Introduction



My task was to develop systematic ways of looking at reading and writing as activities that have consequences in and are affected by family life.
Taylor, Family Literacy, Preface.

It is simple enough to say that "family literacy" refers to the literacy used in or by families.  But what do we mean by "literacy"?  What do we mean by "family"?  And why should a private matter like family literacy be the focus of programs or interventions?

A population health approach to communities tells us that richer literacy skills go hand-in-hand with things like greater economic stability or improved physical well being.  Home life, especially in the early years, plays a significant part in how successful people are at navigating social institutions.  Children and adults lose out when there is a mismatch between a family's literacies and the literacies valued in the school or workplace; a gap between a family's literacy and the literacies of the dominant culture.

Effective family literacy programs and supports help families bridge this gap in ways that respect the family's values and intentions.




Denny Taylor (1983, 1998) Family Literacy: Young Children Learning to Read and Write. Portsmouth, NH : Heinemann


About Us

Cheryl Brown, MEd, RTC, ECE
QLNB Community Literacy Coordinator

Cheryl entered the literacy field in 1992 as an adult literacy facilitator. Her work broaden to include family literacy in 1997. She has also worked as a parent-run co-op preschool's teacher director, a family and children's counsellor, a "Foundations in Family Literacy" facilitator and "Parent-Child Mother Goose" teacher.

Wendell Dryden, Adult Learning Certificate
QLNB Community Literacy Worker

Wendell entered the literacy field in 1998 as an adult literacy facilitator, later working in adult basic education (GED). He has also worked as a middleschool literacy coach, and children's activity coordinator and family drop-in facilitator, staff supportr to a parent-run book-and-toy lending library, and a preschool teacher.