Mihaela Gazioglu, Emily Howell, Lindsey W. Rowe, Victoria Pennington, Nicole Ferguson-Sams - Clemson University �Kavita Mittapalli, Amlan Banerjee - M&N Associates, Inc.
Discussion and Implications
Enhancing Caregiver Knowledge and Self-Efficacy Through Responsive Literacy Interventions
- How does a literacy course for ML caregivers impact their knowledge and self-efficacy in supporting their children’s literacy development?
- Dual Capacity Building Framework (DCBF; Mapp & Kuttner, 2013), a model for refining education by taking a holistic approach to educational improvement
- The ‘4Cs’ for family engagement: need to equip families with skills (Capabilities), build trusting relationships with educators (Connections), shift beliefs to recognize families’ essential role in education (Cognition), and build families confidence (Confidence)
Theoretical Assertion 1: Caregivers want to support home literacy but need access to meaningful literacy resources and strategies |
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Effective literacy strategies presented during the course Course content geared towards caregivers | - Needing adequate literacy resources
- Logistical challenges for promoting literacy at home
- Needed literacy strategies to support MLs at home
- Lack of opinion on what a literacy course should include
| Micro modifications - Included sample home schedules to effectively promote literacy
- Caregivers practiced literacy strategies during course meetings
- Three grade level research-based literacy strategy examples included in all course modules
Macro Modifications - Share weekly online literacy resources with usage explanations and ask caregivers to try them and bring feedback to class
- Allocate half of each in-person session to practicing literacy strategies
| - Home literacy integration
- Shift in promoting literacy at home by using strategies learned in the course
- Caregivers searching for literacy resources beyond the course and sharing with class
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Theoretical Assertion 2:Information is needed on ways to support both heritage language and English literacy |
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| - Support needed in promoting home language literacy
- Community needed to promote heritage culture
| Micro modifications - Caregivers received personalized literacy resources in their respective HLs and English
- All Canvas resources translated in Spanish and Vietnamese
Macro modifications - Information and practice on maintaining both HL and English to be included in each in-person meeting
- More time to be allocated in the first meeting to caregivers' introductions and linguistic and cultural background
| - Caregivers intentionally balancing HL and English use at home
- Independently designing summer schedule to promote both languages
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Theoretical Assertion 3: Caregivers need support in understanding the US schooling system and MLs’ rights |
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Caregivers’ confidence increased in non-academic areas | - Limited understanding of the US education system
- Information needed on legal rights and financial literacy education
| Micro modifications - MLP coordinator had a dedicated time in the last course session to answer caregivers’ questions
Macro modifications - Specialists/invited speakers provide their presentations/webinars online, in between the in-person sessions, based on caregivers' questions
- Recorded presentations/webinars posted in Canvas
| - Caregivers reach out beyond course to MLP specialists and community representatives for information on educational opportunities for their MLs
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- From 2000 to 2019, South Carolina experienced a 650% increase in multilingual learners (MLs; NCES, 2021).
- Caregivers play a crucial role in children's literacy development, especially in multilingual and multicultural contexts, but they often face challenges such as language and cultural barriers in navigating the U.S. education system and low self-efficacy (Deng & Trainin, 2020).
Riverside School District (pseudonym) in South Carolina. Modifications made between years 1 and 2 of a 100% online, asynchronous M.Ed. program.
25 ML caregivers in a literacy course
Spoken languages: 11 Spanish, 3 Filipino, 2 Arabic, 2 Swahili, 2 Vietnamese, 1 Marathi, 1 creole, 1 Ashanti, 1 Tagalog, 1 Korean
Holistic, retrospective analysis (Gravemeijer & Cobb, 2006)
Mixed data collection:
Pre- and post-intervention survey, online discussion boards, formative feedback, end-of-course reflections, instruction logs, and research logs
Design-Based Research
A research approach that engages in iterative designs to develop knowledge that improves educational practices
This work was supported by a Department of Education, Office of English Language Acquisition, National Professional Development grant, #T365Z210089
The Intervention – The Caregiver Course
Purpose
- To help caregivers understand and implement literacy practices at home that best support their children’s academic development
Language Accessibility
- Course delivered in English with consecutive interpretation in Spanish & Vietnamese
- Online Canvas and in-person course materials with translation options in multiple languages
Course Modalities
- In-person literacy course
- Six course meetings, January-May 2024
- Invited speakers for each module topic
- Online Canvas course modules and resources
Content of Modules
- Introduction to South Carolina school system organization and expectations
- Home literacy practices
- Legal Literacy
- Financial literacy
- Healthcare literacy
- This design-based research study, using dual capacity building theory, examined how a literacy course for caregivers influenced their knowledge and self-efficacy in supporting their MLs’ literacy.
- Findings showed a collaborative process with caregivers actively shaping the course based on their needs.
- Caregivers’ self-efficacy and knowledge ratings increased by 21% and 15%, respectively. The course also boosted caregivers' confidence in areas such as navigating school systems and advocating for their children.
- Building community connections among caregivers is important
- MLP coordinator involved in the literacy course and answering caregivers' questions/concerns
- Caregivers included evidence-based practices in their home literacy practice
- A need for belief shifts to drive systemic change
- Enhanced confidence in navigating the school system enables caregivers to better advocate for their children, benefiting both families and school.
- The intervention emphasizes engaging ML caregivers in supporting their children’s home literacy, showing clear benefits from a responsive, iterative course design.
- Schools should implement annual programs for ML caregivers, offering resources on the education system, literacy support, and multilingual communication.
Quantitative data integration
- Caregivers equipped with knowledge and skills to support children's education and literacy
- Essential to integrate caregiver feedback during the learning process