Literacy in the twenty-first century: children, families and policy

ABSTRACT

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 parents’ involvement in promoting their children’s acquisition of literacy. Language and literacy theories have been generated based on family literacy research. Evidence supports that family literacy programmes are effective in the children’s literacy development. Studies were reviewed to examine how family literacy affects the young children’s literacy development. They showed that the children’s acquisition of literacy depends on a variety of strategies for working with families that are appropriate for the home environment. This review describes the (1) role of the federal government in promoting the families’ education, (2) implementation of parent education programmes in early childhood education, (3) US policies for family literacy, (4) family literacy programmes, and (5) family literacy intervention programmes.

KEYWORDS:

• Family literacy
• parents’ involvement
• literacy development
• family literacy programs

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Olivia N. Saracho is Professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership at the University of Maryland at College Park. She has taught Head Start, preschool, kindergarten, and elementary classes. She is a former bilingual teacher in Brownsville, Texas, and has written several articles in that area. Her current research and writing is in the field of early childhood education. She has conducted research on childrens play, emergent literacy, and family literacy. She is co-author of Foundations of early childhood education (Prentice-Hall), Right from the start (Allyn and Bacon), Individual differences (Longman), An integrated play-based curriculum for young children (Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group), and co-editor of the Handbook of research on the education of young children (Taylor & Francis, Routledge).