Paper
Emergent literacy and childhood literacy-promoting activities for children in the Ontario child welfare system
- issue: Issue 4 / 2009
- authors: Shaye Moffat and Cynthia C. Vincent
- keywords: child welfare, literacy activities, emergent literacy
- views: 3738
- downloaded: 0
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abstract
Introduction
Research has demonstrated that early exposure to literacy is one of the essential foundations for promoting positive outcomes and successful life transitions for children and young people. Academic and social successes within the domain of education are recognized factors in fostering resilience in at-risk populations. Unfortunately in Canada, the potential for differing outcomes exists between children within the general population and those within the child welfare system, due to the potential lack of educational and social supports of the latter.
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to investigate the frequency of engagements in literacy-promoting activities by children in the child welfare system. Participants were approximately 114 children living in out-of-home care in the province of Ontario, Canada, who were participating in Year 6 of the Ontario Looking After Children (OnLAC) project. They were between the ages of 1 and 4 years, and virtually all of the participants had experienced severe adversity while living with their birth families and, as a consequence, were under the custody and care of their local Children's Aid Society. Data on the frequency of engaging in literacy-promoting activities were obtained through the use of the Assessment and Action Record, 2nd Canadian Adaptation (AAR-C2, Flynn, Ghazal, and Legault 2006). The AAR-C2 incorporated the literacy-promoting activities items from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY, Statistics Canada and Human Resources Development Canada, 1995), thus allowing us to explore the relationship between literacy strategies and childhood development.
Key findings
The OnLAC data showed that children in the province of Ontario living in out-of-home placements had many opportunities to participate in literacy-promoting activities with their caregivers. In comparison to the general population, children living in out-of-home care received many opportunities to: engage in shared story-book reading with their caregivers, visit libraries and bookmobiles, and use pens/pencils to engage in pretend writing. In fact, the data gleaned from OnLAC suggest that children placed in care were afforded more frequent occasions to participate in emergent literacy activities than children of the same age group in the general population. For example, in regard to the frequency with which children engaged in shared reading with their caregivers, 76% of the 3-4 year olds in care engaged in this activity daily, compared with only 63% of their age peers in the general population. Similarly, 82% of the in-care population of 3-4 year olds looked at books/comics/magazines on their own on a daily basis, compared with 72% of the general population of the same age group.
Recommendations
The provision of training for foster caregivers on methods for encouraging literacy would be an excellent means of promoting emergent literacy, as would be promoting high expectations through positive encouragement. Libraries could be encouraged to work with Children's Aid Societies, providing incentives to make further links with young children in care. Caregivers should be encouraged to engage in daily conversations about books and stories, and make it a part of their daily routine with the children in their care. Another recommendation would be to encourage relatives and family friends to give books as gifts. Resources could be made available to ensure a steady supply of books is received in foster settings. Future research should focus on exactly which literacy activities are the most effective for promoting a child's emergent literacy.
Key references
Flynn, R. J., Ghazal, H., and Legault, L. (2006) Looking After Children: Good Parenting, Good Outcomes. Assessment and Action Records. (Second Canadian adaptation, AAR-C2). Ottawa, ON: Centre for Research on Community Services, University of Ottawa, and London UK: Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO).
Statistics Canada and Human Resources Development Canada (1995) National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth: Overview of survey instruments for 1994-95, Data Collection Cycle 1. Ottawa: Authors.
Contact details
Cynthia C. Vincent, CRECS, University of Ottawa, 34 Stewart Street, Ottawa, On, Canada, K1N 6N5
Email: cvincent@uottawa.ca