4 - Mothers’ Constructions of their Roles in the Literacy Education of their Children
Corresponding Author(s) : Ngozi Obidike
Africa Development,
Vol. 37 No. 3 (2012): Africa Development: Special Issue on Parents’ Involvement in Children’s Lives in Africa
Abstract
This paper presents findings from a study that examined how mothers from a middle-income neighbourhood conceptualized their roles in their children’s literacy education. Based on interviews and observations focussed on ten mothers involvement in their children’s literacy education, a framework that expounds typical characterizations of parent involvement was developed which supports practices that are both traditionally visible and invisible to the school and highlights how parents act as ‘intellectual resources’ in their children’s literacy education. The findings show that traditional understandings of parental involvement may overlook ways that middle-income parents deliberately involve themselves in their children’s education. Challenges that these parents face in relation to their involvement in their children’s literacy education were identified.
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- Allen, S.M. and Daly, K., 2002, ‘The Effects of Father Involvement: A Summary of the Research Evidence’, The FII-ONews, Vol. 1, pp. 1-11.
- Baker, A.J.L. and Soden, L., 1998, ‘The Challenge of Parent Involvement Research’, ERIC Learning House on Urban Education, pp. 134.
- Bus, A.G., van Ijzendoorn, M.H. and Pellegrini, A.D., 1995, ‘Joint Book Reading Makes for Success in Learning to Read: A Meta-Analysis of Intergenerational Transmission of Literacy’, Review of Educational Research, Vol. 65, pp. 1-21.
- Denessen, E., 2007, ‘Perspectives on Parents’ Contribution to Their Children’s Early Literacy Development in Multicultural Western Societies’, International Journal About Parents in Education, Vol. I, pp. 237-244.
- Desforges, C. and Abouchaar, A., 2003, ‘The Impact of Parental Involvement, Parental Support And Family Education on Pupil Achievement and Adjustment: A Literature Review’, London: Department for Education and Skills.
- Dixon, A., 1992, ‘Parents: Full Partners in the Decision-making Process’, NASSP Bulletin, Vol. 76, no. 543, pp. 15-18.
- Epstein, J.L., 1996, ‘Perspectives and Previews on Research and Policy for School, Family, and Community Partnerships’, in A. Booth and J.F. Dunn, eds., Family- school Links: How Do they Affect Educational Outcomes?, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. pp. 209-246.
- Epstein, J.L., 2005, ‘School-initiated Family and Community Partnerships’, in T. Erb, ed., This we Believe in Action: Implementing Successful Middle Level Schools, pp. 77-96. Westerville, OH: National Middle School Association.
- Epstein, J.L., Sanders, M.G., Simon, B.S., Salinas, K.C., Jansorn, N.R., and Van Voorhis, F.L., 2002, School, Community, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, 2nd ed., Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
- Fan, X. and Chen, M., 2001, ‘Parental Involvement and Students’ Academic Achievement: A Meta-analysis’, Educational Psychology Review, Vol. 13, pp. 1-22.
- Feinstein, L. and Symons, J., 1999, ‘Attainment in Secondary School’, Oxford Economic Papers, Vol. 51, pp. 300-321.
- Flouri, E. and Buchanan, A., 2004, ‘Early Father’s and Mother’s Involvement and Child’s Later Educational Outcomes’, British Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 74, pp. 141-153.
- Gadsden, V., 2002, ‘Current Areas of Interest in Family Literacy’, in J. Comings, B. Garner and C. Smith, eds., Annual Review of Adult Learning and Literacy, Vol. 3, pp. 248-267. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
- Gest, S.D., Freeman, N.R., Domitrovich, C.E. and Welsh, J.A., 2004, ‘Shared Book Reading And Children’s Language Comprehension Skills: The Moderating Role of Parental Discipline Practices’, Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Vol. 19, pp. 319-336.
- Gonzalez-Mena, J., 2011, Foundations of Early Childhood Education: Teaching Children in a Diverse Setting, New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Henderson, A.T. and Berla, N., 1997, A New Generation of Evidence: The Family is Critical to Student Achievement, Washington, D C: Center for Law and Education.
- Kellaghan, T., Sloane, K., Alvarez, B. and Bloom, B.S., 1993, The Home Environment and School Learning, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Lareau, A., 1987, ‘Social Class Differences in Family-relationships: The Importance of Cultural Capital’, Sociology of Education, Vol. 60, pp. 73-85.
- Lareau, A., 2000, Home Advantage: Social Class and Parental Intervention in Elementary Education, Lanman, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.
- Lawson, M., 2003, ‘School-family Relations in Context: Parent and Teacher Perceptions of Parent Involvement’, Urban Education, Vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 77-133.
- Lightfoot, D., 2004, ‘Some Parents Just Don’t Care. Decoding the Meanings of Parent in Urban Schools’, Urban Education, Vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 41-83.
- Melhuish, E., Sylva, C., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I. and Taggart, B., 2001, ‘Social, Behavioural and Cognitive Development at 3-4 Years in Relation to Family Background, The Effective Provision of Pre-school Education’, EPPE Project, DfEE: London: The Institute of Education.
- Morrison, G.S., 2007, Early Childhood Education Today, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.
- Muller, C., 1993, ‘Parent Involvement and Academic Achievement: An Analysis of Family Resources Available to the Child’, in B. Schneider and J. Coleman, eds., Children and schools, Boulder, CO: Westview Press. pp. 77-113.
- National Middle School Association, 2003, This We Believe: Successful Schools for Young Adolescents, Westerville, OH:
- National Middle School Association Reynolds, A., 1992, ‘Comparing Measures of Potential Involvement and their Effects on Academic Achievement’, Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Vol. 7, pp. 441-462.
- Rowe, K., 1991, ‘The Influence of Reading Activity at Home on Students’Attitudes towards Reading, Classroom Attentiveness and Reading Achievement: An Application of Structural Equation Modelling’, British Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 61, pp. 19-35.
- Sailor, D.S., 2004, Supporting Children in their Home, School and Community, Boston: Pearson Allyn and Bacon.
- Stevenson, D. and Baker, D., 1987, ‘The family-school Relation and the Child’s School Performance’, Child Development, Vol. 58, pp. 1348-1357.
- Van Voorhis, F.L., 2003, ‘Interactive Homework in Middle School: Effects on Family Involvement and Science Achievement’, The Journal of Education Research, Vol. 96, pp. 323-338.
References
Allen, S.M. and Daly, K., 2002, ‘The Effects of Father Involvement: A Summary of the Research Evidence’, The FII-ONews, Vol. 1, pp. 1-11.
Baker, A.J.L. and Soden, L., 1998, ‘The Challenge of Parent Involvement Research’, ERIC Learning House on Urban Education, pp. 134.
Bus, A.G., van Ijzendoorn, M.H. and Pellegrini, A.D., 1995, ‘Joint Book Reading Makes for Success in Learning to Read: A Meta-Analysis of Intergenerational Transmission of Literacy’, Review of Educational Research, Vol. 65, pp. 1-21.
Denessen, E., 2007, ‘Perspectives on Parents’ Contribution to Their Children’s Early Literacy Development in Multicultural Western Societies’, International Journal About Parents in Education, Vol. I, pp. 237-244.
Desforges, C. and Abouchaar, A., 2003, ‘The Impact of Parental Involvement, Parental Support And Family Education on Pupil Achievement and Adjustment: A Literature Review’, London: Department for Education and Skills.
Dixon, A., 1992, ‘Parents: Full Partners in the Decision-making Process’, NASSP Bulletin, Vol. 76, no. 543, pp. 15-18.
Epstein, J.L., 1996, ‘Perspectives and Previews on Research and Policy for School, Family, and Community Partnerships’, in A. Booth and J.F. Dunn, eds., Family- school Links: How Do they Affect Educational Outcomes?, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. pp. 209-246.
Epstein, J.L., 2005, ‘School-initiated Family and Community Partnerships’, in T. Erb, ed., This we Believe in Action: Implementing Successful Middle Level Schools, pp. 77-96. Westerville, OH: National Middle School Association.
Epstein, J.L., Sanders, M.G., Simon, B.S., Salinas, K.C., Jansorn, N.R., and Van Voorhis, F.L., 2002, School, Community, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, 2nd ed., Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Fan, X. and Chen, M., 2001, ‘Parental Involvement and Students’ Academic Achievement: A Meta-analysis’, Educational Psychology Review, Vol. 13, pp. 1-22.
Feinstein, L. and Symons, J., 1999, ‘Attainment in Secondary School’, Oxford Economic Papers, Vol. 51, pp. 300-321.
Flouri, E. and Buchanan, A., 2004, ‘Early Father’s and Mother’s Involvement and Child’s Later Educational Outcomes’, British Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 74, pp. 141-153.
Gadsden, V., 2002, ‘Current Areas of Interest in Family Literacy’, in J. Comings, B. Garner and C. Smith, eds., Annual Review of Adult Learning and Literacy, Vol. 3, pp. 248-267. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Gest, S.D., Freeman, N.R., Domitrovich, C.E. and Welsh, J.A., 2004, ‘Shared Book Reading And Children’s Language Comprehension Skills: The Moderating Role of Parental Discipline Practices’, Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Vol. 19, pp. 319-336.
Gonzalez-Mena, J., 2011, Foundations of Early Childhood Education: Teaching Children in a Diverse Setting, New York: McGraw-Hill.
Henderson, A.T. and Berla, N., 1997, A New Generation of Evidence: The Family is Critical to Student Achievement, Washington, D C: Center for Law and Education.
Kellaghan, T., Sloane, K., Alvarez, B. and Bloom, B.S., 1993, The Home Environment and School Learning, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Lareau, A., 1987, ‘Social Class Differences in Family-relationships: The Importance of Cultural Capital’, Sociology of Education, Vol. 60, pp. 73-85.
Lareau, A., 2000, Home Advantage: Social Class and Parental Intervention in Elementary Education, Lanman, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.
Lawson, M., 2003, ‘School-family Relations in Context: Parent and Teacher Perceptions of Parent Involvement’, Urban Education, Vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 77-133.
Lightfoot, D., 2004, ‘Some Parents Just Don’t Care. Decoding the Meanings of Parent in Urban Schools’, Urban Education, Vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 41-83.
Melhuish, E., Sylva, C., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I. and Taggart, B., 2001, ‘Social, Behavioural and Cognitive Development at 3-4 Years in Relation to Family Background, The Effective Provision of Pre-school Education’, EPPE Project, DfEE: London: The Institute of Education.
Morrison, G.S., 2007, Early Childhood Education Today, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.
Muller, C., 1993, ‘Parent Involvement and Academic Achievement: An Analysis of Family Resources Available to the Child’, in B. Schneider and J. Coleman, eds., Children and schools, Boulder, CO: Westview Press. pp. 77-113.
National Middle School Association, 2003, This We Believe: Successful Schools for Young Adolescents, Westerville, OH:
National Middle School Association Reynolds, A., 1992, ‘Comparing Measures of Potential Involvement and their Effects on Academic Achievement’, Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Vol. 7, pp. 441-462.
Rowe, K., 1991, ‘The Influence of Reading Activity at Home on Students’Attitudes towards Reading, Classroom Attentiveness and Reading Achievement: An Application of Structural Equation Modelling’, British Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 61, pp. 19-35.
Sailor, D.S., 2004, Supporting Children in their Home, School and Community, Boston: Pearson Allyn and Bacon.
Stevenson, D. and Baker, D., 1987, ‘The family-school Relation and the Child’s School Performance’, Child Development, Vol. 58, pp. 1348-1357.
Van Voorhis, F.L., 2003, ‘Interactive Homework in Middle School: Effects on Family Involvement and Science Achievement’, The Journal of Education Research, Vol. 96, pp. 323-338.