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Personnel Issues
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Identifying
Effective Personnel
for Family Literacy Employment
by Helen King
Although federal legislative mandates (most notably the No Child Left Behind
Act of 2001) list specific academic qualifications for employment of instructional
personnel, many of the critical attributes necessary to determine effective
family literacy hires remain unidentified. Academic qualifications being
equal, these attributes include caring, genuine respect for other people,
cultural awareness, and a sense of personal efficacy. These are traits I
have found to be indispensable in working effectively with the educationally
and economically disadvantaged populations that often comprise family literacy
programs.
James Banks, University of Washington professor and author, once said, “People
don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Dr.
James Comer, a noted educator and Yale professor, put this observation
another way when he said, “No significant learning will occur without
a significant relationship.” Over the years, I have found these maxims
regarding the importance of caring, to be true whether one works with children
or with adults. Arguably, caring is a non-negotiable attribute of an effective
family literacy employee. It can be a favorable tipping point in developing
successful staff/family relationships, particularly when dealing with families
from poverty typically served in family literacy program settings. Usually,
families and adults from disadvantaged situations are accustomed to dealing
with people and institutions that may not evidence caring. Because their
association with such agencies is survival/needs driven, they are prepared
to continue to interact with the agency or individuals regardless of the
social climate. On the other hand, schooling, although valued, is not usually
perceived by families as a basic need; therefore, it is expendable. Caring
staff can mean the difference between families who attend sporadically
and families who participate regularly because they feel connected. Additionally,
caring bonds staff to families in symbiotic ways that motivate staff to
vigorously pursue efforts to recruit and retain families, and in ways that
motivate families to be voluntarily accountable to program staff. Gaining
access to the home for the purpose of instructional visits by program staff
can often be a matter of being perceived as a caring, non-judgmental person
who accepts the families’ living environment as is. While it is possible
to teach a new employee many job-specific skills, caring is one trait that
is not readily transmitted.
Genuine respect for other people is also an indispensable characteristic
of an effective family literacy worker. Respect goes beyond caring in that
it recognizes that all families, regardless of social or economic disadvantages,
have inherent value and strengths. Building on the strengths of a family
makes for more socially positive and educationally productive relationships.
The presence of respect can translate into better communication through
shared definitions of what the family’s goals are and how literacy
staff can assist the family in attaining them. Because family literacy
programs impact the entire family in some way, respect must be evident
in communication with each family member. A lack of respect for the partner
of a participating adult can have negative implications for the family’s
continued involvement in the program. One consequence may be that the “offended” spouse
will overtly prevent the participating partner from attending, or will
covertly make it difficult for the other person to continue in the program.
A perceived lack of respect for the children in the family can become a
source of discontentment for parents, many of whom may be experiencing
some degree of separation anxiety themselves.
Closely akin to respect for the individual is cultural awareness and appreciation.
Acceptance of other cultures is often dependent on the degree of awareness
and acceptance one has of his or her own culture. Culture has implications
for family literacy programs in that it can affect family values; parenting
styles; roles of individual family members; attitudes toward education;
teaching and learning styles, and overall belief systems. Cross-cultural
competence can be acquired provided the predisposition to learn is present.
An attitude of openness toward other cultures and willingness to learn
are good foundational attributes upon which to build.
Finally, the aforementioned attributes must be possessed in conjunction
with what can be called “personal efficacy” - the sense of
oneself as a person who can make a difference and who has the skills and
will to do so. This trait is assessed primarily by reviewing past evidence
of the potential hire’s demonstrated ability to orchestrate positive
advancement in his or her own life. If this information is not available
in the application, it may be elicited in the interview process though
questioning. Questions about the extent to which the applicant has reasonably
influenced or coached positive development in others—including family
members and friends—can provide valuable feedback regarding a person’s
own self-efficacy development. Staff who themselves, do not feel personally
empowered cannot reasonably be expected to promote independence and self-efficacy
in the families they serve.
While “putting first things first” in determining staff academic
qualifications is required by law, responsibility for ensuring that the
best candidate is selected still rests with the program administrator.
Administrators have an ethical obligation to their program’s families
to go beyond “the letter of the law” to employ staff that fully
embody and embrace the spirit of unqualified success we want for our families,
for our programs, and for ourselves.
About the Author
Dr. Helen King recently retired from Huntsville ISD, where she has been
Even Start Coordinator since 1998. Before becoming involved in family
literacy, Dr. King’s field was community education. She served
on the state board for community education. In total, she has been in
public school administration for 26 years. In her retirement, Dr. King
plans to pursue writing in the field of Christian Education.
 
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