family Literacy Program" for comparisons where possible. The clearest result of the national evaluation is that the amount or intensity of service is directly related to the strength of effects for both…

Noting that family literacy is an intergenerational approach to education that addresses the needs of both the adult and child learner, this booklet presents aspects of family literacy programs and steps to help ensure the program's success. After discussing the need for family literacy, the book discusses the effectiveness of family literacy and…

This guide provides help in locating and securing funds for family literacy programs and illustrates how family literacy programs may be organized and implemented by explaining important legislation and presenting examples of collaborative family literacy efforts that use a variety of resources. The booklet is organized in four parts. Part I…

Involving parents in young children's literacy development is a challenge being met by many school districts. Several programs and strategies are being used at various levels to enhance literacy development and to address literacy needs of parents. Suggestions for preschool children include playing classical music, participating in meaningful…

This study hypothesized that an intervention program that would develop students' language facility in lower elementary school might increase the students' likelihood of retention. An outgrowth of a family literacy project which focused on raising the literacy level of an Appalachian community, the study used the Language Experience Approach which…

The abstracts in this publication describe 29 federally and privately funded family literacy projects in the United States. Each entry provides the name of the project, background information, project aims, and the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of contact persons. (RH)

More than 500 intergenerational literacy programs exist in the United States, yet the idea is untested and it is difficult to identify and classify these programs. A typology identifies and classifies programs by key components and provides examples of each type. A typology, useful to practitioners, helps in planning programs, discussing them, and…

This manual introduces the topic of family literacy programs in libraries and provides guidelines for libraries that are just getting started in family literacy programs as well as libraries that are further developing their existing programs. It is argued that illiteracy tends to be both intergenerational and cyclic, i.e., if a child's parents…

The National Literacy Act of 1991 (NLA) established the National Institute for Literacy to ensure that literacy would have a place on the federal policy agenda and to invigorate a national effort to improve adult literacy. This report briefly summarizes the primary activities and accomplishments of the National Institute for Literacy over a…

This book is a resource for adult education teachers who want to build and strengthen adults' reading skills. It aims first to build background knowledge about reading and scientifically based reading instruction, but the focus is in applying the research on modeling thinking, planning, and problem solving in the context of fictional adult…

This report discusses six programs being considered by the 108th Congress for reauthorization, focusing on policies designed to assist disconnected and at-risk youth. The review seeks to identify how the programs do or do not consider at-risk or disconnected youth ad how such programs might be improved. After an introduction by Alan Houseman, six…