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From: Heather Miller <HMiller@tbaisd.k12.mi.us>
To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov>
Subject: [NIFL-FAMILY:681] Re: Documenting and Measuring PACT Time
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I love the idea of diversity in families. However, if a family's style is
getting in the way of the child's developing literacy skills, I think we owe
it to them to let them know that. Maybe you have read the book "Meaningful
Differences in the Everyday Lives of American Children" (Hart/Risley). In
that book the authors followed 42 famililes for four years and recorded
their interactions with their children. The children were then followed in
school to see how well they did there. The study seems incredibly well done
to me. Their findings are that the children seem to reach a level of verbal
interaction that matches their family's level and stop there. The families
that directed more language to their children, succeeded in school and were
found to be in families of higher socio-economic status. In spite of
everything that was done to help these children (Head Start, etc, this
seemed to hold true.
The language in the lower socioeconomic groups was not necessarily
poorer in quality, though it did show a lot of negative components. For
example, while a lower SE family might tell a child "Don't touch that!" a
higher SE family might say "That is Grandma's special thing, you know like
your special blanket. It's really fragile. If you break it, Grandma will
have my head on a platter, so please don't touch it."
The child may not even understand the full import of the message,
but begins to learn that in our family we use a lot of words.
The more words the child comes to school with the greater is their
success, because oral vocabulary is the foundation for literacy. Hart and
Risley indicate that it is the rate of vocabulary growth that is responsible
for this success.
-----Original Message-----
From: Patricia Bowyer [mailto:bowyer@erols.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2002 10:39 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: [NIFL-FAMILY:646] Re: Documenting and Measuring PACT Time
Does anyone else share my concern about the direction that the family
literacy
PACT component seems to be headed? Who gets to decide how much parental
warmth or
sensitivity is being displayed by an individual parent? Is that really our
role in
family literacy? How would any one of us feel about an outside entity
measuring
these qualities about our own families' interactions? Or is PACT best used
to
provide access to appropriate materials for parents and children and to
model ways
to use these materials together? Families come in so many different shapes,
sizes
and from many different cultural backgrounds. What may seem appropriate to
us in
one culture may be totally inappropriate in another. I have worked with ESL
families in family literacy programs for over ten years and although I have
not
tried to measure these qualities, I have not noticed a lack of parental
support on
the part of these parents. What I have found are families who need access to
English language and literacy programs so that they are better equipped to
meet
the everyday demands of their daily lives.
Pat Bowyer
MWPotts2001@aol.com wrote:
> Thanks to the panel of experts, Brenda, Laura and Shani, for an extremely
> interesting and informative week of discussion about family literacy in
K-6.
> And thanks to Cyndy Colletti, for sharing the useful article.
>
> Now, I have a concern about how that PACT Time is documented and measured.
> Jon Lee mentioned that in Colorado the impact was measurable. What
> instruments were used? What outcomes were reported?
>
> What are others using to record the parentsâEUR(tm) knowledge of child
development,
> and their values and beliefs about literacy? Their engagement in
> language-rich interactions, their support for literacy-enhancing
activities
> in the home?
>
> Are there other critical factors that are important to child wellness that
we
> need to track?
> What might you use, for instance, to record growth over time in these
areas:
>
> 1. ParentsâEUR(tm) Expressiveness toward the child
> 2. Parental Enjoyment of parent-child interaction
> 3. ParentsâEUR(tm) Warmth toward child
> 4. ParentsâEUR(tm) Sensitivity to child's interest
> 5. ParentsâEUR(tm) Responsiveness to the child
> 6. ParentsâEUR(tm) Appropriate Achievement Orientation
> 7. Parental Stimulation and Inventiveness provided for child
> 8. Appropriate Verbal Praise
> 9. Effectiveness in keeping child engaged
> 10. Appropriate Pace in parent-child interactions
> 11. Acceptance of the child
> 12. Understanding of Directive Behaviors
>
> One of the groups that I am working with is not satisfied completely with
> surveys, self-reports and checklists. We are beginning to use an adapted
> version of the Family Portfolio, originated many years ago at NCFL by Dr.
> Robert Popp. This, of course, requires a commitment to a collection of
> products, conferencing, and evaluation, as well as skilled observation and
> recording. Yes, it sounds like a lot of work, but we think the rich
> descriptions and resulting data will be worth it.
>
> We are also using a rating scale, adapted from the study completed at the
> University of Michigan by Gerald Mahoney and Amy Powell (1988), which
> correlates with Child Wellness Indicators, published each year by the
> GovernorâEUR(tm)s Council on Education.
>
> And I canâEUR(tm)t leave out the very important Equipped for the Future
Family
> Member Role Map, which is our starting point for goal setting and our
focus
> for curriculum development. The Performance Indicators that accompany
this
> Map provide another point of reference for assessment.
>
> Who knew that staff participation in family literacy programs would be
this
> complex? And who ever dreamed that it would be so rewarding?
>
> Meta Potts
> Glendale, Arizona
>
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