Supporting Parent Engagement in Linguistically Diverse Families to Promote Young Children’s Life Success

This paper examines research that can inform policies aimed at building the capacity of early care and education programs to promote parent engagement in linguistically diverse families. The key questions addressed include:1 )What factors affect linguistically diverse families’ access to early care and education programs?; 2)What do we know about linguistically diverse families and how parents in these families support their young children’s learning and development?; 3) What features of early care and education programs appear to contribute to high levels of parent engagement in linguistically diverse families?; and 4) What policies can help increase the capacity of early care and education programs to support parent engagement in linguistically diverse families

Intergenerational transmission of literacy skills among Filipino families

We examined the joint role of parental word reading skills and conventional home literacy environment measures among 320 Filipino low- to- middle-income families in Cebu City, Philippines with children aged 5 to 8 years old. A ranking of parent-reported ratings of their frequency of engaging in home literacy activities and adult literacy practices revealed that book-related behaviors were less frequently practiced in this sample, and mean ratings on the home literacy resources scale suggested a relatively print-poor environment. Nevertheless, scale items about book reading and direct literacy instruction at home correlated with child’s literacy skills. Structural equation modeling showed that parent’s education and frequency of engaging in home literacy activities uniquely accounted for variance in child’s oral and print skills. In a second model, parent’s word reading skills were significantly related to child’s skills, but did not eliminate or attenuate influences from parent’s education and home literacy activities. Results are important in relation to theories on the intergenerational transmission of literacy skills and the generalizability of findings from developed countries to developing country contexts

Race and Entrepreneurship: Reclaiming Narratives

This essay makes the case for engaging in counter-narratives and inclusive storytelling within the transactional clinic curriculum. The authors leverage lessons from Critical Race Theory to amplify the voices and experiences of underrepresented entrepreneurs and marginalized communities in both clinic seminar and selected casework. In doing so, we challenge hegemonic narratives of entrepreneurship and expose our law students to the presence and impact of interlocking systems of subordination that minimize the existence and contributions of entrepreneurs of color. We challenge our law students and ourselves to become more creative and thoughtful lawyers to a more inclusive and diverse set of client-entrepreneurs

Questing with Grandma: Building Closer Families Through Intergenerational Video Gaming

While small and large technological miracles have undoubtedly made our lives easier, they have potentially also made a significant part of our daily social routine obsolete. People live in the same space but rarely spend quality time together, interacting and bonding. One of the solutions to diminishing family relationships may lie in the technology itself—video games. Previous research having shown the sociability of video games, and in this study, we examined their potential in creating closer family relationships, especially among different generations. Participants (n = 183), mainly grandparents and grandchildren, were asked to play video games together over a period of six weeks. Participants completed a modified version of the self-other overlap, self-disclosure, and relationship closeness inventories before and after the treatment and responded to a series of open-ended questions post-treatment. Results indicate a significant increase in the inclusion of other in the self, as well as an increase in breadth and depth of self-disclosure for both younger and older adults. A comparison group (n = 88), comprising also mostly grandparents and grandchildren, was tasked with having conversations either face-to-face or in a mediated setting. The comparison group completed the same questionnaires, with results indicating a significantly smaller increase in the inclusion of other in the self and depth of self-disclosure, while breadth of self-disclosure experienced the same increase as in the gaming group. The findings suggest that video games can provide a platform for family communication, resulting in the rejuvenation and maintenance of intergenerational relationships. Gathering around a novel shared activity, both younger and older adults found new ways of connecting to their family members, whether through more frequent conversations, broader selection of topics, shared subjects, or pure entertainment

Evaluation of the generations together programme: learning so far. Research report DFE-RR082

"This report presents the findings from the evaluation of the Generations Together Demonstrator programme. This study was undertaken by York Consulting LLP on behalf of the then Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF); this is now the Department for Education (DfE)... The overarching aims of the evaluation were to: undertake a robust assessment of the effectiveness of intergenerational practice in improving individual’s attitudes and behaviours towards other generations; provide a greater understanding of the key challenges and critical success factors for the effective implementation and delivery of intergenerational practice, particularly in terms of partnership working; undertake a cost effectiveness assessment of each of the projects." - Page i

Converging Methods and Tools: A Métis Group Model Building Project on Tuberculosis.

Indigenous (Métis, First Nation, and Inuit) peoples and communities in Canada, especially in the prairies, continue to experience disproportionate levels of tuberculosis (TB) compared to the rest of the Canadian born population. This inequitable distribution of TB disease burden demands effective policy, program, and practice responses. These have so far failed to materialize, perhaps in part because of limitations in the approaches we have taken to understanding the issue. As well, these responses have largely been grounded in western scientific paradigms. Science is the search and the re-search for knowledge and this varies according to the perspectives and paradigms of the researcher(s) and stakeholders. In this project, the student researcher collaborated with the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan (MN-S) and two volunteer health researchers to adapt and ground a western paradigm and methodology (System Dynamics and Group Model Building) to a Métis research paradigm to understand experiences of tuberculosis (TB) among Métis people. Data collection took place in a 2-day Métis-adapted group model building (GMB) workshop. The outcome is a causal loop diagram with associated stories co-created by the team and the workshop participants. The workshop was evaluated using a storytelling and story listening method that explored the appropriateness of adapting GMB within a Métis research context. The approach was determined to be successful methodologically, and substantively new knowledge was created in our Métis community about the determinants of TB. This research was a journey of diversity, working at the intersection of knowledge systems to produce a new understanding of a health issue as complex as TB