Participation Structure Impacts on Parent Engagement in Family Literacy Programs

Abstract

Intervention programs to improve the educational outcomes of young children have become increasingly popular. Studies suggest that family literacy programs involving parents can result in positive effects on children's language and literacy development. Issues continue to arise, however, regarding the recruitment and retention of families. One component of program designparticipation structure-focuses on who is intended to be the direct or indirect recipient of programming. The relationships between participation structure and the recruitment/retention of families, however, has not been well understood. In this study, parents participated in one of two family literacy program models with varying participation structures-one in which parents attended with their children, the other in which parents attended alone. The purpose of this study was to identify parents' motivations for participating the program, their expectations of what the program would entail, and their reasons for remaining in the program. Focus groups and written questionnaires were used to gather the data. The findings of the study and implications for practice are discussed.

Implementation quality of family literacy programmes: a review of literature

“…Six studies mention the average percentage of sessions attended by parents, ranging from 40% (Sylva et al ., ) to 83% (Van Tuijl & Leseman, ) with a mean of 67%. Mean percentages of parents attending all training sessions ranged from 27% (Scott et al ., ) and 89% (Doyle & Zhang, ) up to a 100% attendance (Faires et al ., ; Rasinski & Stevenson, ; Casey & Williamson, ). The fact that these last three studies included a relatively small number of participating parents (four to six) and/or few group meetings (one to two), likely contributed to the reported 100% attendance.…”

Dialogic reading in the rehabilitation of Children with Hearing Loss and the “Born to Read” Project: A pilot study

“…Fathers and grandparents were often involved in the story telling and this aspect, especially in such a context of a chronic disease, might support the participation of the whole family unit in a long and difficult management (Doyle & Zhang, 2011).…”

The Influence of a School Readiness Program on the Language and Phonological Awareness Skills of Preschool Children in Rural Areas of South Africa

“…In emphasising Vygotsky's theory that learning is an inherently social activity, and that interactions between children and more capable others act as the engine that moves cognitive development forward, Hatch (2010, p. 259) quotes the following statement from Vygotsky (1978, p. 90): 'Learning awakes a variety of internal developmental processes that are able to operate only when the child is interacting with people in his environment'. Within the framework of the very specific context in which these children are brought up, the principle of various interrelated spheres of influence which may have an impact on these children's developmental trajectories, as well as suggestions that cooperative relations and shared goals between different role players and educators may positively influence children's learning outcomes, were considered (Doyle & Zhang, 2011).…”

“…Early literacy skills, which include oral language, phonemic/phonological awareness and print knowledge, are predictive of children's reading success once they are exposed to formal reading instruction (Lonigan, Allan & Lerner, 2011). Due to this insight into the importance of early literacy skills, intervention programs that aim to improve the educational outcomes of young children's learning have become increasingly popular, not only as a research topic but also in practical application (Doyle & Zhang, 2011).…”