The ABE Program
Located in a housing project comprising predominantly new Canadians, this community centre program included five components: 1) homework program, 2) adult literacy, 3) adult ESL, 4) child care program, and 5) read-to-your child program. For the purposes of this project, the focus of evaluation was the adult literacy class which integrated read-to-your child and the child care aspects of the program. The class operated four mornings a week. Consultation was with the adult literacy teacher.

The School-Based Family Literacy Program
The components of the program included: 1) a child care program, 2) adult education, 3) a reading and parent program, 4) parent and child time, and 5) lifeskills and vocational counselling. The reading and parent program (RAPP) and parent and child time (PACT), both designed for parents and their preschoolers and meeting once a week, were the focus of the evaluation project. Consultation was with the coordinator who also taught the RAPP and PACT programs.

The After-School Program
Serving three First Nation communities since 1987, three after school programs assisted students with academic subjects, while integrating concepts of the Ojibhway culture, and provide parent-child reading circles. The homework programs operated daily, at lunch time, after school, and in the evenings. Staff consisted of a coordinator and three program teachers. Consultation took place with the coordinator and one homework teacher from one of the community centres.

Guiding Principles for Family Literacy Evaluation

Family literacy has proven to be an effective instructional approach for adult literacy programs, because it builds on the knowledge parents have acquired and uses their strong motivation for family development to make meaningful connections to literacy learning. Family literacy programs are varied in location, target population, range of literacy goals, and instructional activities. This complexity has made it difficult to offer a concise definition of family literacy. Nevertheless, standards for family literacy programs have been offered (International Reading Association, 1994) and will be introduced in Section One.