Changing the home literacy environment through participation in family literacy programmes

This paper presents findings from a study of family literacy provision in England and focuses on the effects of family literacy programmes on the home literacy environment. The fieldwork took place between September 2013 and December 2014 and involved 27 school-based programmes for pupils aged between 5 and 7, and their parents. The study used mixed methods, which involved observations of family literary sessions, a quantitative pre- and post-survey of 118 parents, and pre- and post-telephone qualitative interviews with a sub-sample of 24 parents. Building on previous theoretical work, the study conceptualises the home literacy environment into four areas (family resources; parental literacy behaviours and attitudes; parental beliefs and understandings; and family literacy activities and practices). The paper develops understandings of how parents translate and implement messages from family literacy into the home setting, and it shows how participation in these programmes leads to changes in family literacies across all four areas identified.