One Size Does Not Fit All:
Choosing the Right PACT Curricula
Introduction
The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy began funding the Barbara Bush fellowship during the 2007-2008 academic year. The overarching goal of the fellowship was to contribute to research in the field of family literacy. The first fellowship recipients, along with Emily Moore, who serves as technical assistant for the First Lady’s Family Literacy Initiative of Texas, found a particular need for family literacy programs to have more information about curricula available for the program component Parent and Child Together (PACT), also called Interactive Literacy Activities (ILA). The component of PACT specifically aims to provide structured and supervised time for parents and children in which parents use the strategies they have learned through parent education to support their children’s literacy and language development (Ward & Franquiz, 2004). The purpose of this study was to investigate the curricula that are available specifically for PACT and provide an overview of available programs and feedback from practitioners in the field. The study researched existing curricula through information provided by publishers and surveyed past and present family literacy program directors for feedback on curricula they had personally used.
Findings
Commercially Available Curricula
The PACT curricula which were investigated are displayed in the PACT Curricula Matrix, which can be found on the TCALL Web site. This portion of the research revealed some interesting findings. There are very few curricula available that are specifically designed for PACT time; consequently, practitioners rely on a variety of other early childhood curricula and research based practices. Parenting for Academic Success, created by the National Center for Family Literacy, was one of the few curricula found that provided programming specifically for a PACT-like component. The curricula also vary greatly with regards to the materials, intended audience, training requirements, and cost. As would be expected, both training requirements and cost increase as the curricula become broader and more comprehensive. Lastly, while some curricula investigated do have an extensive research base supporting their effectiveness (i.e. Parents as Teachers) and others are grounded in practices shown to be important for literacy development (i.e. shared book reading), solid research efforts to test the immediate and long term effects of such programs are minimal.
Survey Results
A survey was used to solicit feedback from current and past practitioners regarding their experience with specific commercially available curricula, as well as on methods of creating PACT activities without the use of a curriculum package. Parenting for Academic Success is the only commercially available curriculum reviewed that was created specifically for family literacy programs, and provides ample material to incorporate into PACT time. Strengths of this program, as reported by practitioners, included providing practical information for families, opportunities for parents to get involved with the school and community, and forums to learn and discuss not only literacy strategies, but positive family behaviors in general. A notable weakness was that the program provides limited English instruction; therefore, it may be necessary to supplement it with additional parent ESL materials.
Another class of programs that practitioners utilize for PACT curricula is large scale parenting programs, which generally have educational and literacy components within the broader context of parent training. Parents as Teachers is one such program, which takes place in the context of home visits. A notable strength is that the program has been extensively researched to ensure the curriculum content contains evidence-based practices for language and literacy development. This program, however, requires a lengthy and expensive certification process for the practitioners, which was described as both a strength and weakness.
Make Your Own
The majority of our survey respondents create their own PACT curriculum by using a combination of several small programs or developing their own activities. Several innovative ideas were described. For example, some programs use literacy bags or backpacks to extend learning to the home for both the child and the parent. The bags are sent back and forth between the classroom and home on a regular basis and contain directions and all materials needed for a literacy project to be completed by the parent and child together. Other ideas include planning PACT around a weekly or monthly theme, using free educational computer games, or inviting parents into the classroom to observe and volunteer.
Conclusion
The results of this area of research are promising in several ways. First of all, curricula for PACT appear to address the needs of different programs. This research also revealed many affordable, and often free, ways that family literacy programs can supplement existing practices.
This research also highlights areas in need of improvement. There is certainly room in the field for the development of new PACT curricula consistent with the goals of PACT that is both affordable and flexible in meeting the needs of different families. There is also a tremendous need for more research on existing curricula in order to provide evidence of effectiveness and to inform development of new curricula. Family literacy programs reach diverse populations; therefore, research should investigate what strategies are most effective with different populations.
References
Ward, P.A., & Franquiz, M.E. (2004). An integrated approach: Even Start family literacy model for migrant families. In C. Salinas & M.E. Franquiz (Eds.), Scholars in the field: The challenges of migrant education. Charleston, WV: ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools.
About the Authors
Rebekah Haynes, Petra Robinson, and Megan Terry recently completed the inaugural year of the Barbara Bush Fellowship in Family Literacy.
