Provision and resources must be accessible
Parents came to the class because it was held in a convenient location. The class also provided access to technology normally beyond the parents' reach. For example, none of the parents had computers at home and all but one of them had never used a computer before. Despite this, at their first class, students suggested using the available laptop to produce printed notices for a jumble sale they were organising, and one student has since moved on and obtained qualifications at a Workers' Education Association word processing class.

Personal difficulties create barriers to learning
Only two parents were beginner readers, but both dropped out after only one visit - one because she owed money to a fellow parent, and the other because of grievous personal difficulties. Thus those with the lowest literacy levels received the least tuition. Another problem was that there were times when some parents were so depressed by their personal difficulties that, although present, they were unable to study. Grief, depression and physical illness interfered with their concentration. One student eventually left the class because of her violent husband's objections. Unless their social, physical and economic circumstances improved, it was difficult to see how some parents could make much headway with their education.

Planning the curriculum content
Some parents, described to me as illiterate by non-literacy professionals, could in fact read a newspaper with ease and express themselves in writing well enough to be understood, although their presentation skills were poor. There was also at times a mismatch between my assumptions about their literacy needs and their own perceptions. Parents often chose to work on leisure literacy activities such as games, or personally meaningful tasks such as autobiographical writing. They did not appear to feel a pressing need to improve their functional literacy skills, even though on occasions they arrived with specific functional tasks to accomplish. Their understanding of the purposes of literacy was richer than that provided by the functional/training model.

Need for flexible family literacy provision
In family literacy schemes parents are encouraged to improve their own literacy for the sake of their children, with the danger that literacy as a right for them is overlooked. Parents in this class expressed concern about their children's literacy but their circumstances meant that a family literacy class was not a feasible option at that time. They also agreed that one of the reasons they liked the literacy class was that it was, as expressed by one participant, "something for me". Family literacy providers often opt for provision leading to basic skills accreditation for parents attending their classes, either through the Open College Network or the Basic Skills Agency schemes. However, for some parents, a more flexible form of literacy provision may be advantageous.
 
 

For a more detailed report of the above research see the following article:  Exploring an alternative literacy curriculum for socially and economically disadvantaged parents in the UK. Ann Finlay Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy vol 43, no.1, pp 18-26.  Or write to Ann Finlay at the Department of Educational Studies, University of Sheffield, 388 Glossop Road, Sheffield S10 2JA.

 

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