Recording The Experience

USE OF MAKING A BOOK IN FAMILY LEARNING

Making a book

What about home-made books? As children become familiar with the stories of others, they may want to start recording their own stories. Making a home-made book is a natural next step after storytelling and a delightful way to help children learn about books. You can make a book for a child of any age. You can make a book about things you know will interest your child. For example:

  • a story about a family trip,
  • a ‘Me Book’ with pictures and drawings about the child,
  • a book about the family pet,
  • a rhyming book,
  • holiday books – Christmas, Easter, Halloween,
  • a birthday book,
  • a book about going to playschool or school,
  • a book about going to the doctor, or dentist.

Involving your child in making a book teaches him many things about how books ‘work’. He will learn that:

  • a book has a cover page with a  title,
  • the title tells you what this book is about,
  • the book is communicating someone’s thoughts and ideas to others,
  • there is a beginning, a middle and an end to the book,
  • the pages are read left to right.

Making home-made books also provides opportunities for learning about writing and numbers. You can encourage your child to:

  • help you write the words,
  • draw pictures to accompany the words,
  • help cut out pictures for gluing onto the pages,
  • help fit pictures and other objects onto a page,
  • help cut our a design for the book,
  • see that numbers are included in many text messages.

Most of all, seeing his own thoughts and experiences produced in book format will boost your child’s confidence, especially if other family members give him lots of praise and encouragement!  Making home-made books is an excellent way to interest your child in reading and writing. You do not need special talents or a brilliant imagination. Just think about your child’s own interests. You can make a book with your child, or for your child. Either way, you child will be thrilled to see that his words and everyday experiences are important enough to be published! There are many ideas for making books. Here are some suggestions for:

  • theme books,
  • shape books,
  • scrapbooks,
  • ’lift the flap‘ books,
  • zigzag books.

To make the most of these books, you first start with a basic book shape:

  • Place several sheets of paper on top of each other,
  • Fold these in half,
  • Staple the folded side together or punch holes and thread with ribbon or wool to bind the book.

Theme or shape book

Start by making the basic book shape. Next, decide on what your book will be about. Does your child like cars? Make a book about cars and cut it into the shape of a car. Have you had a visit to the seaside recently? Make a book about your trip and cut it into the shape of a fish.

How about a book called, ‘Our House’? You can cut the book into the shape of a house. Your child can help you make the book by filling in the windows and door with squares of coloured cloth. For the inside, cut out pictures of furniture, food, toys, etc.

Scrapbook

Start with the basic book shape. Choose an idea for a topic, such as ’my favourite things’, ’my family’, ’where I live’, ’animals’, or ’toys’. The possibilities are endless. Cut out pictures from magazines or catalogues, or use photographs and stick them into the scrapbook to create the pictures. If you are making the scrapbook with your child, you can Iet your child glue the pictures into the book. Talk about the pictures as he sticks them in. When your child is finished, ask him what he would like you to write under each picture. Read his words or sentences back to him. Decorate the cover with wallpaper or shiny coloured paper, or Iet your child draw a picture. Make the book eye-catching. Punch two holes at the side and weave a ribbon or wool through the holes to make a decorative binding.

’Lift the flap’ book

You can use any book shape to make a ‘lift the flap’ book. You can use any idea to make a ‘lift the flap’ book. You make a ’lift the flap’ book by ‘hiding’ part of a picture or part of the text under a flap (a square of paper or cIoth) that con be lifted. You might make a book about your child’s day and hide a picture of one of his favourite toys under a flop on each page. You might cover up certain words with a small flap. Draw or glue a picture of the hidden word on the flap. Your child can tell what the word is from the picture and then ‘lift the flap’ to read the print.

Zigzag book

Start with a long strip of paper. Fold the strip first one way and then the other (accordion style) until you get to the end of the strip. You can make your zigzag book very simple by putting one letter on each panel to spell out one word or your child’s name. You can also make your zigzag book into a storybook by writing a few sentences on each panel. Illustrate your book by using magazine pictures or drawings on each panel.

Write a story for your child

General Aims:

  1. Explore the computer as a tool for creativity
  2. Practise basic computer skills such as Word and Paint
  3. Explore creative applications on the computer and Internet
  4. Create a special book for their children

Topic Content

  1. Keyboard skills review basics: Reviewing Microsoft Word applications, e.g., paint, inserting pictures.
  2. Making pictures: Making adjustments, saving and retrieving. How to use graphic software. Fun with colours and shapes. Creating a picture based on a child interests.
  3. Getting creative: Making a list of children hobbies and interests. Exploring different kinds of stories (biography, adventure, animal stories). Choosing a topic, practise writing a short piece using a variety of fonts, font sizes. Inserting/replacing words using the thesaurus. Inserting ClipArt images to enhance written work.
  4. Planning your story: Planning a story based on a child interests. Using how, what, when, where, why and how as a framework for generating story ideas. Using a spidergram to sketch the story. Writing the story. Using the thesaurus/dictionary. Reviewing, editing and saving.
  5. Putting it all together: Making final adjustments to the story. Choosing and importing pictures to illustrate or scanning photographs. Designing a cover for the story. Printing and binding.
  6. Explore creative websites for children: Visiting various websites that can support children’s writing. Looking at Lifesteps library series ‘Using the Internet for…’

Websites:

  • www.bookhive.org
  • www.dictionary.com
  • www.literacytools.ie
  • www.parentsintouch.co.uk
  • www.lifesteps.ie
  • www.meddybemps.com/9.700.html

Together Time Activity

Writing is an excellent way for children to express their thoughts, creativity, and uniqueness. Building your child’s interest in writing and developing writing skills can happen naturally as they play. Writing about play and as part of play is more instructive and meaningful to your child than tracing letters on a worksheet.

During play, look for opportunities to connect drawing and writing. Ask questions about your child’s writing to show them you are interested in their thoughts and ideas. Give positive feedback to keep interest in writing high.

• Take writing outside! Your child can write or draw with chalk or old paintbrushes and water on sidewalks or fences. Sticks can become pencils and used to write in dirt or sand.

• One of the first words children usually learn to write is their first name. Names are meaningful to children. Writing the first letter of their first name is typically a cause for celebration! Provide your child with written examples of their name and upper case and lowercase letters that they can use when playing. You can support this interest during play by encouraging children to “sign” their artwork, because that’s what artists do. During pretend play as a doctor, encourage the doctor to “sign” their name on the prescription—because that’s what doctors do. Providing authentic reasons to write is motivating to young children.

• Model writing by offering to “write it down” for your child. When they have created a wonderful pretend meal for you, offer to write the recipe down. Invite your child to draw pictures of the food. The written recipe and the drawing can be put with others to make a cookbook that can be read repeatedly. This activity teaches children that what is spoken can be written and what is written can be read.

Hints for Success

• Accept and celebrate every mark, scribble, drawing, or letter your child writes. Your enthusiasm and excitement will encourage them to continue taking risks as their writing skills develop.

• Teach your child how to properly take out and put away writing materials. Pay close attention to markers that will dry out if not capped properly. Placing caps securely on markers is also an excellent activity to strengthen small muscles in the fingers.

• Rotate the writing tools and materials that your child has access to. Children like to explore new things. Occasionally providing new and different writing materials helps keep children interested in writing.

Reflection

Writing might seem like an easy process to adults, but it is actually a complicated process for children to master. Writing involves the mind and body working together to produce symbols that communicate thoughts and ideas to others. Examine your day-to-day life to see where you can find opportunities to model and share writing with your child. Connecting writing to topics that your child shows interest in is motivating and helps them to see how writing is used in our everyday lives.

Children’s Books to Support This Concept:

  • “A Squiggly Story” by Andrew Larsen
    • “Chalk” by Bill Thomson
    • “The Day the Crayons Quit” by Drew Daywalt

Resources:

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PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECTS IN FAMILY LEARNING

Learning through photography

‘Maths is easy, Photography is hard’

224 workshops were delivered to around 1400 children from 56 reception and primary schools classes alongside with teachers and TA who attended an INSET session. 120 collective stories, built 32 pop up darkrooms and done 32 photo hunts and introduced more than 120 parents to using photography at home to support their children’s education, give their children freedom to explore and express themselves without judgment and explore their local environment.

Learning through photography encourages children to explore their world as they photograph scenes from their daily lives. Their photos become catalysts for oral and written expression, and family learning.

Fotosynthesis Community put together a project with the Brixton Learning Collaborative and the Windmill cluster, who work for 2 groups of 21 schools in Lambeth, South London. The schools work together through educational partnerships to support the children and families in the London Borough of Lambeth, which includes one of the 10 most deprived wards in England, UK.

Building on the success of a 3 months pilot project carried out in spring 2014, Fotosynthesis Community received initial funding from a local charity to deliver a programme of workshops using photography to support literacy and maths in primary schools in Lambeth over 3 years.

Storytelling through photography

It’s for practitioners who are developing family learning programmes with English for speakers of other languages (ESOL). It can also be used to develop literacy programmes with adults in the community.

​This practice exemplar shows Dalmarnock primary school and Glasgow Clyde College engaged parents and children in a creative literacy project. In storytelling through photography, the media of language and photography were used to engage families in core literacy learning alongside the practical skill of using a camera.​

The dual medium allows the course to work from early years to adults balancing narrative with photographic content.​

How to use this exemplar

The exemplar along with the reflective questions can be used by practitioners to consider their own approach to involving and engaging parents and families whose first language is not English, in a creative literacy project.

Reflective questions:

  • How do you identify and address any barriers to participation?
  • How well do you seek out and respond positively to potential partnerships which will lead to better outcomes for the children and young people you work with?
  • How effectively do you support parents and families to participate in, contribute to and understand their child’s learning?
  • How effectively are you promoting and celebrating the first language of parents and their children?
  • How do you support learners to decide on the focus of the project and take ownership for the artistic and literary direction?
  • How do you assess the participants’ literacy levels to develop a programme?
  • How do you ensure you have the appropriate teaching in place to deliver photographic storyboards and narrative content?
  • What evidence do we have that family learning is improving the life chances of the children and families involved?
  • Are outcomes for children and families improving as a result of their participation in family learning? How do we know?

Explore this exemplar

What was done?

Pictures were taken of interesting local landmarks and, alongside their children, parents wrote an imaginative tale of a dragon’s adventure through their local area. This story was translated into mandarin by the families, supporting the effort to make these children bilingual. In addition to the legacy booklet, which was professionally printed, the group held a successful photographic exhibition inviting community people and supporters from across education.

Why?

For many parents working with their children on creative literacy can be a daunting prospect. They often struggle to know how to create a story, where to begin, how to end it, how to make it an interesting experience for their children and ultimately for the reader. This can also be the case when adults want to use language to tell a story, whether this is a piece of fiction or a fact or issue based story. Not having English as a first language can compound this difficulty. Using the idiom that a picture is worth a thousand words, Glasgow Clyde College combined these two mediums of writing and photography to help adults to tell stories. This was quickly linked to the fact that these two activities would work very well in family learning approach to allow both adult and child to collaborate as equal partners in the project.

What was the impact?

At the start of the course the tutor will take the learners through a Group Learning and Support Plan which will enable a collective look at what they hope to gain from the course and what learning style will best suit them during the course. A plan is developed and agreed upon. This Plan is revisited halfway through the course and any amendments made to the learning programme. It is looked at again at the end of the programme and learners are given the opportunity to provide impact statements on their learning. In addition an impact sheet is held by the tutor to record any impact statements made during the course. Finally both the learner and the tutor complete and evaluation sheet on the course. These documents are pulled together to enable an overview on the teaching and learning and impact made on each individual course and each individual learner.

The school has seen the following improvement and impacts:

  • increased literacy in both adults and young people
  • adults and child have learned together as equal partners
  • increased parental confidence to participate in the wider life of the school
  • Increased parental engagement with families who would not normally participate
  • parents are now going out with their children independently of the school to take photographs
  • the first language of the child and parent is recognised, developed and maintained

Resources:

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USE OF JOURNALS IN FAMILY LEARNING

Documenting the activities offered and a family’s participation in parent engagement activities at home may look a little different from in person. Engagement tracking depends on how you are communicating with families. Here are a few strategies and tools that will be helpful in documenting parent engagement:

  • Practitioners and families can use a Family Engagement Log to track participation hours. Have a Parent Time session to familiarize families with the Family Engagement Log and share expectations for completion along with directions for sharing the completed document with you. You can use this form with in-person, distance, and virtual learning program delivery models.
  • Distance learning happens when communicating with families without the support of technology. In addition to the Family Engagement Log, families can track their participation in activities by responding to Parent Time content and PACT (Parent and Child Together) Time reflections in a journal periodically shared with the teacher. The teacher comments on journal entries and sends it back to the family. Teachers can also communicate with families during an individual phone call or with the group in a conference call.
  • Virtual learning happens when teachers and families communicate with the support of technology. There are free, web-based tools—such as Google Meets or Zoom—available to bring families together virtually to learn, share successes, and share strategies for overcoming challenges.

It will be up to your program to determine which strategies will work best for involving families around family engagement in-person, at home, and in their communities.

Together Time Activity

Head outside with your child and follow their lead. Being outside can lead to unlimited options for play, so watch and listen to how your child wants to play. They may want to do a physical activity like running, biking, playing a game, play with a toy, connect with nature, or have a picnic. Most activities that families do indoors can be done outdoors as well. Families can help their child get outside more by suggesting taking an activity outside.

Make time to get outside as a family as much as possible. Start noticing what your child likes when they are outside. This will help during outdoor play because you will already know what they are interested in. If your child is interested in bugs, find one they like, have them draw and color it. Later as a family, you can look up bugs matching the description to learn more about them. This can spark an added interest in nature. Below is a list of things to do outside with your child:

  • Read a book outside.
    • Create a nature journal.
    • Collect natural materials.
    • Play a game.

Hints for Success

• Be prepared with appropriate clothing, a water bottle, and sunscreen if needed.

• You do not need many toys to play outside. You can play with what you have at home or what you find in nature.

• Going outside often, even for a small amount of time, is beneficial. Movement and fresh air help our bodies stay healthy.

Reflection

Being outside in fresh air and sunshine can help you and your family’s well-being. Reflect on how you felt after spending time with your family outside. Think about what was interesting to your child, what you played, and how you played. Think about ways the game or activity could be continued in either environment—indoors or outdoors.

Children’s Books to Support This Concept

  • “When the World is Sleeping” by Rita Gray
    • “The Hike” by Alison Farrell
    • “Windows” by Julia Denos
    • “All The World” by Liz Garton Scanlon

Resources:

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OTHER PROJECTS IN FAMILY LEARNING

Parental Involvement Project

In 1990s, Offaly VEC began a family learning course that was based on the Parental Involvement Project (PIP) Early Intervention Initiative. This programme later became the basis for tutor training sessions and a model for similar adult literacy programmes run in a number of counties.

Clare Family Learning Project

  1. Programme Overview

Programme Title                     : Clare Family Learning

Implementing Organization     : Clare Adult Basic Education Service

Language of Instruction          : English

Funding                                  : Department of Education, Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board (LCETB)

Programme Partners             : Schools, community centres, libraries, adult education centres and family resource centres

Annual Programme Costs     : Less than €200,000 (approximately $220,000). The annual programme cost per learner is €500 (approximately $550)

Date of Inception                     : 1994

  • Clare Family Learning Project

Clare Family Learning works with parents to develop their interests, abilities and knowledge in order to help them better support and encourage their children’s educational attainment. This approach improves the literacy and numeracy of both parents and their children because it creates a bridge between home and school, and between home and adult learning opportunities. Many parents need support to take that first step into learning. Helping their children is strong motivation for parents to take part in education. Once in the classroom, they become aware of other areas where they may need to upskill, thus encouraging them to continue as lifelong learners.

The programme’s main target groups are families from migrant, low-income and Traveller backgrounds who have fewer educational and occupational opportunities than other communities. The programme plays an important role in Ireland as a leading contributor to the development of family learning. It is one of the main family learning providers in the country, while also contributing substantially to research and training in the field.

In 2014, Clare Family Learning had 400 participants, taught by 13 part-time tutors and one full-time tutor. Since 1998, one full-time coordinator has managed the project, greatly improving the reach of the programme and increasing the provision of services to learners. As a result, in 2014, Clare Family Learning provided 52 courses, on 26 different topics, in 23 locations across Clare County.

  • Aims and Objectives

The main aim of the Clare Family Learning project is to encourage parents to get involved in their children’s education. The programme affirms parents in their role as ‘first teacher’, supporting them in helping their children in their literacy and numeracy development. This process is beneficial to both parents and children because parents also have the chance to improve their literacy and numeracy skills through participation in the programme. Children function as the programme’s ‘hook’ in raising the educational attainment of parents because, of course, all parents want the best for their children. Through this structure, the programme tries to build a friendly and positive learning environment tailored towards the educational needs of families. The programme’s use of the term ‘family learning’, rather than ‘family literacy’, is deliberate, as it has a more holistic meaning and fewer negative connotations than ‘literacy’.

In addition, Clare Family Learning has established partnerships between families, schools and the wider community to build a broader support network for parents who have limited opportunities to access education and employment. Priority participants are single-parent families, teenage/young parents, Travellers, refugees and asylum seekers, and migrant workers, as well as carers and foster parents. Travellers make up 0.6% of the Irish population (Central Statistics Office Census 2011) and have traditionally moved in a nomadic way around the country seeking seasonal work. Education may not be valued highly by some families and there is strong discrimination against this community (Mac Gréil 1996)

The programme’s specific goals are to:

  • Improve the literacy, numeracy and language skills of participants;
  • Teach parents about the Irish educational system;
  • Equip parents with the skills necessary to communicate with school staff;
  • Teach parents how to help with their children’s school work;
  • Promote parent/child interactions and learning activities (Carpentieri, Fairfax-Cholmeley, Litster, Vorhaus 2011).
  • Programme Implementation

3.1 Enrolling Learners and Identifying their Needs

Clare Family Learning engages new learners through partnerships with ‘link agencies’, such as schools, social services, libraries and community groups, which connect the project with groups of parents with learning needs. To engage learners from Roma and Traveller communities, the project uses a learning champion. Clare Adult Basic Education Service has identified a need to improve outreach efforts to priority groups and young adults and to use social media to recruit new families.

As learners are enrolled, facilitators, agency staff and parents discuss which learning needs participants would like to address. This, in turn, enables the project to adjust its teaching methodologies and develop courses suited to the needs of participants. Listening to parents is essential in developing courses that address topics of interest to participants.

The programme’s tutors also recognize that listening and being responsive to parents’ needs is key. As there is the flexibility to pilot courses, learners’ feedback throughout the learning process is fundamental. Pilots can be rolled out nationally if the need arises, as it has, for example, in the case of Fun Science for Dads and Children and Learning about Project Maths, and there is no ‘off the shelf’ course, as the programme must be adjusted to the educational levels of parents and reflect their needs and interests.

Clare Family Learning develops resources in response to learners’ requests for support. The project shares its resources online, including a DVD and publications such as Family Learning in Action, which features outline plans for 20 courses with a sample plan that facilitators can develop to suit their own group’s needs.

3.2 Teaching and Learning: Approaches and Methodologies

The programme’s teaching approach incorporates a variety of methodologies, which jointly provide a vivid learning experience for participants. Teaching methodologies include small-group and paired work, and interactive sessions involving visuals, audios, clips and DVDs. Other learning methods, such as presentations, discussions, walking debates, hands-on activities and role-playing, are also used.

3.3 Teaching Content

Clare Family Learning structures its course content into five categories: Books and stories: Early years 0 – 7; Learning in the home and community; Homework and study skills; and How school works: primary/secondary. A complete list of courses the programme offers can be found at www.clarefamilylearning.org.

3.4 Teaching Materials

Parents and children learn on courses using everyday materials families have at home. These can include items such as envelopes, supermarket advertisements and other reading materials. Materials used in class also include utensils and other household items. Matching socks, for example, can become a numeracy learning activity. Resources for both parents and tutors are available online.

The Clare Family Learning project embeds information and communication technologies (ICT) in every class. The organization possesses a suite of laptops that are available for venues if needed. Smartphones also play a role during class as many participants own them and want to learn how to use them better.

3.5 Programme Structure and Process

The project operates family literacy courses in schools, community centres, libraries, adult education centres and family resource centres, as well as in other locations throughout communities. The organization partners with these institutions to offer classes close to where participants live. The programme runs in approximately 20 different locations in County Clare each year. Classes take place from September to June.

The average number of participants is kept small, at between eight and 10 parents per class, in order to allow all participants to learn at their own pace. The majority of courses are ‘parent-only courses’. However, ‘parent and child together’ courses are also available. Priority is given to parents who have not obtained a full second-level education to Level 5 or below in our National Qualifications Standard.

After taking part in family learning courses, parents have the opportunity to progress onto accredited courses offering certificates at Quality Qualifications Ireland (QQI) levels 1 to 3. These courses teach content at a level equivalent to the halfway point of secondary school and last between 20 and 25 weeks. Parents can progress to QQI Level 4 or Level 5 through the organization’s further education services. QQI courses focus on specific areas, such as catering, childcare, healthcare, business and art, and are portfolio-based at levels 1–4, with exams at L 5.

3.6 Monitoring and Evaluation

To date, Clare Adult Basic Education Service (within which Clare Family Learning is based) has been required to provide quantitative data to the government Department of Education and Skills. Currently, at national level, the further education and training sector is looking at ways of measuring the wider benefits of learning. The organization conducts mid-course evaluation of participants to gather feedback on their progress. Tutors also use ‘progression forms’, which help keep track of participants’ progress in terms of educational, economic, personal, social and family terms.

3.7 Facilitators

The facilitators who work for Clare Family Learning are either full-time or part-time employees. All facilitators are well qualified, with many holding an advanced degree in their area of expertise. Before they start working with participants, every teacher is required to complete a two-day family learning training course as well as an adult literacy course. The average remuneration for facilitators is €45.25 (equivalent to US $51) per hour.

Since 2000, the organization has trained 763 family learning tutors on the basis of its Clare Family Learning Resource Pack. This has developed to include a wide range of programmes. The focus of the programme’s tutor training is on the practical implementation of family learning programmes suited to the specific needs of learners in a locality. As a result, many family learning courses emerged from Clare’s work with parents and partners.

  • Impact and Challenges

4.1 Impact and Achievements

Clare Family Learning has made a substantial impact at local, national and international levels. Locally, Clare Adult Basic Education Service increased its outreach to parents by connecting with agencies which promoted the services to their clients (learners). Over time, the organization developed and improved resources and training to maximize the benefits to learners, while increasing cost-efficiency at the same time.

At national level, the organization has helped achieve recognition for family learning methodologies at government level. In addition, it has developed an extensive national network of trained staff. Both nationally and internationally, Clare Family Learning disseminates knowledge and resources obtained and developed from the programme, through publications and participation in European Union (EU) funded projects and other international exchanges. For example, project staff showed participants from Norway, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Germany, Luxembourg, Estonia, Romania, Slovenia, France, England and Turkey how to implement similar family literacy projects by sharing knowledge and resources. The organization has also presented the Clare Family Learning project at international events such as the National Families Learning Summit in Houston, Texas, USA. Through these outreach efforts, the programme has been adapted for use in Sweden, Norway, Germany and other parts of Europe.

Participants improve their literacy, build their confidence, find new talents and discover a passion for learning when they participate in the programme. They also benefit from meeting new people and experiencing new cultures. Since some participants are migrants or have a Traveller community background, the classroom is a unique opportunity to form new relationships and learn about other cultures. These aspects of the programme empower participants who primarily come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Several research abstracts on the Clare Family Learning website discuss the effect of the Clare Family Learning project on participants. For example, researchers have found that the programme increases parents’ ‘understanding and knowledge about how children learn and develop cognitively, socially and emotionally’. Parents also became aware that they need to be a role model for children and create an environment at home that is conducive to learning. In addition, participants gained the confidence to take ownership of their children’s literacy attainment and to interact with school staff. The programme also has a positive effect on the mental health of participants because it gives them a reason to get out of the house, enables them to meet new people, and provides them with new experiences (Webb 2007).

Figures on learner retention show how parents progress from informal learning to QQI Level 1, up to Level 3. In 2014, 45 per cent of the learners were new, 19 per cent had stayed for one or two years, 16 per cent for between three and five years, and 20 per cent for five years or more.

4.2 Lessons Learned

  • Clare Family Learning has found family learning to be a successful methodology in engaging hard-to-reach parents. Confidence is one of the key foundation skills parents need if they are to believe in their own ability to learn and be able to support their child’s learning. Family learning allows parents to become successful in small, easy-to-achieve tasks which encourage further participation (McGivney 2002).
  • Family learning highlights the important role of parental involvement. Many parents do not realise they play such an important role in their child’s education, especially parents of children aged up to three. The amount of oral communication and reading happening in and around the home impacts hugely on the child’s later achievements in school (Shiel, Cregan, McGough, Archer 2012 and Hart 2003).
  • The majority of parents who complete a family learning class continue onto other learning opportunities. This positive role-modelling of learning impacts on children (and other family members), leading to increased parental involvement in children’s learning, a key factor in ensuring higher achievement (Desforges, Abouchaar 2003 and National Institute of Adult Continuing Education 2013).
  • Parents value the social aspects of classes where they meet people, make new friends and create networks. Classes provide opportunities for cultural integration, as Irish, migrant and Traveller parents learn together.
  • The element of fun is important. Parents enjoy completing a task or making something in each class. There is a sense of achievement and completion. Many vulnerable parents did not have the experience of playing with their own parents and do not know how to pass this skill on to their children.
  • Clare Family Learning project, conscious of the dangers of providing an overly feminised curriculum, developed its programme in order to reach fathers Courses such as Games, Gadgets and Machines and Weekend Action for Dads and Children were offered.
  • It is necessary to pilot courses on a smaller scale to see if they work. After piloting, courses can be scaled up to national level.
  • Clare Family Learning partners with local schools, agencies and community groups when implementing a new course. Such a partnership approach has been proven to maximize outreach to under-served families and to make the best use of limited funding.
  • The programme’s focus on helping children learn is the ‘hook’ which makes learning attractive to parents. This approach is useful because parents usually want to do what is best for their children.
  • Operating the programme in various changing locations has proven to be more efficient and cost-effective way to operate since it increases outreach and is less expensive than a centre-based model. Providing classes close to where parents live avoids the need for transport, which can be a problem in rural parts of the county.

4.3 Challenges

  • Keeping up to date with the fast pace of change in the world of technology is difficult for parents. It can be hard to provide answers to complex issues such as online safety and bullying. As internet and smartphones are widely available, the issue of parental supervision and understanding (possible implications of the use of new online possibilities) is something that providers need to keep in mind.
  • Ways of capturing evidence of outcomes and impact within family learning nationally, without a dedicated focus on this specific area, can be difficult, with implications for future funding. International findings in this field show there is scope for better research (Brooks, Cara 2012).
  • In order to reach a younger cohort of parents, the programme needs to use new rather than traditional forms of media.
  • Conclusion

Clare Family Learning has been creative and innovative in reaching parents who are among the most isolated and disadvantaged. This non-threatening first step back into education is vital in engaging parents and can make a long-term difference both to the parents and their children.

  • Additional information

In 2000, Clare Family Learning Project published their comprehensive Family Learning Resource Guide. The resource guide explained the rationale for family literacy and also shared materials and expertise developed through their years of practice in the area.

In 2009, Clare Family Learning Project published Family Learning Programmes in Ireland, a guide detailing family literacy activities in each county in Ireland.

Many of the programmes can lead onto FETAC Level 3 modules, e.g., Playing together can support some of the work towards FETAC Child Development and Play Level 3 module. Attending an informal course can build skills, confidence and some of the content for an accredited module. Clare Family Learning Project developed two family learning FETAC Level 3 modules to support parents of primary school children. Learning Skills covers the areas of the growing child, home and school learning and supporting homework. Home Study Skills covers the areas of learning as fun, literacy development and exploring numbers. These are available on the FETAC website: www.fetac.ie

Research project on family literacy

Between September 2018 and February 2019 a research project was conducted to map the provision of family literacy across all sixteen ETBs (Education and Training Boards). The aim of the research project was to provide further education and training stakeholders with a contemporary picture of family literacy activity in ETBs against a backdrop of the Further Education and Training Strategy (FET Strategy) 2014-2019 and wider related government policy. Additionally, this project intended to elicit good practice models from current family literacy activities in order to devise a set of practical guidelines that would assist future development of family literacy policy and practice within the FET sector. This comprehensive background report includes a detailed national and international context for family literacy practice, a survey of family literacy provision in all sixteen Education Training Boards (ETBs), three case studies of family literacy in practice, and good practice guidelines for family literacy in the further education and training (FET) sector.

Upper Nithsdale Men and their Children (MATCH) – Dumfries and Galloway Council Programme

Fathers/male carers are an important part of a child’s life and educational development. However, they were underrepresented in their child’s life at school. Family learning workers in partnership with schools and Adult Learning needed a powerful incentive to tempt them back into the school environment. The first engagement was an invite to have a free professional father/child(ren) portrait taken. Once the photographs were ready the men were invited back into school to collect their framed portrait, at this point they were invited to join additional programmes. Since then fathers and their children have engaged in a series of intergenerational learning trips including outdoor education activities such as abseiling, kayaking, orienteering and mountain biking.

Family learning sessions in school have included healthy cooking, science fun, storytelling, family quizzes, numeracy games, computing sessions including animation and film making, family first aid and team building games such as photo treasure hunts. Since its inception this initiative has involved over 200 fathers and over 300 children, from age 3 upwards.

Why

Family learning and development workers had been working in partnership with Upper Nithsdale primary schools for many years. Prior to the introduction of MATCH the vast majority of participants in both family learning and local adult learning opportunities were women. Research at the time of the group’s inception stated that father’s involvement:

  • increased attainment;
    • improved behaviour; and
    • had a direct impact on children’s overall social development and wellbeing.

Impact

An independent study by The Linked Work and Training Trust found that the active learning in the MATCH group:

  • opened up more opportunities for men to take part in an educational process;
  • created more opportunities for parents’ own skills and knowledge to be recognised and utilised;
  • increased parents’ confidence in their ability to contribute to their children’s education;
  • provided a full range of creative, physical, innovative and enjoyable ‘hands on’ opportunities that enabled many more parents to become involved;
  • helped parents to see the world outside the classroom as a learning resource; and
  • built community capacity.

As a result of partnership working between family learning, adult learning and schools, men have taken up many local adult learning opportunities. For example:

  • computing classes;
  • digital photography;
  • mathematics – ‘How to help your child with maths’;
  • one to one literacy support;
  • storytelling group – the group published their own stories; and
  • sTEPS group.

Creative Together

Creative Together was a four year programme delivered by Artworks Creative Communities and funded by a Big Lottery Family Learning Grant. Working across four areas of West Yorkshire (Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees and Leeds) the programme used a range of creative techniques to help parents and carers to enjoy learning together.

The programme worked with many families, some of whom had very diverse and challenging backgrounds – including physical and learning disabilities, families with a child at risk of exclusion and people from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, many of whom did not have English as their first language.

As the programme developed it became possible to identify the techniques that we found most effective, and it became apparent relatively early in the project that storytelling helped families to work well together. Furthermore, when combined with other art forms such as animation and film it became more appealing to many parents and carers, especially fathers (who had previously been more difficult to engage).

Having overachieved its outputs, it was possible for the programme’s approach to become even more innovative, and explorative in the way in which it was delivered. There was also a strong sense that there should be an emphasis on sustainability, ensuring that the learning was embedded within artists and partner organisations.

At the start of the Creative Together programme Artworks commissioned Anni Raw to act as an external evaluator and she has worked closely with Artworks, its artists and practitioners to examine the different approaches used in the programme. Following this work Anni has helped to design and deliver training to help artists and support workers to gain a deeper understanding of how and why specific ways of working are particularly effective.

Key features of the program:

  • Simple, ordinary materials
  • Making and chatting
  • Storytelling: working with narratives
  • Working with feelings
  • Fun and playfulness: permission to play together
  • Giving space to nonsense: a child’s imaginative world
  • Eating together
  • Embracing risk and experimentation
  • Closing rituals
  • Shared celebration of work

Family Literacy Programmes, Turkey

  1. Programme Overview

Programme Title                     : Family Literacy Programmes

Implementing Organization     : Mother-Child Education Foundation (AÇEV)

Language of Instruction          : Turkish

Programme Partners             : UNICEF, UNESCO, UNDP, European Commission, World Bank, government (through the Ministries of National Education and Health), media groups (TRT, NTV, Kanal D) and local NGOs.

Date of Inception                     :1993

  • Family Literacy Programmes (FLPs)

FLPs are integrated and intergenerational programmes which provide families from poor and marginalised areas of Turkey with ECE and adult literacy/education training. Through the FLPs, AÇEV endeavours to:

  • create equal opportunities for all citizens to gain access to education;
  • provide socially disadvantaged people with access to low-cost, alternative early childhood and adult education (lifelong learning);
  • promote family involvement in child education; and
  • improve societal development and quality of life through family education and empowerment programmes.

Over the years and through concerted scientific research and strategic partnerships with local and international institutions of higher education, such as Harvard University and the Synergos Institute, AÇEV has refined the FLPs into its two main constituent components: ECE and adult education. These are in turn sub-divided as follows:

3.1 Early Childhood Education Programmes (ECEPs)

Mother-Child Education Programme (MOCEP): This is a home-based ECE (for children aged 5-6) and adult education programme which was initiated in 1993 (see below for details).

Pre-school Parent Child Education Programme (PCPEP): This scientifically-based training programme was initiated in 1999, and targets children attending state-run pre-schools and their parents. PCPEP aims to strengthen the curriculum and training strategies used by existing state ECE programmes, as well as to support parent-school cooperations as a means of improving the effectiveness of ECE programmes. To this end, AÇEV provides pre-schools with ECE teaching-learning materials, while parents are provided with both literacy materials and training in order to empower them to effectively support their children’s learning. It also facilitates teacher-parent networking through inclusive, monthly parent seminars.

Pre-school Education Programme (PEP, since 1993): PEP is a scientifically-based, intensive pre-school programme lasting 9 weeks that targets children from exceptionally underprivileged communities or regions. It aims to support the holistic and psycho-social development of children in order to improve their educational achievements and social success. The programme trains children, parents and teachers.

3.2 Adult Education Programmes

  • Mother Support Programme (MSP, since 2003): MSP is a modular programme targeting mothers of children aged 3-11, providing them with training that increases their capacity to support the psycho-social development and well-being of their children. The programme lasts eight weeks and focuses on: positive child rearing; sexual reproductive health for mothers; ways of positive learning environments; and the importance of play. MSP is often facilitated by teachers, social workers and counsellors.
  • Father Support Programme (FSP, since 1996): The FSP evolved from the MSP (that is, at the request of MSP participants) and thus endeavours to promote holistic child development by improving the parenting skills of fathers of children aged 2-10 years.
  • Family Letters Project and Parenting Seminars: These complement the MSP and FSP programmes.
  • Functional Adult Literacy and Women’s Support Programme (FALP): FALP was initiated in 1995 and provides illiterate women with literacy and skills training (see below).

AÇEV also undertakes other literacy/educational advocacy initiatives, including the “7 Is Too Late” and the EU-funded “Raising Women: Reducing Gender Disparity in Education” campaigns, as well as educational TV and radio broadcasts.

Essentially, therefore, FLPs are primarily concerned with creating a social environment supportive of the holistic, psycho-social development of children by providing entire families with low-cost alternatives to formal education and training. Since its foundation and through the FLPs, AÇEV has trained 5,000 educators and served 411,000 children and their parents through face-to-face instruction. A further 36,000,000 people have benefited from TV and radio-based educational programmes and the production and distribution of educational materials. In addition, its advocacy campaigns have been instrumental in persuading the government to introduce compulsory free education. AÇEV’s approaches to education and training have proven so successful that FLPs have been adopted in other countries such as Belgium, Germany, France, Holland, Bahrain, Jordan and Palestine. In order to fully comprehend the interconnectedness and contribution of the constituent projects of FLPs towards combating illiteracy, this report analyses MOCEP and FALP in greater detail.

  • The Mother-Child Education Programme (MOCEP)

MOCEP is an intergenerational, culturally-sensitive and home-based ECE and adult education/literacy development programme which targets socially disadvantaged children (aged 5 to 6 years) with limited access to formal pre-school education and their mothers, many of whom are illiterate or semi-literate. It emerged from two decades of scientific and action-based research undertaken by AÇEV with professional assistance from Boğaziçi University. MOCEP was developed in response to the lack of pre-school services in marginalised communities and thus seeks to foster the holistic, psycho-social (cognitive, emotional, social, physical, etc.) development of pre-school children through appropriate ECE and training. As a home-based programme, MOCEP was developed using an environmental approach to child development and education. This approach recognises the critical role of children’s social environment in fostering optimal child psycho-social development. As such, MOCEP endeavours to support families (mothers) and child development through appropriate literacy training.

4.1 Aims and Objectives

MOCEP aims to:

  • provide access to ECE opportunities to underprivileged children;
  • foster optimal psycho-social development among children in order to enhance their preparedness for advanced education (primary, secondary and tertiary);
  • instil mothers with positive parenting attitudes and the skills they need to facilitate the holistic psycho-social development and long-term social wellbeing of their children; and
  • create a home environment that helps children gain an education.

In order to achieve these goals as well as to be effective and sustainable, MOCEP focuses on three interlinked and theme-based training areas:

  • Mother Empowerment or Home Enrichment Programme: This programme focuses on the role of mothers in children’s psycho-social development and therefore aims to enhance their capacity to create a positive home environment which is conducive to optimal child development. This is fostered through training in literacy, child-rearing practices, conflict management, health education and sexual education.
  • Reproductive Health and Family Planning: This component increases mothers’ awareness of their reproductive systems, rights, the principles of safe motherhood and various family planning methods.
  • Cognitive Education Programme (CEP): CEP endeavours to empower mothers by providing them with the skills needed to support the cognitive development of their children and prepare them for enrolment into primary school. In other words, it enhances the role of mothers as first teachers/educators of children, training them to develop their children’s basic literacy skills, ability to recognise geometric shapes, and listening and communication skills. For example, mothers are trained to use story books to foster language, critical thinking, comprehension and communication skills among children. This also gives mothers the opportunity to consolidate their own literacy skills.

4.2 Programme Implementation: Approaches and Methodologies

MOCEP is implemented by AÇEV in collaboration with the Ministry of National Education (MoNE, General Directorate of Apprenticeship and Non-formal Education). Learning is conducted at Adult/Public Education Centres (A/PECs) across Turkey by a network of teachers and social workers who are trained in ECE and adult literacy/education by AÇEV and MoNE. The facilitators are also responsible for managing and coordinating centre-based learning activities. AÇEV provides trainers with ongoing and on-the-job follow-up training, mentoring and supervision in order to enhance programme effectiveness.

Mothers attend weekly literacy classes for a period of 25 weeks (six months). In addition, programme facilitators undertake home visits to provide further individualised literacy learning assistance to participating families and consolidate mothers’ acquired parenting and literacy skills. This, in turn, increases their ability to act as the first educators of their children.

Although different teaching-learning approaches are employed, MOCEP emphasises interactive and participatory methodologies in order to encourage learners to learn from each other. For example, for the Reproductive Health and Family Planning and Mother Enrichment programmes, groups of 20 to 25 mothers attend weekly, three-hour adult education sessions during which they engage in active and socially-relevant group discussions and role plays. Mothers are also expected to apply their acquired skills in real-life situations (i.e. in the home), a process which enables AÇEV to monitor programme effectiveness through feedback provided during class discussions.

Additionally, mothers are encouraged to participate in the learning process (both in classes and at home) and thus to assist their children in various learning activities including book reading and storytelling; letter or word recognition through sounds and images; recognition of colours and shapes; and discussion-based problem-solving skills. These activities stimulate intergenerational learning and positive parent-child communication and relations. Furthermore they provide children with emotional security and the scaffolding necessary for progressive development and effective learning. Overall, encouraging mothers to learn together with their children enhances the literacy skills acquisition process for both.

4.3 Impact/Achievements of MOCEP

MOCEP is one of the most successful components of the Family Literacy Programmes and has, as a result, attracted significant attention as an innovative and effective ECE and adult literacy/education programme. Accordingly, several academic and evaluation studies (see below) have been undertaken to see how the programme has contributed towards child and adult literacy development and harness the results to learn from and improve the programme. In addition, the adoption of the approach by other nations provides further evidence of its effectiveness and adaptability to different contexts.

Evaluation studies have demonstrated that MOCEP has been critical in fostering optimal child psycho-social development, as well as child and adult literacy. Key indicators of the impact of MOCEP are as follows:

  • To date, MOCEP has trained 900 teachers and reached a total of 237,000 mothers and children, of whom 28,568 benefited in 2007 alone. Each year, the programmes targets around 45,000 mothers and children.
  • Several studies have revealed significant differences in psycho-social development between children whose mothers had participated in MOCEP and those who had not. Furthermore, they have shown that children who participate in MOCEP together with their mothers achieve higher scores in intelligence and aptitude (IQ) tests and standardised school examinations, and were therefore better prepared for school. In addition, they also demonstrate significantly higher levels of positive social and personality development (e.g. positive interpersonal relations, good communication and creative skills, more self-confidence and a greater ability to integrate into the school environment). Most importantly, the school retention or completion rate was significantly higher (87%) among children from families that had participated in MOCEP compared to non-participants (67%). Overall, these indicators demonstrate that ECE and adult education programmes foster children’s psycho-social development and help prepare them for continuing education. Most importantly, they also indicate the capacity of ECE programmes to mitigate the distressing effects that socially disadvantaged environments have on child development and learning.
  • MOCEP has also assisted mothers as child care givers and educators. MOCEP graduates display better child-rearing practices, such as improved parent-to-child interactions and learning assistance, than those who received no MOCEP training. This in turn has fostered positive parent- child relationships and, in turn, holistic child development.
  • Trained mothers displayed greater self-confidence than mothers who had received no MOCEP training and reported that patterns of interaction with their husbands had changed. They enjoyed a greater degree of communication and role-sharing with their spouses, and were more likely to make joint decisions on matters such as birth control and child discipline. It was also found that trained women enjoyed a higher status in the family. This indicates the importance of the programme in further stimulating positive and functional family relationships.
  • Functional Adult Literacy and Women’s Support Programme (FALP)

Women constitute two thirds of the more than five million illiterate adults in Turkey. Functional illiteracy and the lack of livelihood skills severely restrict women’s ability to participate in family and community development or help their children gain an education. In light of this, AÇEV initiated the Functional Adult Literacy and Women’s Support Programme (FALP) in 1995. FALP is a functional literacy development programme which targets illiterate women (aged 15 years and above) living in socially disadvantaged (low-income) communities. The programme is provided free of charge and provides women with literacy skills training designed to enable them to participate in the socio-economic development processes of their families and communities and thereby improve their social standing. It also aims to raise women’s awareness of the socio-political and economic rights and issues that directly affect them as women and parents. To this end, the FALP focuses on the following thematic areas:

  • Basic literacy and numeracy.
  • Civic education (citizenship, gender relations, human rights, peace-building, and women’s rights with regard to inheritances and property).
  • Health education (reproductive health, family planning, child care, nutrition, first aid and sanitation).
  • Life skills.

FALP has been strengthened by the inclusion of the EU-funded project entitled “Raising Women: Reducing Gender Disparity in Education”.

5.1 Implementation of FALP

The implementation of FALP involves the active collaboration of various actors, including MoNE, NGOs and local communities. This collaboration has been instrumental in enabling AÇEV to extend FALP’s coverage nationwide, as it has enabled it to reduce operational costs by drawing on both private and public resources, such as the buildings where classes are conducted. FALP is approved and certified by the MoNE and as a result, AÇEV offers literacy certificates to adult learners who have successfully completed a course of training. This has provided women with an added incentive to participate in FALP.

Training of Trainers

FALP training activities are conducted by Volunteer Literacy Trainers (VLT), all of whom must have completed high school. AÇEV provides VLTs with intensive training in adult literacy over a period of two-and-a-half weeks. Adult educators also receive on-going technical support and mentoring from AÇEV. In order to boost their working morale, VLTs receive certificates (for adult educators) which are certified by the MoNE. To date, AÇEV has collaborated with 3,090 volunteer trainers in the context of its literacy training programmes.

Teaching-Learning Approaches and Methods

FALP learners are mobilised and recruited through the collective efforts of local primary schools, village leaders and/or Public Education Centres. Thereafter, learners are divided into groups of 20 to 25 and attend literacy classes three times a week over a four-month period. Literacy classes last three hours for a total of 120 learning hours. 80 hours of supplementary classes are also provided. In addition to the formal classes, AÇEV has also initiated the Reading Days Project (RDP) for FALP graduates in order to reinforce and further develop women’s acquired literacy skills. The RDP is also intended to encourage women to continue learning independently. VLTs assist women participating in RDPs by providing them with additional literacy tutorials at weekends.

Most of the teaching and learning methods employed by FALP are participatory and interactive. They encourage learners to participate actively in lessons, which are structured non-hierarchically and designed to enable learners to draw on their cultural backgrounds and prior knowledge. FALP volunteer teachers differ from their counterparts in the formal education system. They act as guides whose responsibility it is to make the learning process as easy as possible for participants, and to maintain equality within the group. The programme is divided into 25 topic-based units spread over 120 hours and the teaching-learning approach used has a number of key characteristics:

  • FALP emphasises the link between the characters (orthography) and sounds (phonology) of the Turkish language – a significantly different methodology than that used in mainstream programmes.
  • FALP encourages discussion, reasoning, inferencing and sequencing, thereby fostering critical thinking and comprehension.
  • FALP attempts to make literacy functional and meaningful to participants’ lives and includes exercises based on everyday activities, such as taking notes or reading bus numbers, price labels or user manuals for household appliances.
  • FALP has a unique “Women’s Support Component”, consisting of 25 topic-based units that increase women’s awareness of their rights and issues relating to health and hygiene, communication and child development.

Interaction between instructors and beneficiaries is based on mutual respect and trust; hence it is important for instructors to familiarise themselves with their participants’ characteristics, needs, goals and aspirations.

Teaching-Learning Materials

The basic teaching and learning manuals have been produced and revised by professionals over the years. These materials are intended to progressively foster the development of literacy and comprehension skills among adults. FALP is based on three books that have been developed to complement each other:

  • Teacher Handbook: a highly-structured handbook for tutors that details the aims of the course and the activities that will take place in class.
  • Teacher’s Manual for Reading: a background book that explains the programme methodology and the activities used.
  • Student Workbook: used alongside the Teacher Handbook and includes pictures, reading passages and exercises for the participants.
  • Other supplementary reading and arithmetic materials (e.g. newspaper and magazine articles): give participants more opportunity to practice reading, writing and arithmetic skills.

5.2 Impact/Achievements of FALP

Evaluation studies have revealed that FALP has been instrumental in combating illiteracy among adult women. To date, over 85,000 young girls and women have directly benefited and most have developed better reading, writing and critical thinking skills than graduates of mainstream adult literacy courses. Additionally, participating in FALP has improved female learners’ social status, autonomy, self-esteem and family cohesion. As a result, women are increasingly participating in decisions, family matters and community-building.

  • Lessons Learned

Mutually beneficial partnerships with academics, public and private groups are essential to improving adult literacy programmes as well as maximizing resource usage. AÇEV collaborates with public and private bodies to reach a larger number of beneficiaries. AÇEV’s primary partner is the Ministry of Education’s Non-formal and Apprenticeship Directorate, which provides certification, administrative support and physical space. AÇEV also partners with local NGOs who provide volunteers to be trained by AÇEV, physical space for courses or mobilise beneficiaries and communities. International and national NGOs and private companies provide funding for the implementation of courses. By tapping into existing resources such as public facilities and volunteer training initiatives, AÇEV has been able to reduce its operational costs without compromising programme quality.

Resources:

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