The purpose of this study was to examine how African American grandmothers caring for their grandchildren promoted literacy for themselves and for the children in their care. A descriptive-qualitative approach to collecting and analyzing data was deemed most appropriate for addressing the study questions. In-depth interviews were held with eight…

Emergent Bilingual families interact with their children across their shared languages and resources, creating unique literacy activities. As a form of family engagement, teachers can observe these created literacies within Emergent Bilingual families, and attempt to transport such practices into classrooms. There is, however, a danger that the…

Family and Community Partnerships: Promising Practices for Teachers and Teacher Educators, offers a fresh new look at the competencies, strategies, and practices that effective educators develop to build strong partnerships with families and communities. Written by leaders in the field, the book is an outgrowth of a cutting-edge initiative led by…

This article explores a first-grade team's efforts to develop a family-school literacy partnership. The first-grade teachers wrote and developed the "Family at Home Literacy Questionnaire" to understand how their first graders selected texts and read with family members at home. The findings identified a number of unexpected at-home…

Family literacy refers to parents and their children using literacy together at home. They participate in literacy experiences in a natural way during their daily routines. Studies on family literacy show its impact on the children's literacy development. For more than five decades, family literacy studies have demonstrated the importance of the…

While the original Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 established no requirements for family involvement, every subsequent reauthorization has made stipulations for the inclusion of families in their children's education (Mapp, 2012). Additionally, the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA) shifted the requirement from "parent…

Families have been faced with new challenges and uncertainties during the unprecedented times when the world came to a standstill due to COVID-19 in March 2020. The pandemic caused a shut-down of schools and a shift to a remote learning environment with little chance to prepare and understand learning expectations from schools and other…

The authors of this article begin with an introduction to the holistic concept of family literacy and learning and its implementation in various international contexts, paying special attention to the key role played by the notions of lifelong learning and intergenerational learning. The international trends and experiences they outline inspired…

In Fall 2016, the Families as Partners Initiative, funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, hosted its first parent camp for families of five schools in North Austin. This report describes the camp activities and summarizes the feedback parents provided about their experience.

The purpose of this article is to describe a family literacy project involving a partnership of school-aged children and their families with in-service and pre-service teachers enrolled in a university course on literacy instruction for English language learners. This project consists of family members sharing their stories with their children to…

Latino families face several challenges when they immigrate to the United States. School-based early childhood programs involving families with a holistic approach indicate effectiveness toward integrating both children and families into the school community. This paper explores, through informal conversations with administrators, teachers, and…

This guide discusses incorporating leadership training and opportunities into parent involvement and family literacy programs. By doing this, parents can have a meaningful voice in social and educational issues, and educators can have a better understanding of the benefits of working with and supporting parent as equal partners in schools and…

Initiatives to integrate technology in schools are continuously increasing, with efforts to bridge the "homework gap" and provide technology access in low-income households. However, it is critical to include nondominant parents in technology adoption decisions in order to avoid mirroring past patterns of inequality in home-school…

Home literacy practices are extremely important in developing early language and literacy skills. Children from lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds may be at risk, not because their family literacy practices are inferior, but because their culturally defined literacy practices may not be consistent with school literacy expectations. To…

Researchers have examined the impact of family on child literacy among low-income African American families and preschoolers considered to be at risk for not being ready for kindergarten. Quantitative studies identify family-parental variables associated with poorer literacy outcomes, whereas qualitative studies detail family practices that…