Practitioner’s Guide - 8 - What we learned yesterday will guide us today: How family literacy programs can address the COVID-19 slide

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Damian

Practitioner’s Guide #8 outlines how family literacy programs can respond to education changes triggered by COVID-19. It describes the four integrated family literacy components—adult education, parent education, interactive literacy activities, and early childhood education—and explains how programs adapted by moving instruction online or to blended formats. The guide emphasizes sustaining adult and child learning through blended environments and highlights the role of relationships, shared reading, and caregiver involvement in improving language and literacy development.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

The Importance of Family Literacy (Especially During the Pandemic)

Four integrated components of family literacy

How adult education adapted during the pandemic

Parent education and interactive literacy activities online

Lost Learning and the COVID-19 Slide

Practitioner’s Guide \#8 August 2021 What we learned yesterday will guide us today: How family literacy programs can address the COVID-19 slide Elisabeth L. McLean and Carol D. Clymer Families have been faced with new challenges and uncertainties during the unprecedented times when the world came to a standstill due to COVID-19 in March 2020. Families in the U.S. who speak languages other than English and/or who have adult basic education challenges were hit particularly hard during this time. The shut-down of schools and the shift to a primarily remote learning environment occurred with astounding speed, with little chance to prepare and understand learning expectations from schools and other educational programs. Not surprisingly, family literacy programs were in a unique position to simultaneously support adult and young learners during this extraordinary time. The purpose of this guide is to highlight changes in education due to the pandemic and to discuss how to support families now and in the future. Recommendations are provided for family literacy programs related to sustaining and adapting adult education, parent education 1, and interactive literacy in a blended learning environment, while simultaneously supporting the adult ’s and child ’s learning. The Importance of Family Literacy (Especially During the Pandemic) Family literacy programs have existed for decades and target families who may need literacy, education, and language resources and services. These programs help adults achieve educational growth and/or acquire English language skills, learn about the education and development of their children, to connect to schools and teachers, and engage in interactive literacy activities with their young or school-age children to support their learning and development. Many family literacy programs have four integrated components that support the family unit. These components include (1) adult education (AE) or English Language Learning (ELL) instruction for adult learners; (2) parent education (PE) to provide suggestions about child development and connecting to the child ’s school; (3) interactive literacy activities (ILA) that provide ideas and opportunities for caregivers about engaging in activities to foster their child ’s learning at home; and (4) early childhood education (ECE) in an early childhood or school-age setting. The adult education component of family literacy typically has been offered in-person. During the pandemic, however, it has also been offered either online or as a blended learning format (both in-person and online) to accommodate social distancing requirements and/or the complicated schedules adults have faced as schools switched to remote learning and distance education models. Contact the authors at: [elg6@psu.edu &](elg6@psu.edu &)[ ](elg6@psu.edu &)[cdc22@psu.edu](cdc22@psu.edu) Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy 405 Keller Building, University Park, PA 16802 Phone: (814) 867-0268 Learn more about Goodling Institute at [https://ed.psu.edu/research-grants/centers-institutes/](https://ed.psu.edu/research-grants/centers-institutes/)[ ](https://ed.psu.edu/research-grants/centers-institutes/)goodling-institute Penn State is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. U.Ed. EDU 22-05 Distance education (classes that are offered via computers, mobile phones, tablets, or digital devices) can be successful particularly because they allow caregivers to work at their own pace while simultaneously attending to family responsibilities (Prins, Drayton, Gungor, & Kassab, 2012). However, many learners are unfamiliar with using technology; Inverso, Kobrin, and Hashmi (2017) discussed that the success of the blended model

FAQs

What is the main purpose of this Practitioner’s Guide?

It highlights changes in education due to the pandemic and discusses how to support families now and in the future, including recommendations for family literacy programs to sustain and adapt adult education, parent education, and interactive literacy in blended learning environments.

What four integrated components make up many family literacy programs?

They are (1) adult education (AE) or English Language Learning (ELL), (2) parent education (PE), (3) interactive literacy activities (ILA), and (4) early childhood education (ECE).

Why are interactive literacy activities important for children’s learning?

They focus on caregivers and children learning together, supporting language and literacy development. The guide notes that parent involvement and shared reading with caregivers consistently enhance children’s language and literacy growth.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Damian