Family Engagement

Results that Matter

A Field Guide to Community Literacy, April 27, 2022

Chapter Abstract:

Since 1989, the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) has worked to eradicate poverty through education solutions for families. Engaging multiple generations of the same family in learning together has been a fundamental and distinguishing aspect of our work. This holistic approach yields results which deeply impact families as they work to achieve their full academic and career potentials. In this chapter, we share our perspective of family engagement and the models that have emerged from three decades of family-centered work. We present compelling evidence of what works for families most in need and what produces positive outcomes. Those outcomes have informed the development of our models and continue to inform our practice.

Full Text Summary:

This practical guidebook presents trends, research-grounded strategies, and field-based solutions to challenges of working in community-based literacy initiatives. A comprehensive guide for practitioners, this book addresses best practices for implementing, maintaining, expanding, and evaluating community-based literacy initiatives. The contributors in this volume help readers shift thinking from merely considering, “How can communities support literacy?” to “How can literacy help us create, support, and strengthen communities?”

Organized into four parts—on building community through literacy, program design, case studies from the field, and program evaluation—chapters cover research-based and innovative practices in a diverse range of populations and settings, including family services, adult literacy initiatives, community centers, and tutoring programs. With an abundance of praxis-oriented examples and real-world strategies from top scholars and practitioners, the book serves as a roadmap for essential topics, including funding, writing grant proposals, handling audits, and conducting research within program settings. With templates, models, planning tools, and checklists ready for immediate use, this book is an invaluable field manual for individuals involved in community literacy work, researchers, and students in literacy-oriented courses either at the undergraduate or graduate levels.

Rewrote and re-organized a chapter that had been previously written for a project that never launched to match a new call. Completed all revisions and updates. Click the cover to visit the publisher’s page for our chapter.