Literacy Development: A Community Perspective

Mike Wadden
Bill Fagan

MacMorran Community Centre
St. John's

Schools, Departments of Education, and Universities are often considered to be the key stakeholders in literacy development. Schools are where the teaching of reading and writing occurs, which is the basis for literacy. Departments of Education are responsible for establishing policy for the enhancement of literacy, setting school curricula, organizing professional development experiences for teachers, and providing funding. Universities provide the context and resources whereby teachers are prepared either initially as pre-service teachers, or as "master" teachers/educators via graduate programs. Community often gets overlooked in the above equation. The notion of community is often global and fuzzy. When the term is used, it is usually in a unidirectional manner - from the key stakeholders to community. The community is supposed to be the benefactor of the services of all of the above.

Partnerships

Susan Newman, a noted early literacy educator, former director of the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA), and now assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education in the US Department of Education, made the statement that "schools cannot do it alone" (Newman, 1996). Newman was not criticizing schools; she was simply reminding them that society has become very complex with more and more demands being made on schools. Consequently, if schools are to be effective in their prime mandate, to educate children, they must rely on the strengths and cooperation of others, particularly that of parents and community.

Unfortunately, this message is not always heard and a strong resource in the form of community is not tapped. Currently, the Department of Education is promoting pre-kindergarten orientation, and that is a positive step. But it will not, nor cannot replace the place of parents in the literacy and educational lives of their children. Parents are their children's first teachers and parents through meaningful interaction and role-modelling will have a major impact on their children's educational progress. Community and schools must work together hand-in-glove. Children are the common concern of both. When schools decide that children shall repeat kindergarten, or shall not be admitted to kindergarten because of "immaturity" or insufficient knowledge, this should not be unilateral educational policy but should be a more global issue that is addressed by school and community. Educational policy with regards to literacy is based on literacy development being emergent and continuous. Within this framework, "stage assessment" such as entry to kindergarten or grade one, does not make sense. Schools must take the children from the point on the continuum of literacy development which they have reached at the chronological age for legal entry into the school system. Community and schools together can best understand the range of this continuum and the implications for parents and schools. Telling parents to "upgrade" their children to an acceptable level is not the answer. Some children come from families which have not had a history of educational success or positive memories and which are managing on minimal and often insufficient incomes. Children, in all their innocence, are eager to begin that journey of education starting with school entry in the presence of their peers. Being denied that chance often strikes the first negative blow to their educational achievement.

Community Curriculum

The concept "school curriculum" is usually readily understood, at least in a general way. What must be equally understood is the concept of "community curriculum". When a child performs poorly on a school test, it cannot be concluded that the parent/community is at fault. Likewise, when a child performs well on a school test, it also cannot be concluded that the school alone is responsible. When a child completes a test, the resources available to him/her may come from school and/or community curriculum. It therefore makes sense that both schools and community understand more the support that each provides for the literacy success of children.

The MacMorran Community Centre, through partnerships with groups and individuals, has been very active in providing a community curriculum to support and supplement the learning of children in the school curriculum. Some of these programs are described briefly below.

PRINTS (Parents' Roles Interacting with Teacher Support)

This is a family early literacy program piloted at MacMorran seven years ago. After the pilot, two parents from the community have taken over as facilitators which fulfills a goal of the program, of community taking ownership. The program is broad based and focusses on having parents capitalize on all aspects of literacy in young children's lives which are developed as STEPS to literacy: play, talk, book sharing, environmental print, and scribbling, drawing, and writing. For those STEPS to become meaningful in children's lives, parents adopt a number of ROLES as they engage in a number of literacy based activities. Overall, 33 activities are available for parents. The roles they take in making these activities effective are: providing opportunities for involvement, giving positive feedback, interacting effectively, setting guidelines for involvement, and role modelling. There is established a partnership and commitment between parent and child. While PRINTS is aimed at pre-school children, parents with children to age eight, who are not doing well in school, attest to its effectiveness. The facilitators meet with parents for a two-hour block over a 12 week period to provide them with the skills to foster their young children's literacy development. Parents work with children at every opportunity.

SLS (Strategies for Success)

While PRINTS is aimed at pre-school children, SLS is directed at providing support for school age children to grade eight. SLS involves various activities, including a strategy teaching based program known as STEPS (Strategy teaching, empowerment, partnerships and success). SLS provides two sessions during the week (an after school day and Saturday morning) when children learn and practice various strategies and techniques to help them become better readers and writers. There is also an evening session (over a 15 week period) when parents and high school tutors learn and practice the reading and writing strategies and construct learning materials for the children to reinforce and support these strategies. The program is fairly structured and consists of strategies for developing reading and writing skills, related and enjoyment activities, general teaching tips, and observation or watchful hints.

Books on Wheels

This is an innovative way to bring books to the community which does not have ready access to a public library. In collaboration with Brighter Futures, this service began in July when, an employee, with a cart filled with books moved through the neighbourhood. From ten families which immediately accessed the service, to 45 families in November, the popularity of the availability of books has increased. During the colder weather, a van owned by the Centre is used to bring books to a "street near you".

Others

In addition to the above, other support programs are provided by the community. For example, in Playtime, parents and children engage in story telling, nursery rhymes and games. Seniors volunteer as "grandparent" role models and mentors, and provide day care assistance. The GED Program provides an opportunity for parents and other adults to upgrade their academic skills and complete a school leaving certificate.

Low-Income Communities

The community served by MacMorran Community Centre is a low-income, public housing area of St. John's. Like other low-income communities, and not different from low-income rural communities, there are various challenges to educational and literacy development.

There is often a negative image on the part of the educated and gainfully employed public towards low-income communities. This is often due to a lack of understanding of the community. Some of the factors which typify the low-income community include: baggage from school experiences,

limited funds, single parent responsibilities, and lack of identity with the more privileged community.

Baggage from school experiences. The school system has failed many of these people. Their memories of school are not positive. Books and print materials are items to be avoided rather than embraced. They often find themselves in a predicament; on the one hand they want the best for their children, on the other, they do not have the self-efficacy and security to become involved in educational activities. Yet, many parents, with support, do overcome these constraints and participate in numerous ways to help their children, from attending programs described above, to volunteering in Center activities, to acting as bus monitors, to volunteering at their children's schools.

Limited funds. This is a capitalistic age and a person without capital is disadvantaged. Lack of money imposes many limitations on parents and the support they would like to provide for their children. School fees, as an issue, has been addressed by the Centre. While it is not required by law to pay fees, some parents, often through the pressure of pre-teen children, do pay them, while doing without other necessities. In a poll by the Telegram reported on September 22, 2001, 60% or respondents reported that school fees were causing them difficulty or inconvenience. In a recent poll by the Telegram (December 1, 2001), 70% of the respondents agreed that school fees should be abolished. Limited funds also restrict the goals and ambitions of the community's youth. Very few can aspire to attend university. In fact, a recent Statistics Canada survey (December, 2001) showed that youth of low-income communities are disadvantaged in terms of their chances of attending university. They are two and a half times less likely to attend than their richer counterparts. This has multiple effects. It limits the job and professional opportunities open to youth. It limits the number of students entering Education Faculties from low-income areas, which in turn, limits the number of teachers from low-income areas as role models in schools for low-income children. The recent Federal Budget (December, 2001) announced $1.1 billion over three years to support skills, learning, and research, such as support for people with disabilities who pursue higher education. There is no such help for low-income families.

Single parent responsibilities. Many families in low-income communities are headed by single parents. When the parent resource is reduced by half, this puts an added burden on the home-maintenance parent. However, this should not be viewed as a causal factor but as life-factor, which necessitates more support. Research on the effectiveness of a family literacy program (Fagan, 2001) showed that children of single parent families performed as well as children from two parent families after the parents participated in a family literacy program to learn how to help their children. As long as the child has one adult role model, one literacy mentor, the child will make literacy progress.

Lack of identity with the more privileged community. The province of Newfoundland and Labrador has being going through a period of school reform. This seems to have been based in eliminating church influence in education and the "reconfiguration" of school districts, catchment areas, etc. What it did not address was the inequity of low-income families. There is more in common between rich Catholics and rich Protestants, for example, than between rich and poor Catholics, or rich and poor Protestants. "Neighbourhood" schools have not been based on a solution for income disparity, with the result that children from low-income areas often continue to suffer from feeling disenfranchised from the educational system. It is difficult for parents and children from low-income areas to relate to literacy campaigns which portray a life-style which to most of them, will remain fantasy.

Upsetting the Education Cart

For true reform to occur in education, there must be some major changes in how education is administered. For a start, the elimination of school fees will help reduce inequity and a feeling of exclusion. Education should be provided for all children, without constraints, barriers, conditions or fees. Children should not feel embarrassed that they do not have the fees to pay, and parents should not feel that they are shirking their parent role if they do not pay.

A second thrust which was not highlighted in the school reform movement was the presence of male role-models as teachers in the primary and elementary grades. Boys, in general tend to do less well academically than girls. In the 2001 Awards for Excellence for Avalon East and West School Districts, the numbers of males and females receiving this distinction were 25 and 56 or a ratio of less than 1 to 2. The disparity between the achievement of boys and girls is even more apparent in low-income areas where there are many single parent families mostly headed by females. Boys often do not have access to male role-models who have been successful in education. Currently, there are approximately 150 pre-service teachers in the professional year in the Faculty of Education at Memorial University, yet only ten are male, or six percent. That means, that for the next cohort of teachers entering the school system, boys will have a chance of 6 out of 100 of encountering a male teacher in kindergarten to grade 6.

Literacy development must be endorsed as continuous and emergent. Children are not stopped along the way and told to "get off." There must be an understanding between community/parents and school as to where children are on this continuum and where they may go, and what supports are necessary to foster this.

Schools, school boards, Department of Education officials, and universities must understand community, particularly low-income community. A day in the life of the community centre is often an eye-opener for the uninitiated. One of the first things that volunteers, especially volunteers in literacy support programs, must learn is that you do not structure the community; the community structures you. It is a prime example, where you must "go with the flow." The structure of schools does not usually work in a community setting, yet much significant learning can be attained by the children. In light of the few, if any, prospective teachers from low-income areas, the Faculty of Education should consider providing for various kinds of observation experience for pre-service teachers, one of which would be to volunteer for a certain number of hours in a low-income community centre.

Prospective

Low-income communities are never daunted. This is not in their nature, nor can it be a part of their nature, for life in many cases, is a struggle. As documented above, the MacMorran Community Centre is an active and energetic place. Not documented are the many other programs of a non-educational nature that it offers that focus on health, socialization, recreation, community garden, and youth development. Its contribution to the community education curriculum is major. One of its goals, based on the theme of the opening lines of this paper, is to form positive partnerships with schools so that all are winners and there are no losers. To accomplish part of this goal, a new program, SHARING (Schools and Homes as Active Resources for Interests, Needs, and Goals) will hopefully be implemented in January, 2001 between the community and the elementary school which most of the children from the area attend. The Community Centre will continue to work towards the attainment of other goals embedded within this article.

References

Fagan, W. T. (2001) Learning transfer effects in implementing family literacy programs. Unpublished manuscript. St. John's, NF: Memorial University, Faculty of Education.

Newman, S. B. (1996). Are opportunities enough? Examining the effects of a social-construction approach to family literacy on children's responses to literature. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Education Research Association, New York.

Mike Wadden is Executive Director of the MacMorran Community Centre

Bill Fagan is Vice-President of the Community Centre Board.