What is a Literacy? Literacy is the ability to read, write, use technology and problem solve. According to Cree, Kay, Steward (2012), individuals with good literacy can expect their income to increase two to three times from what they were earning at the beginning of their careers.

What is a Family? According to Zygoric-Coe (2001), family is the beginning of each child’s literacy development. According to a study done by Purcell-Gates, L’Allier, Smith (1995), families of high economic status engaged in eight times more literacy events at home than the low economic status families.

Statistics Show According to the World Literacy Foundation (2012): – 796 million people in world cannot read and write – Cost of illiteracy globally = $1.19 trillion

Effects on Literacy Development The key importance of family structure is a recurring topic with impoverished families and literacy. - Literacy begins at home. - Families in poverty are behind middle to higher socioeconomic families in literacy. - Early interventions for families of poverty increase chances of school readiness. - According to Campbell, Ramey (1994), early success increases later success.

Effects of Illiteracy on Society According to the Literacy Foundation (2014), a person’s illiteracy can be caused by a variety of reasons: - Parents have little or no education - Living in poor conditions, mostly stemming from poverty - High-school drop outs - Disabilities

Illiteracy Can Affect Anyone Characteristics as mentioned by the Literacy Foundation (2014), of one who might be illiterate may often be some of the following: -Difficulty with perception of time and space - Lack of vocabulary to express clear thoughts - Trouble pronouncing words - Learned range of tricks to hide the difficulties - In general – a low self esteem

Implications by Teachers and Schools Teachers and schools have a great impact on students facing issues dealing with literacy. A must: Excellent forms of communication! - Such forms of communication with families: s, phone calls, conferences, notes, etc… - Parents need to be aware of their child’s educational strengths and weaknesses.

Implications by Communities According to Ramey (1994), there is a relation between poverty, cognitive development and academic failure. Well-rounded communities can play a major role in helping its population to succeed. – Examples include: YMCA, Scouts, church centers, library programs, tutoring programs

Implications by Families Three effective parenting strategies that can be implemented in impoverished neighborhoods according to Jarrett (1999): 1.The Youth Monitoring Strategy 2.Resource Seeking Strategy 3.In-home Learning Activities

References Campbell, A (1994). Effects of Early Intervention and Intellectual and Academic Achievement: A Follow-Up Study of Children from Low-Income Families. Child Development, 65(2), Cree, Kay, Steward (2012). The Economic and Social Cost of Illiteracy: A Snapshot of Illiteracy in a Global Context. World Literacy Foundation, 27. eracyfoundation.rg/The_Economic_&_Social_Cost_of_Illiteracy.pdf Jarrett, R.L. (1999). Successful Parenting in High-Risk Neighborhoods. The Future of Children, 9(2) uid=2&uid=4 &uid= &sid= Marcus, E. (2006). The Silent Epidemic: The Health Effects of Illiteracy. The New England Journal of Medicine. 355: /NEJMp Mockle, D. (2014). Literacy Foundation: Words of Hope Retrieved from w. fondationalphabetisation.org/en/adults/illiteracy_literacy/ Purcell-Gates, V., L’Allier, S., Smith, D. (1995). Literacy at the Harts’ and the Larsons’: Diversity among poor and inner city families, The Reading Teacher, 48(7), Sweet, R. (1996). Illiteracy: An Incurable Disease or Education Malpractice. The National Right to Read Foundation. Retrieved from Illiteracy.html. Van Steensel, R. (2006). Relations between socio-cultural factors, the home literacy environment and children's literacy development in the first years of primary education, Journal of Research in Reading, 29(4), al/ /(ISS N) Zygouris-Coe, V. (2001). Family Literacy, Florida Reading and Literacy Reading Document,