Emergent Literacy and Childhood Literacy-Promoting Activities for Children in the Ontario Child Welfare System

1. Emergent Literacy and Childhood Literacy-Promoting Activities for Children in the Ontario Child Welfare System Shaye Moffat, Cynthia Vincent, and Robert Flynn CRECS, University of Ottawa, Canada

2. Emergent Literacy • The process of emerging literacy • What is it? • Importance of literacy • How is it fostered?

3. Our OnLAC Sample…

4. Our OnLAC sample… • 114 children living in out-of-home care in Ontario, Canada • Between the ages of 1 and 4 years • 46% female, 54% male • All have faced some type of adversity in their biological homes resulting in their removal • Completed an Assessment and Action Record during Year Six (June 2006 to May 2007) of the OnLAC Project

5. Comparison Group… • National Longitudinal Study of Children and Youth (NLSCY, Statistics Canada and Human Resources Development Canada) • Cycle 1 (1994-1995) • 4403 participants aged 1-4 years • 49% female, 51% male

6. Our Questions… • How often do you or your spouse read with …? • How often does … look at books, magazines, comics, etc. on his/her own? • How often does … play with pencils or markers doing pretend writing?

7. 1-2 Age Group Engaging Dailyin Literacy Activities OnLAC NLSCY How often do you or your spouse read with …? How often does … look at books, magazines, comics, etc. on his/her own? How often does … play with pencils or markers doing pretend writing? 77% (N = 60)  80% (N = 60) 35% (N = 60) 27% (N = 1733) 32% (N = 1925) 29% (N = 1925) The results…

8. 3-4 Age Group Engaging Daily in Literacy Activities OnLAC NLSCY How often do you or your spouse read with …? How often does … look at books, magazines, comics, etc. on his/her own? How often does … play with pencils or markers doing pretend writing? 76% (N = 54) 82% (N = 54) 61% (N = 54) 63% (N = 3595)  72% (N = 2788) 71% (N = 3809) The results (cont’d)…

9. What did we find? • Children in out-of-home placements are being awarded with many opportunities to engage in literacy-promoting activities on a daily-basis

10. Limitations to our findings… • OnLAC responses provided by caregivers in a conversational setting with social worker • Small population for comparison • Cross-sectional at this time

11. How can we encourage emergent literacy?

12. How can we encourage emergent literacy? • Provide training for foster parents • Demonstrate importance of high expectations and positive encouragement • Encourage participation in literacy-enriching activities in the community • Make use of libraries and bookmobiles • Children’s Aid Societies can make links with libraries and book chains

13. Encouraging Literacy (Cont’d)… • Engage in daily conversations about books, and make it part of your routine • Encourage relatives and friends to give books as gifts • Listen to books on tape, sing songs, and play games • Ensure a steady stream of books are received in the foster home

14. Encouraging Literacy (Cont’d)… • Start book/reading clubs • Approach a book chain to sponsor an event • Create a warm, comfortable learning environment • Anything else????

15. Contact us… Shaye Moffat shaye.moffat@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca Cynthia Vincent cvincent@uottawa.ca Robert Flynn rflynn@uottawa.ca