- To download a copy of this document in PDF format, click here.
Throughout 2000-1, the National Literacy Trust investigated the evidence
on parental involvement and literacy achievement in published articles
and books and prepared this literature review and position statement.
The aim of the review was to summarise the published findings and to identify
the activities in the home that contribute to children's literacy. It
sought to identify the most effective means of encouraging and supporting
parents and carers to help their children become competent and confident
readers and writers and to suggest the best way forward for policy-makers,
educational providers and parental organisations. It is important to recognise,
however, that activities that support literacy in one instance may not
work in all contexts, particularly where there are language and cultural
differences.
The following conclusions were drawn from the review of what benefits
children's literacy at home:
- Evaluation of parental programmes has been difficult as a result
of methodological problems and funding shortages in relating parental
influences to other influences (ie. socio-economic status). There
is a shortage of longitudinal evidence and empirical evaluations of
parental programmes in the UK, yet there are many indicators in research
that parents can positively influence their children's literacy.
- Early intervention is important because parental activities at
home (such as parents reading to their children, books in the home,
library attendance, parent-child relationships) partially account
for disparities in performance between children at school entry.
- Parent-centred approaches such as Sheffield's ORIM framework and
family literacy may raise parents' confidence in supporting the development
of their children's literacy. Structured programmes that provide support
for parents are effective in raising literacy achievement with potential
long-term effects. Parental involvement in school interventions require
well thought out structures in order to be effective and to involve
parents.
- Some parents are at risk of 'exclusion' from interventions because
of their own reading difficulties or because of different language
and cultural backgrounds.
- Children, including weak readers and additional language learners,
may benefit from 'parents listening to children read' and structured
programmes such as Paired Reading. These interventions involve parents
interacting and conversing with their children around text.
The National Literacy Trust makes the following recommendations:
- The Trust calls for more research into the impact of parents' reading
behaviour and attitudes on:
- children's reading development
- gender influences
- methods for involving parents with low literacy skills and low
socio-economic status
- the impact of ICT on home literacy and parental involvement and
the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of different approaches.
- The Trust recommends a national agenda and specifies funding requirements
for evidence-based and cost-effective programmes that develop parents'
knowledge and skills in literacy. These would include:
- Provision of resources for schools to bid into the Standards
Fund to offer support for parents in addition to family literacy.
- Funding of small-scale cost-effective non-school initiatives
with evaluative dimensions that encourage parents to read and write
with their children.
- More flexible funding for family literacy and family learning
programmes that is not tied to the delivery of specific programmes.
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