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Peter Hannon and Viv Bird. In Wasik, B.H. (Ed.) (2004) Handbook
of Family Literacy, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
Background
The paper provides an historical perspective of the development
of family literacy in England since the 1980s. In reviewing
the theory and the research evidence, it describes the climate
for the current delivery of family literacy. Several theoretical
issues are explored: the nature of family, the concept of
literacy, how literacy inequalities in society are understood,
the kinds of teaching thought to be appropriate for adults
and children in programmes, and the aims of such programmes.
Theory
Family literacy comes from two distinctive strands of education,
early childhood development and adult literacy education,
which were linked in the 1990s through family literacy programmes.
Current theory around family literacy conceptualise it as
a set of cognitive skills, or as social practices, or as a
combination of the two. Most family literacy practitioners
aim to impart short-term skills, but also long-term changes
in families, relating, for example, to support for children's
school education, improvements of adults' basic skills, employability
and attitudes to lifelong learning.
The attractiveness of family literacy for policymakers has
resulted in more funding, but the pace of change has resulted
in a distinct lack of clarity of what is now meant by the
term. In brief, family literacy needs to catch up with the
policy climate and restate what it is for and where it fits.
Funding
While Government funding for family literacy has increased
substantially in recent years, funding has often been of a
short-term nature. One consequence has been the difficulty
in sustaining development work in communities. The paper highlights
concerns that the shift to a post-16 funding regime, the Learning
and Skills Council, could mean that family literacy programmes
will be seen as a way of meeting the needs of adults rather
than those of children or families. The authors note that
the Learning and Skills Council has yet to formulate a national
strategy regarding family literacy.
Flexibility
Another issue is flexibility as there are parents who do not
feel sufficiently confident to go on a family literacy course
or see the need for it. Taster sessions are increasingly recognised,
and funded, but the authors identify that there remains a
need for courses of different lengths that would allow parents
to progress at a pace to suit needs and interests. Attracting
fathers onto programmes is also a challenge.
Professional
development
As provision has expanded, there is a need for professional
development among early years educators and adult educators.
For example, early childhood educators are not trained or
experienced in working with adults and therefore in understanding
the importance of taking into consideration adults' previous
negative experiences of schooling. Adult educators often find
they need to know more about pre-school development and the
school curriculum. Higher level courses are being developed
for adult basic skills teachers, and these may eventually
include family literacy, but funding is a key issue.
Evaluation
The final concern is one of research and evaluation. What
is needed is sustained research into basic issues; for example,
there is still no clear evidence that combined family literacy
programmes are more beneficial than separate programmes for
adults and children. Also, there is a lack of longitudinal
studies to show the effect of family literacy programmes in
England, apart from the studies into the Adult Literacy and
Basic Skills Unit (ALBSU, now the Basic Skills Agency) model.
For information on how to order the Handbook
of Family Literacy visit www.erlbaum.com
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