Literacy Community Place: Working with immigrant and refugee families

1. Literacy Community Place: Working with immigrant and refugee families Jim Anderson Department of Language and Literacy Education University of British Columbia University of South Australia, May 19, 2010

2. Overview Literacy for Life: An Intergenerational Literacy Project (with Victoria Purcell-Gates; supported by Canadian Council on Learning; UBC Bookstore ) Parents As Literacy Supporters (PALS) in Immigrant Communities (with Fiona Morrison and supported by provincial/federal ministries)

3. Context • Greater Vancouver: population > 2 million • 180 languages represented in schools • 15 home languages in some classrooms • Services for families/young children tend to be fragmented

4. Framework • Socio-historical theory (Vygotsky, 1978; Wertsch, 1985) • Literacy as social practices (Heath, 1983; Street, 1995) • Cultural nature of human development (Rogoff, 2003)

5. Caveats • For no child was the language experience of the classroom richer that that of the home-not even for those believed to be “linguistically deprived” (Wells, 1985 , p. 87) • Considerable diversity within cultural/linguistic groups (Heath, Mangiola, Schecter,& Hull, 1991)

6. Literacy for Life

7. Purpose: Literacy for Life • Document implementation of an intergenerational literacy program that incorporates authentic literacy activity. • Raise English literacy levels of adults and emergent literacy levels of children

8. Definition of Authentic Literacy Activity • Engaging learner with reading/writing real-life texts for real-life purposes within social contexts that call for real-life literacy activity • E.g., Reading a coupon for pizza and calling in an order because hungry and want pizza.

9. Instructional Model • Adult literacy instruction (authentic literacy activities + skill instruction) • Early childhood literacy (play-based; engaging children (through modeling and emergent reading/writing) in real-life literacy with a strong focus on how literacy mediates activity) • Family time (adults/children working together; potential transfer to home)

10. Participants • Site 1: Years 1 & 2 • Chinese Canadian immigrant families at a community center in inner-city area of Vancouver • Site 2: Year 1 • African refugee families at a storefront social agency in inner-city of city south of Vancouver • Site 2: Year 2 • Refugees and immigrant families from Middle East in portable classroom at elementary school.

11. Data Sources • Detailed field notes for each session to document program implementation & research reflections • Weekly research meeting notes • Pre-post assessments of literacy • Test of Early Reading Ability-3 • Canadian Adult Achievement Test (comprehension, vocabulary and spelling sub-tests)

14. Writing letters

16. Pedagogical Goal Achieved • Adults and children grew significantly in literacy knowledge as compared to norm • Exposure to real-life literacy activities suggestive of relationship to growth

19. Challenges Specific to Program • Different cultural perspectives • Family Time • Maintaining procedures • Parent/child separation • Explicit explanations and modeling • Dialogic stance • Coping/problem solving • Flexibility

20. Challenges Specific to Program • Program purpose • No shared language • Repeated explanations of program purpose • Flexibility • Increased effort to engage adults at all levels • Translations among members, cultural workers

21. Anderson, J., Purcell-Gates, V., Gagne, M., & Jang, K. (2009). Intergenerational Literacy Program with Authentic Literacy Instruction: Research Report. Ottawa: Canadian Council on Learning Gagne, M., Collier, D., Anderson, J., & Purcell-Gates, V. (In press). Literacy for Life: An Intergenerational Literacy Program (A Handbook for Practitioners). Ottawa, ON: Canadian Council for Learning.

22. Parents As Literacy Supporters

23. Overview • Goals • Development and evolution of PALS • Description of the program • Methods • Some preliminary findings • Issues and challenges • Future research

24. Goals of PALS in Immigrant Communities Project To work with families in supporting children’s early literacy development (language, literacy, numeracy To promote L1 development/maintenance as children learn English as a second or additional language (Snow, Burns, & Griffen, 1998; Reyes & Azura, 2008) To document implementation of PALS in 5 different communities/languages (Chinese, Farsi, Karen, Punjabi and Vietnamese)

25. Development of PALS In 1999, developers (Anderson and Morrison) were invited by Mayor of Langley in British Columbia to participate in developing a program to assist parents in supporting their children’s literacy development Program was part of larger inter-agency community development initiative, Strengthening Communities Focus groups of parents, early childhood educators and administrators provided advice on program design and implementation Trials in two inner-city schools in Year 1; expanded to four schools in Year 2.

26. Typical PALS session • Sample Timeline • 8:30 – 9:00 Eating Together (30 minutes) • 9:00 – 9:30 Adults together, children together (30 minutes) • 9:30 – 10:15 In the Classroom (45 minutes) • Centre activities – adults & children • 10:15 – 10:30 Break/Playtime (15 minutes) • 10:30 – 11:00 Debrief – adults only (30 minutes) • 11:00 – 11:30 Story Time/Make and Take (30 minutes) • 11:30 Home time

27. Sample Topics • ABC’s & Learning • Print in our Community • Storybook Reading • Linking Literacy & Play • Learning to Read • Early Math • Early Writing • Riddles, Raps & Rhymes • Tiny Techies • Celebration / Graduation • Open Session (decided by PALS community) • Ongoing development of new sessions (e.g. Block Play, Sand and Water Play)

28. PALS across communities Context 1: First Nations (Aboriginal Community) Context 2: Vietnamese Community Context 3: PALS in Immigrant Communities

29. Aboriginal Communities Addition of First Nations culture Art work Traditions and crafts Storytelling Song/dance/drumming Language

30. Context Matters: Vietnamese Community • Year 2 • PALS sessions conducted in Vietnamese • Adult Literacy • Centered on technology • Year 3 • PALS sessions conducted in Vietnamese and English • Adult Literacy and focus on parenting • Year 1 • PALS sessions conducted in Vietnamese • Vietnamese texts • Adult ESL component • Emphasis on authentic language and literacy practices

31. PALS in Immigrant Communities • Year 2 of project working with different linguistic groups: Farsi, Mandarin, Karen, Punjabi, Vietnamese, in 5 different school districts in the Greater Vancouver area with 281 families participating • Sessions are offered in L1 (first language) co-facilitated (teacher and cultural worker from community) • Bilingual materials are provided • Support structures: Advisory group, Working group, facilitators

35. Method • Test of Early Reading Ability-2 (Form A in Session 1; Form B in Session 9) • Parents Perceptions of Literacy Learning Interview Schedule (Orientation Session and Session 9) • Children’s literacy artifacts (Session 2 and 9) • Focus group with parents/caregivers (March) • Field Notes • Debriefing (Session 4 and 8) • Facilitators Notes

36. Initial Findings • Test of Early Reading Ability-2 (TERA-2) • Alphabet - measures children’s knowledge of the alphabet and letter-sound knowledge • Conventions - measures familiarity with conventions of print-book orientation, print orientation, directionality • Meaning - measures children’s ability to comprehend written material • 42 three and four year olds in four sites • Normal Curve Equivalent Scores (Measures Children’s growth in literacy knowledge compared to the norming group)

37. TERA-2

38. TERA-2 • Growth was statistically significant at (p=.05) • Effect size of .71 • Effect sizes: .2 is considered small • .5 is considered moderate • .8 is considered large

39. Artifacts from home • Typical range of representations (drawings, scribbling, letters/letter like formations/ words • No trace of L1 orthography (different from Harste, Woodward, & Burke’s findings with three year olds)

40. Field Notes: Different ways caregivers supported children • Hand over hand • Modeling for the child • Painting together • Talking with the child (suggestions) • Holding child’s hand while she painted • Standing next to the child but not commenting

41. Focus group sessions • Families value L1 maintenance but for a variety of reasons (instrumental ~ identity) • Families indicate they gain insights into western pedagogy (making the pedagogy visible) • Feel comfortable in schools/classrooms • Value bilingual books/materials • Indicate they use materials in ways other than demonstrated/modeled/suggested • Form social relationships • Ask that program be extended

42. Issues/Challenges • Sensitivity to cultural nuances • Consistently honoring home language & literacy practices • Fidelity to the beliefs of the program • Appropriate pedagogy for adult language learners • Continuity & sustainability • Different conceptions of engagement

43. Further research • Document home literacy practices of participants and how these shit or remain static • Longitudinal study of children who have participated in the program • Document how parents support their children’s learning within the program space.

44. Anderson, J. & Morrison, F. (In press). Learning from/with immigrant and refugee families in a family literacy program. In A. Lazar & P. Schmidt (Eds.) We Can Teach and We Can Learn: Achievement in Culturally Responsive Literacy Classrooms. New York: Teachers College Press.

45. Goodbye! ਸਤਿ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲ 再見 Sat sri akal zài jiàng (see you later) tạm biệt خدانگهدار khodanegahdar