C. Summary of Research

There has been a great deal of research done on emergent literacy, and more recently, on family and intergenerational literacy. The following overview is taken from a summary by Victoria Purcell-Gates (1993). Additional research references that support the findings are noted in square brackets [].

• Children acquire their basic cognitive and linguistic skills within the context of the family. (Sticht and McDonald 1989) [Smith 1984, Heath 1983]
• Much literacy learning takes place in the years preceding formal instruction in the context of family-based interactions and activities. (Taylor 1982, Taylor and Dorsey-Gaines 1988, Teale and Sulzby 1986)
• School achievement and test scores are higher for children whose parents have more education and books in the home. (Applebee, Langer, and Mullis 1988)
• Parents who are low-literate cannot support their children's literacy learning nor pass on positive attitudes about schooling and the importance of learning to read and write. (Newman and Beverstock 1990), [Smith 1984]

Research has also shown that children are socialized to become literate (Taylor 1983, Teale and Sulzby 1986, Morrow 1989, Nickse 1989, Smith 1984). "Children learn about language by attaching themselves as apprentices to people who are using language as a tool to accomplish particular and self-evident ends.... Literacy develops because the child sees what reading and writing can do and because it is relevant to the child's own creative and constructive purpose" (Smith 1984 in Mom, Read, Read, Read 3).

D. Program Results

Given that family literacy is a relatively new concept, there is a real need to demonstrate the value and possibilities this approach offers in order to secure collaborations with other agencies, community support, and funding. One way of justifying family literacy and securing this kind of support is to present summaries of program evaluation and results.

While there has been valuable information gathered through evaluations of a limited number of programs, most of the reports are qualitative in nature and lacking in empirical data. It is also important to realize the diversity in practice and objectives, and the danger in generalizing about program successes elsewhere that may have little to do with the work carried out here in Alberta.