[AAACE-NLA] Possible research project

[Debbie Yoho]

Many thanks to Susan and others who have helped me a lot on this thread as we decide whether or not to go for some research funding.  Especially I appreciate the references.  However, I would like to point out that the question I am interested in is what did the very low-literacy parents DO that affected their children's achievement, assuming they were not able to model reading or directly instruct their children?  Does anyone know of any studies that specifically looked at the parenting skills and approaches of low-literacy parents? 

One hypothesis might be that the parent(s) talked to their children about how their own lives were limited by a lack of reading skills, ("don't do as I did, but as I say") but in conversations I've had with learner-parents it appears most kept their lack of reading skills a secret from their children as long as they could.  It is also possible that the children's achievement may have been impacted by other factors outside the family to an extent equal to or greater than the parents' encourgement, although popular wisdom says that the parents' role is paramount. Yet it could be that wider opportunity was a stronger factor.

Too often I think society assumes that adults who struggle with reading are also not likely to be "good" parents.  I suspect this is one reason why justification for adult ed funding in order to break the "cycle of illiteracy"  so often falls on deaf ears. Generally, I notice a lot of enthusiasm, and some funding, for programs that teach parenting skills while the need for reading instruction for adults is a harder sell.

Of course, family literacy is the way to go.  My point is that there are also low literacy parents who are not obviously in need of parenting skills instruction, (or they may have felt  they weren't in need and their children's subsequent achievements prove it) although I suppose all parents could benefit from more information about child-rearing.  

In short, I think the idea that the "single most powerful factor influencing a child's performance in school is the educational attainment of the parent" needs a second look.  I don't disagree with this fact; I just think using this argument to advocate for adult ed funding is often ineffective and I'd like to strengthen the case. However, it is possible that the outcome of qualitative research on this issue might point in a different direction, and actually weaken the case. 

Advice, anyone?  Thanks, Debbie


Debbie Yoho
Division Director, TURNING PAGES/VOAC
(formerly the Greater Columbia Literacy Council)
Secretary, SC Association for Adult Literacy Education
803-765-2555 fax 803-799-8417 
PO Box 1447, Columbia, SC 29202
yohogclc at earthlink.net

"True progress preserves order amid change and preserves change amid order." (John Morgan, You Can't Manage Alone)
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