"Tender Shoots" compared two book-reading and conversation approaches for parents and preschoolers to an activity-based control group. The "Rich Reading and Reminiscing" (RRR) condition taught parents to converse about the storyline; the "Strengthening Sound Sensitivity" (SSS) condition taught parents to converse…

This paper reports on findings from four case studies, as part of a large-scale study undertaken to evaluate the KindiLink initiative across Western Australia in remote, regional and metropolitan communities. KindiLink is an educator-led playgroup initiative in public school sites in Western Australia targeted at Aboriginal children and their…

There exists an abundance of literature on the use of wordless picturebooks in literacy development, yet very little research exists on their use in the South African context. South Africa is facing what researchers have referred to as a 'national crisis of reading'. Only 5 per cent of parents read with their children, as a result, many children…

Early childhood interventions that target numeracy, language, and literacy skills can help to mitigate negative educational outcomes among young children from low- to middle-income families in developing countries. The current study evaluates the efficacy of parent coaching programs designed to enrich home numeracy and literacy environments in…

The urgency of the research is due to the current requirements to develop the pedagogical culture of parents, which can help them to be successful parents, to effectively interact with their children avoiding family upbringing mistakes. In this respect, the article aims to identify the conditions for development of the pedagogical culture of…

This article provides an empirical context for the role that bi/multi-lingual children and families may play in supporting pre-service and in-service educators engaging difference through a literacy and language situated study abroad internship in Chile. Drawing on data over a 15-year longitudinal study of the program, the authors examine how…

This document is the first report on an evaluation of the Parents as First Teachers Programme (PAFT) in New Zealand, an established parent education and support service for parents of children birth to age three. This preliminary report details the findings of an analysis of a family exit survey completed by 400 families participating in PAFT.…

Describes two models of preschool "playrooms" developed in Serbia based on British playgroups as an alternative to professionally run creches and kindergartens. Playrooms are managed and staffed by parents and promote play as an authentic activity for preschool children. Traces program development and cites research results comparing the…

Examined the impact of a program in Quebec to improve parents' abilities to introduce their preschoolers to the written word. Found evidence for parents' progress and gains in skills. Concluded that the program has significant potential for parental skill development. (Author/KB)

Describes an Australian program, called Talk to a Literacy Learner, which involves parents more intimately in the literacy development of their children. Focuses on the strategies parents use to interact with their children as they read and write. Discusses program effectiveness. (SR)

The goal of England's PEERS Early Education Partnership (PEEP) is to support early communication and literacy skills and to support parents as their children's first educators through both home- and group-based programs. The program is offered to children under 5 and their families in a disadvantaged area of Oxford, England. This report describes…

Examines family literacy programs worldwide. Describes how principles of family literacy are reflected in the programs' intergenerational nature and flexibility. Describes strengths of such programs, including the inclusion of all family members, community participation, the accommodation to varying family interests and needs, provision of…

Describes the Support at Home for Early Language and Literacies (SHELLS) project, an early literacy intervention for families of children between birth and age 3 in rural Australia. Findings from monitoring suggest that this collaborative, flexible model has the potential to assist families from a range of social, cultural, economic, and…

Examines a family literacy program based in a disadvantaged area of Scotland, to show how deficit views of children and their parents (feeling that one's own ways of speaking and writing are "wrong") might be challenged and overcome so that real learning can take place, learning that focuses on people's strengths and different types of…

Describes a successful project in Turkey that promoted a literate family environment in low socioeconomic contexts, focusing on mothers and their young children. Notes long-term effects of the intervention, as a result of which the intervention program has been transformed into a large-scale adult education program. (SR)