COABE Journal

Abstract:

Adult education has changed tremendously over the past 20 years, with a deemphasis on core literacy skills. These changes have had a negative effect on family literacy and have changed the educational aims of adult programs, which are compelled to focus on workforce training and development. This reflection from an educator in the field who has witnessed the hardships faced by families struggling with basic literacy skills concludes with a call to action. Readers are encouraged to reach out to representatives and stakeholders to raise awareness about the importance of family literacy and basic literacy education.

Abstract:

While discussions of sustaining family literacy programs often focus on funding, this discussion focuses on program sustainability through institutionalizing intergenerational family literacy programs into the larger context of the school community.

Abstract:

Maryland’s family literacy programs are built on a foundation of partnerships. Both Prince George’s Community College and Community College of Baltimore County have built strong family literacy programming through their partnerships with the Family Support Center of Prince George’s County and Baltimore County Public Schools. In Prince George’s County, community integration has taken place through a focus on workforce development as a key component in the family literacy adult education classes. In Baltimore County, the focus for family literacy students has been school integration. Student stories illustrate the importance of strategic community partnerships to create unified communities and a stronger, more skilled workforce in Maryland.

Abstract:

This article discusses how educators can bridge the digital divide for adult English language learners (ELLs) through mini-projects that are tied to family learning. These family motivated projects aim to boost learners’ English language proficiency and digital skills necessary for job readiness, and, most significantly, create stronger connections with their families. This article provides an overview of the learner demographics and programs at one nonprofit organization, the English Empowerment Center, and explains the key factors considered in designing the mini-projects. The authors discuss how the digital skills were chosen, common barriers to digital access, the importance of student motivation and digital resilience, and the role of weaving together multiple literacies. Examples of mini-projects focused on community and school connections are shared, along with outcomes related to digital skill development, family engagement, and learner confidence in supporting their children’s education.

Abstract:

This article describes an interdistrict collaborative project between a K–6 elementary school district and a 7–12 high school district’s adult school to provide ESL classes to family members of elementary school students on two elementary campuses during the school day. Program development required consideration of multiple factors, including security concerns, adult campus access, and technology access for faculty and adult students. The districts also developed a new recruitment and enrollment process to ensure adult students met the criteria for inclusion in the classes. Results from the first year of the project demonstrate that the ESL classes on the elementary campuses had higher attendance rates, higher measurable skills gains, and an overwhelmingly positive response from the districts, school sites, adult students, and the elementary school children of the adult students. This program is presented as a model for other districts and agencies to duplicate.

Abstract:

One of the largest family literacy providers in the Midwest shares a new initiative to bring the family literacy model to health care facilities as a means for providing families with deeper health literacy and language. The article details the early stages of program development, from codesign and deep-listening principles to the findings from the full program implementation. From these findings, we explore ways family literacy can bring important community conversations to the clinical space and inform future medical health literacy development.

Abstract:

There is a strong correlation between a parent’s educational and literacy attainment and their child’s early language and literacy development (Lyesmaya et al., 2022) and overall literacy skills (Clymer et al., 2017). Family literacy is one way to address and strengthen the literacy needs of the whole family. This article provides information on how one state navigated the challenges and success of planning and implementing family literacy programs in the adult education context and concludes with an example from one locality.

Abstract:

The National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) has worked for over 35 years to eradicate poverty through education solutions for families. As the creator of the four-component framework—“the most well-known comprehensive family literacy model” (Prins et al., 2020, p. 206), codified into federal law in 1998—NCFL has a long history of intentional, intergenerational learning that can be passed from generation to generation. At its heart, NCFL’s founding can be traced back to adult education. This article explores NCFL’s decades of partnerships with national adult education partners to ensure that family literacy remains a staple of adult education programming across the country. Moreover, it details innovative connections between family literacy and adult education with a focus on digital literacies and multilingual literacies for adults, children, and families. The article concludes with an assertion that family literacy is a holistic approach to working with adult learners and families that goes beyond viewing the adult as a singular entity and, instead, recognizes the various identities of adults as learners, caregivers, students, and teachers.