Research shows that positive parent engagement at home and in school can lead to improved literacy outcomes, but parents often need support engaging effectively in their children’s learning.
Increasing Parent Engagement in Children’s Literacy helps literacy practitioners better understand the various factors affecting parent engagement in children’s literacy and co-design more informed parent engagement programs.
The tool includes a series of six questionnaires to guide users in assessing the broader literacy context, home learning environment, and caregiver experience in communities where they work. Each questionnaire explores one of six topics and includes a short description of the topic, key questions and pro-tips from literacy practitioners, and recommended data collection methods. Topics include:
- Cultural and social factors
- Parents’ attitudes and beliefs about their role as a parent
- A household’s lifestyle patterns and daily routine
- The home learning environment
- A household’s use of technology and media consumption
- Parent and caregiver social networks
The guide also includes participatory tools, such as a community workshop facilitation template, to assist users in collecting information and co-designing programs in partnership with parents and communities.
Increasing Parent Engagement in Children’s Literacy was spearheaded by members of the Project Literacy Community of Practice, supported by Pearson, and facilitated by Results for Development’s Center for Education Innovations. It was developed through a practitioner‑driven, multi-stage process, which included contributions from many individuals and organizations.
