Chapter Two

Review of Literature

Introduction | Definition of Terms | Brief Overview of Some Family Literacy Programs | Children’s Literature and the Adult ESL Learner | Two Diverging Perspectives on Family Literacy Program Development | Parents and Other Influential Adults as Program Participants | Curriculum and Development Within Family Literacy Programs | The Case for Reflective Journals | How Journal Writing Relates to the Final Product | Summary

Introduction

            This chapter discusses some of the most prevalent philosophies and practices that are currently accepted in the family literacy field, as well as a discussion on the importance of using reflective journals as a method of data collection. The focus of the majority of the literature reviewed is on family literacy programs that relate to immigrant/ESL learners; discussion is not dedicated to programs focusing specifically on native English speakers. Included is a brief section defining terms key to this project, as well as an overview of some family literacy programs in existence. From there, the discussion turns to focus on the use of children’s literature with the adult ESL learner and continues to present two central and opposing views on family literacy program implementation. Once these views are better understood, one can appreciate the following discussion on parents and other adults who become participants in these kinds of programs, as well as what issues and concerns surround the development of curriculum within family literacy programs. The chapter concludes with a relevant discussion on the literature found discussing reflective journals a part of data collection in the fields of family literacy and language teaching.

Developing curriculum for either an ESL or Family Literacy setting requires extensive background study and preparation. Often those with the most desire to create these programs are also the teachers who are the most involved and overworked. This project is addressed to those busy, overworked elementary schoolteachers or Adult ESL teachers.

In 1983 Denny Taylor, a writer who has spent more than twenty years working with families, communities, and schools, coined the term family literacy in a landmark book of the same title. Since then, interest in this field has increased as more and more agencies, organizations, and parties feel they can contribute to, or benefit from, the family literacy realm. This interest that developed in the mid-1980s was sparked in part by the idea that educating the parents in families of poverty-stricken and low-income areas was the best defense in combating a devastating intergenerational cycle of under achievement (Handel, 1999). Nickse (1990), in an updated version of her thorough book reviewing family literacy programs, Noises of Literacy, reminds readers that “family and intergenerational literacy programs provide an opportunity to combine agendas of mutual importance: adult basic skills improvement and literacy development in children”(p. ix).

For the purpose of this project, this review will focus on curricula within family literacy programs, specifically the use of children’s literature with LEP adults as part of ESL curricula. Experience gleaned from program development and implementation, as from the LEP students themselves (immigrants/refugees) in those programs, will also be discussed. Focus will not be given to the children within these family literacy programs, nor the advantages and/or disadvantages they claim because of parents or adults close to them that participate in these programs. The case for accepting reflective journals as relevant research data will also be presented.