Shively (2001) points out that the notion of family literacy is not new and those that support it simply do so because it makes sense for them. She adds that the definitions may vary to reflect the values and suit the purposes of the group that offers them. Some agencies offer family literacy programs that provide family members an opportunity to learn together how to use the power of literacy and family communication to help them meet personal goals and ultimately improve their quality of life. These programs build upon this natural learning bond between adults and their children. They recognize and support the influence of the family on the literacy development of all of the family members.

Other Terms

Other selected terms used throughout this research, arranged in alphabetical order, include: culture, discourse, enculturation, heart, identity and voice. Each of these will now be defined.

Culture can be seen as the "the totality of a people's experience" including "its history, literature, language, philosophy, religion, and so forth" (Sleeter, 1996, p. 146). Such an idea recognizes that persons are socialized into their culture and values.

Discourse is defined by Lewis (1993) as:

a set of social practices that signify positions in subjectivity which are always multiple and which are always negotiated within the broader political and economic relations that mark our day-to-day lives…discursive practices are the stories we believe we can tell to ourselves and also the practical engagements these stories imply…They are a way of negotiating our subject position within the relations of power. (p. 113)

Enculturation is the process undertaken in adapting and conforming to the basic values, norms and belief systems of one's culture. Spindler (1974) refers to this "process of generational continuity" (p. 28) in which enculturative factors "perpetuate, recondition and occasionally renew the way of life of a people" (p. 9). Lankshear (1992) adds that we are "inducted into using language, behaving, valuing, and believing to give a shape to our experiences" (p. 126).