STORYTIMES: LANGUAGE AND LITERACY IN THE CONTEXT OF HOME LITERACY PROGRAMS

Emergent literacy has risen to the top of the education policy agenda, spawning greater investigation of the processes by which very young children become literate. Pia Rebello Britto and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, in collaboration with the Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY), explored the development of language and literacy skills among poor, young African-American mothers and their preschool children, capturing the variety of styles in which mothers read to their children or engage in other language and literacy-related activities and interactions. This study sheds light on the aspects of the family and home environment that influence particular stages of the child’s language and literacy development.

Funding Source: Spencer Foundation.