There are many family literacy programmes in countries such as England, United States of America and Australia. The programmes usually include both parents and children and are presented in different forms. In South Africa there are very few family literacy programmes of any sort. This is a case study of a family literacy programme in a deeply rural area of KwaZulu-Natal. The study presents information gathered from interviews with parents and teachers on their perception of early childhood literacy and their role in its development in their children. The study contains information on the interventions of the Family Literacy Project in an attempt to assess the impact these have had on the behaviour and attitudes of the parents and teachers. Tentative conclusions are drawn and suggestions offered for future research and action. The study includes a review of related literature. This, together with the findings of the study should contribute to the discussion of how relevant family literacy programmes could be in South Africa. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.

Η παρούσα εργασία αναφέρεται σε μια εμπειρική έρευνα που πραγματοποιήθηκε το σχολικό έτος 2008-09 σε ένα διθέσιο νηπιαγωγείο της Πάτρας. Κύριος στόχος της ήταν να μελετήσει τις απόψεις των γονέων για τα προγράμματα οικογενειακού γραμματισμού και τη δημιουργία ενός προγράμματος που θα ανταποκρίνεται και θα προκρίνει τις ανάγκες τους. Δεκαοκτώ (18) γονείς κλήθηκαν στα πλαίσια μιας ημιδομημένης συνέντευξης να καταθέσουν τις απόψεις τους πάνω στο θέμα αυτό. Οι ίδιοι γονείς συμμετείχαν και σε μια επιμορφωτική συνέντευξη που πραγματοποιήθηκε στο χώρο του νηπιαγωγείου. Τα αποτελέσματα έδειξαν ότι οι γονείς έχουν ανάγκη από τη δημιουργία ενός τέτοιου προγράμματος, καθώς οι ερωτήσεις και οι απορίες τους πάνω σε θέματα πρώτου γραμματισμού φάνηκε να είναι πολλές, αλλά, ταυτόχρονα, και γόνιμες για την πορεία της έρευνάς μας. Ειδικότερα, διαπιστώθηκε ότι η ύπαρξη ενός τέτοιου προγράμματος είναι, ιδιαίτερα χρήσιμη, καθώς οι υπάρχουσες μελέτες εξαντλούνται κυρίως σε θεωρητικές αναλύσεις, χωρίς να λαμβάνουν υπόψη τη γνώμη των γονέων στο σχεδιασμό των προγραμμάτων. Λαμβάνοντας υπόψη, λοιπόν, την άγνοια που υπάρχει, σκοπός μας είναι η έρευνα αυτή να αποτελέσει μια ελάχιστη προσπάθεια, ένα πλαίσιο το οποίο θα λειτουργήσει ως κατευθυντήρια ιδέα για περαιτέρω έρευνα, για πληροφορίες, συμβουλές, ιδέες και απόψεις για τη δημιουργία ενός προγράμματος βασισμένο στις ανάγκες των γονέων. / This essay refers to a classic empiric research that, took place in the school year 2008-2009 at a two-seat nursery school of Patras. The main goal was to study the parents’ opinions of the programs of family literacy and the development of a program that will cover, as well as carry forward their needs. Eighteen (18) parents participated in semi-structured interviews in order to present their views on the subject. The same parents participated in an educational interview that took place in the nursery school’s ground. Results showed that the parents need the creation of such a program. Their questions and inquiries on the subject of first literacy seemed to be many but, in the same time, fruitful for the course of our research. Specifically, it became clear that the existence of such a program is at this time a necessity, as the current researches are consumed in theoretical analysis without keeping in mind the opinions of the parents for the design of these programs. Taking, yet, into account the ignorance, our target is that this survey will manage, as much as possible, to form a frame which will work as the backbone for further searching for advice, information and ideas or opinions for the creation of such a program based on parents’ needs.

Collaboration between the parents and the school has a powerful influence on a child’s literacy development. However, home-school partnerships to support young learners’ emergent literacy development are weak in South Africa. Research into family literacy in South Africa is particularly important due to many socio-economic factors impacting negatively on family life and on children’s literacy development. The South African education system lacks a dedicated policy for the promotion of family literacy. Against this background the present study investigated the role of family literacy programmes in supporting emergent literacy among young children. A literature study on family literacy and family-school-community partnerships to support literacy framed an empirical inquiry following an interpretivist approach, using an action research design and qualitative techniques of data collection. The Wordworks Home-School Partnerships programme was selected for implementation and the programme was modified through the design and inclusion of a children’s component. A multicultural independent primary school situated in Pretoria, South Africa was selected through a combination of purposeful and convenience sampling. The school principal, four Foundation Phase teachers and seven families including nine children participated in the study. Criteria for family inclusion were that the participating families should have at least one child enrolled in Grade R and at least one parent should agree to attend the full six-week duration of the modified Wordworks School-Family Partnerships programme. Data was gathered during parallel sessions from parents, children and teacher-facilitators through multiple techniques: observation, interviews, feedback sessions, artefacts and journals. Data was analysed according to qualitative principles and the findings were presented in a narrative format substantiated by verbatim quotations. Key findings indicated a greater sense of community among the families and the teachers, improved quality of parent-child interactions, parents’ improved knowledge of emergent literacy skills and improved confidence in supporting their children with early literacy development. The medium term impact of the programme includes benefits for the whole school, the teaching staff, parent body and children. Based on the findings of the literature study and the implementation of the family literacy programme through action research, recommendations were made to improve school-family partnerships with a view to supporting emergent literacy development among young learners. / Educational Foundations / D. Ed. (Socio-Education)

Collaboration between the parents and the school has a powerful influence on a child’s literacy development. However, home-school partnerships to support young learners’ emergent literacy development are weak in South Africa. Research into family literacy in South Africa is particularly important due to many socio-economic factors impacting negatively on family life and on children’s literacy development. The South African education system lacks a dedicated policy for the promotion of family literacy. Against this background the present study investigated the role of family literacy programmes in supporting emergent literacy among young children. A literature study on family literacy and family-school-community partnerships to support literacy framed an empirical inquiry following an interpretivist approach, using an action research design and qualitative techniques of data collection. The Wordworks Home-School Partnerships programme was selected for implementation and the programme was modified through the design and inclusion of a children’s component. A multicultural independent primary school situated in Pretoria, South Africa was selected through a combination of purposeful and convenience sampling. The school principal, four Foundation Phase teachers and seven families including nine children participated in the study. Criteria for family inclusion were that the participating families should have at least one child enrolled in Grade R and at least one parent should agree to attend the full six-week duration of the modified Wordworks School-Family Partnerships programme. Data was gathered during parallel sessions from parents, children and teacher-facilitators through multiple techniques: observation, interviews, feedback sessions, artefacts and journals. Data was analysed according to qualitative principles and the findings were presented in a narrative format substantiated by verbatim quotations. Key findings indicated a greater sense of community among the families and the teachers, improved quality of parent-child interactions, parents’ improved knowledge of emergent literacy skills and improved confidence in supporting their children with early literacy development. The medium term impact of the programme includes benefits for the whole school, the teaching staff, parent body and children. Based on the findings of the literature study and the implementation of the family literacy programme through action research, recommendations were made to improve school-family partnerships with a view to supporting emergent literacy development among young learners. / Educational Foundations / D. Ed. (Socio-Education)