“Families can foster a culture of learning where the education needs of all its members are addressed,” Arne Carlsen, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL).
The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) has launched a new publication on successful family literacy and learning programmes entitled “Learning Families: Intergenerational Approaches to Literacy Teaching and Learning” (PDF 4,8 MB). This compilation presents examples of effective learning at family level, highlighting the importance of creating learning families in which each member is a lifelong learner.
The family literacy and learning approach is particularly useful in breaking cycles of low levels of education and literacy skills among disadvantaged families and communities, as it encourages reading, writing and the acquisition of language skills for all members of a family. The case studies, which come from 22 countries, indicate that for the approach to be successful and foster a culture of learning, it is important to provide sustained teacher training, develop a culture of collaboration between institutions, teachers and parents, and secure sustainable funding through longer-term policy support.
The examples from UIL’s Effective Literacy and Numeracy Practices Database also provide evidence of the importance of involving families in literacy programmes by using intergenerational approaches to literacy learning, and of establishing closer links between (pre-)schools, families and communities. This reflects an expanded vision of literacy as a lifelong learning process.
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“Learning Families: Intergenerational Approaches to Literacy Teaching and Learning” (PDF, 4.8 MB)
- Author/Editor: Ulrike Hanemann
- Learning Families: Intergenerational Approaches to Literacy Teaching and Learning
- UIL, 2015
- ISBN 978-92-820-1199-7
- Available in: English, French, Spanish
