Family-focused early learning programs aim to assist parents in supporting their young children language and literacy development. This study examined program access and learning opportunities for diverse families across a wide range of community-based settings in one eastern Canadian province. As well, the study examined practitioners'…

A critical element in South Carolina's Early Childhood Development and Academic Assistance Act is the parenting and family literacy component that targets families of children aged birth to 5 years, with a special emphasis on serving parents and families of children at risk for school failure. This manual offers guidelines for developing parenting…

This paper describes the work of the Even Start Family Literacy Study Group, which met over the course of the 1998-99 school year. Based on the personal experiences of the group's facilitator, the paper presents thoughts about family literacy and the relationship between families, literacy, and programs. In an effort to support family literacy…

Part 2 of a two-part handbook presents reading materials and sample exercises for a distance education course designed to enhance an understanding of the nature of family literacy needs and to show how to develop and teach in family literacy programs. The five elective modules for the course include: designing curriculum materials for parents,…

This newsletter theme issue focuses on the impact of learning disabilities within families, specifically families with low literacy skills. It explores the effectiveness of family literacy programs, examines the connection between the field of family literacy and learning disabilities (LD), and offers suggestions on how to work with students with…

Prince George's County (Maryland) Memorial Library System received a grant to develop and implement a parenting-literacy project for the women in the County Correctional Center. The project's goal was to help the incarcerated female parent develop her own and her child's literacy skills. Eighty-eight women with children aged 5 and under or who…

A program was developed to demonstrate an effective delivery system for providing family-oriented literacy services to homeless parents of young children. By taking the program directly into four bridge or transitional housing sites in Greater Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Literacy Initiative of Goodwill Industries believed that the result would be an…

Even Start was created by federal legislation to address poverty and illiteracy among low-income families by integrating early childhood education, adult literacy or adult basic education, and parenting education into a unified family literacy program. Migrant Education Even Start (MEES) projects resemble other Even Start projects but are affected…

This guide is intended to help adult education programs establish family literacy programs and create Family Learning Centers in Cleveland Public Schools. The information should assist program coordinators in developing educational components that offer activities to raise the self-esteem of the parents and provide them with the knowledge and…

Noting that family literacy can work effectively to break the cycle of undereducation, this book examines the history of the national family literacy movement, discusses the role of the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL), and presents guidelines for designing and developing a family literacy program. The book's introductory section…

This guide aims to provide a practical and comprehensive overview for United Kingdom parents and professionals wanting to support family learning at any level--community, local, regional, or national. Part 1 sets out the case for family learning today. Chapter 1 defines family learning and explains the fundamental principles underpinning it.…

To break intergenerational patterns of literacy-related problems, four 10-week cycles of family literacy programming provided direct literacy and family literacy instruction for fathers incarcerated in Northampton County Prison. Participants included 10-12 fathers per cycle of 50 hours weekly in 6 hours of adult basic education, English as a…

Project PALS (Parenting and Literacy Skills) was designed as a model of holistic comprehensive family literacy for those families connected with a Head Start program. Forty-three of an anticipated 75 families were served. Adult students who were referred by Head Start personnel participated in classes in English as a Second Language, Adult Basic…

Family literacy program development is a complex process involving numerous partners, integration of four components (adult education, early childhood education, parent education and support, and adult and child interactive activities), and a blending of resources for ongoing program support through collaboration. This workbook offers the…

In an effort to recruit more adults in the 18-25 age group, the Greenville Literacy Council of Greenville, Pennsylvania, developed the Keys for Kids program, which was designed to teach young parents to foster emergent literacy skills in their preschoolers and thereby improve their own literacy skills. An 8-week training program was developed to…