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…

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)

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…

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…

Raising Early Achievement in Literacy is a British family literacy project in which educators recognize that adult learning is different; parents are experts on their own children and have views on literacy; and bilingual parents may have different needs. Listening to families is a key principle of the project. (SK)

Evaluation of an early literacy initiative in which free books and literacy information were given to 40 caregivers of infants. Compared book-related activity in the home before and 2 months after the program. Results showed significant increases in book ownership and frequency of mothers and babies looking at children's books together. (SK)

Using a situated cognition framework, 24 vignettes of literacy practices were examined in 4 Canadian settings: community-based, workplace, family, and school-based literacy. Literacy researchers appear constrained by behaviorist, normative perspectives despite the shift toward humanist perspectives. (Contains 51 references.) (SK)

"Connect" is an approach to family literacy in Scotland that recognizes that people have different literacies used in different life domains. It values home and community literacies and challenges the deficit perspective and dominant cultural and ideological patterns. (SK)

Describes how the Newall Green Infant School in Manchester, England includes parents in their children's learning. Explains how a welcoming school policy contributed to student achievement and behavior. (JOW)

Case studies of four Scottish schools with family literacy programs depicted collaboration among school staff, parents, and adult literacy educators. Programs that conceptualized parents as "people" rather than "problems" challenged the deficit perspective of family literacy and enabled parents' full participation in…

Describes a range of British family literacy initiatives: family literacy in settings working with students from nursery to secondary education; specialist courses for Portuguese-speaking families; and health and parenting programs that address parenting issues and support families in accessing health services. (Author/JOW)

The promise to raise literacy standards significantly at age 11 in economically disadvantaged areas has been an important part of the present British Government's educational policy. Integral to this promise has been the introduction of official homeschool contracts or agreements, which oblige parents to engage in specific literacy activities with…

Currently, the United States participates in four international assessments: the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), which assesses reading performance in grade 4; the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which assesses the reading, mathematics, and science literacy of 15-year-olds; the Trends in International…

As part of a larger Australian study on family literacy, this study obtained information about a wide range of family or community literacy initiatives currently in operation in Australia. The study was interested in how the language and literacy learning of students from a variety of schools and communities was influenced by the involvement of…

Assumptions about learner identity are often based on a deficit view of the working classes. This chapter illustrates an alternative discourse that shows how one family literacy program in Scotland generated useful knowledge.