[AAACE-NLA] Possible research project

[Sarah Beaman-Jones]

Debbie,

You might look at the Dec/Jan issue of ³The Reading Teacher² for the article
Is Being Wild about Harry Enough?  Encouraging Independent Reading At Home
which will also point you to additional studies.


Sarah Beaman-Jones,
Literacy Program Developer
LIFT-Missouri
815 Olive Street, Suite 22
St. Louis, MO  63101

314-678-4443 ext. 206
800-729-4443
314-678-2938 [fax]
sbeaman at webster.edu
www.lift-missouri.org





On 1/2/08 10:16 AM, "Debbie Yoho" <yohogclc at earthlink.net> wrote:

> 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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