Family Literacy Events: A Framework for Teacher Candidates

Abstract

Trelease (2013) believes that a “nation that does not read much does not know much and therefore is more likely to make poor choices in the home, the marketplace, the jury box, and the voting booth” (p. xxvi).  Literacy continues to be an essential must for individual and community well-being.  Families represent a crucial role in the literacy development of their children, and family involvement is associated with numerous benefits for children, families, schools, and communities (Chance, 2010; Livingston & Wirt, 2003).   In addition to research findings describing how family perceptions of reading frame literacy practices, data also support the proactive influence of parents as children’s initial literacy models  (Larocque, Kleiman, & Darling, 2011; U.S. Department of Education, 2001). Yet, teacher candidates, as they newly prepare to enter the educational profession, may not always understand this integral connection between classroom and family learning (Falk-Ross, Beilfuss, & Orem, 2010).   Consequently, in order to establish the groundwork for the significance of family literacy and further, to provide teacher candidates with a framework toward building this critical relationship between families and schools, this discussion describes how a genuine need exists for university coursework to include a variety of relevant experiential service-learning opportunities.