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The Children
Some think that because children are not worked with directly
by PRINTS facilitators that they are not involved with PRINTS.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. |
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| The parents/ caregivers work directly with children;
this is what home is all about. This is providing ownership of the
program for parents. Since PRINTS activities are developed in a
hands-on manner with parents, parents always bring home something
for the children. The parents are also given small books to bring
home for their children. Parents say that PRINTS becomes a "household
word" among their children and when they arrive home from their
PRINTS training, children often ask, "What did you bring
home from PRINTS, Mom?" (or Dad?) |
What Makes PRINTS
Successful ?
PRINTS has now been established as a successful family literacy
program for six years. During that time, much research has been
conducted. A major research study funded by the Social Sciences
and Humanities Research Council of Canada is titled: Transfer
of Learning in Parent-Focussed Family Literacy Programs. This
is a 90 page document. Different findings from this research will
be shared in the PRINTS Newsletters. This research looked at different
people or stakeholders involved in the PRINTS Program. These included
trainers of facilitators, facilitators as trainers of parents,
parents, children, and teachers. |
For Facilitators
One key factor that marked more successful facilitators was that
they provided time for socialization and support for parents.
These facilitators took a more "leisurely" approach
to their facilitation; rather than watching the clock, they watched
parents/guardians. Parents are not "all day" learners
in the sense that they attend classes. They are usually busy working
at home or away from home, tending to family needs, etc. When
they come to the PRINTS Program, they must make a mental shift.
This takes time. Very few parents are ready to come in and "get
down to work." They often need time, to unwind, to share,
to talk.
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