Click below for links to AERA 2000 papers
Cultivating Habits of Parent Involvement
Creating Student Stability
Literacy and Beyond
Methodological Issues
Click below for links to AERA 2001 papers
Examining a Discourse of Strengths vs. Deficits
Cultural Barriers to Parent Involvement
Hispanic Parents’ Self-Reflections
Preschool Development and Subsequent School Achievement
Preparing “At-Risk” and Spanish-speaking Children for Kindergarten
Addressing Methodological Issues with Assessment of Immigrant & ESL Preschool Learners
Overview of Family Tree Program and Research Design
For more information please contact:
Dr. Kathy Nakagawa, 480-965-0582, nakagawa@asu.edu
Dr. Ed Nelsen, 480-965-6529, ednels@asu.edu
General Project Information
Principal Investigators: Dr. Kathy Nakagawa, Dr. Edward Nelsen;
Division of Psychology in Education, College of Education
Dr. Mary Walton, Mesa Public Schools
Graduate Student Research Team: Jaime Dion Wright, Karen Emilio, Mary Ruth Davis Hackett, Allison McKinnon, Kathleen Shaw, Yuh-Ling Shen, Louise Weeks, Terrence Zawlocki
Objectives and Rationale
Family literacy programs, aimed at improving the educational chances of children deemed "at risk" of doing poorly in school, have received many positive evaluations, with reported benefits ranging from children's increased school achievement to better parenting skills (e.g., Griswold & Ullman, 1997; Saracho, 1997; Tao et al., 1998). Yet, despite generally successful reviews of the short-term effects of such programs, questions have been raised about the medium- and long-term benefits (Gamse et al., 1997). Little research has systematically examined long-term effectiveness of family literacy programs. In particular,"collateral" benefits of family literacy programs have been overlooked.
Geared toward lower-income families, family literacy programs have enjoyed widespread political and financial support. One family literacy program, Even Start, has been funded at the national level for 10 years and is expected to be expanded in coming years. The greatest appeal of these programs is that they purport to allow children an "even start" with classmates who are better prepared for school. However, before further expansion, sponsors should more carefully consider in what areas, and for how long, the "even start" is sustained.
This project seeks to expand the understanding of family literacy programs by examining data from an Even Start family literacy program, Family Tree, implemented in the Mesa Public Schools (MPS). This program provides a unique opportunity to study the potential benefits of family literacy because it has been consistently implemented, with little staff turnover, for over seven years; institutional data collection has been systematic and comprehensive, encompassing schools, families, and teachers; and many of the participants in this program have been Mexican immigrant families, providing a diversity in participant background. Using longitudinal data on more than 900 families who have been part of the program for as many as seven years, the objectives of this project are to (a) consider some of the educational and social outcomes of family literacy programs, particularly for ethnic-minority families, (b) trace whether the "even start" persists over the long- term; (c) discuss the specific ways in which the Family Tree program supports differential outcomes and what elements should be replicated and expanded, and (d) examine the longitudinal research design and data collection difficulties in studying early childhood intervention/family literacy programs.
Data Collection
Data collected by the Family Tree program staff on parents and children, as well as MPS student information will be used in studying the school success and other outcomes of the family literacy program. Parent data will include information on parent occupation, parenting skills, parent involvement practices, and adult literacy abilities. Student data will include information on achievement, school behavior, and attendance.
Scientific and Educational Importance
Given the widespread support of Even Start and other family literacy
programs, broader consideration of the potential long-term outcomes of this
program is important. Although many evaluations have found family literacy
programs to be beneficial, questions have been raised about the medium- and
long-term effects of Even Start programs (Gamse, et al., 1997). The
findings from this project are unique in that they present a comprehensive view
of a program where implementation and data collection have been consistent and
have included follow-up data from teachers and families. Furthermore,
seven cohorts of families, many of them Spanish-speaking immigrant families,
will provide both medium- and long-term views of the extent to which, and the
contexts within which, benefits from the program may persist for diverse
populations.
References
Gamse, B. C., Conger, D., Elson, D., & McCarthy, M. (1997). Follow-up study of families in Even Start in- depth study: Final report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Planning and Evaluation Service.
Griswold, K., & Ullman, C. M. (1997). Not a one-way street: The power of reciprocity in family literacy programs. New York: City University of New York, Bronx, Herbert H. Lehman College Institute for Literacy Studies. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 413 420)
Saracho, O. N. (1997). Perspectives on family literacy. Early Child Development and Care, 127-128, 3-11.
Tao, F., Khan, S., Gamse, B., St-Pierre, R., & Tarr, H.
(1998). National evaluation of the Even Start family literacy
program, 1996 interim report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Education, Planning and Evaluation Service.