Homing In: Mothers at the Heart of Health and Literacy in Coastal Kenya.

This study includes a critical inquiry into literacy education that takes into account constraints to literacy such as health; an engagement with mothers as the primary caregivers and literacy models for their children; and guidelines for developing literacy interventions that move beyond entrenched modes of thought to promote additive approaches to forming literacy. In this mixed methods study, quantitative reading data from 800-second graders in 40 schools from the U.S.-funded Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) in coastal Kenya were analyzed, then qualitative data were collected and analyzed from mothers in three EGRA treatment schools. Results reinforced the close relationship between adult literacy and child literacy, and particularly the need to work with mothers when aiming to improve child literacy. Home and school literacies need to be connected so that reading can become an indigenous process. Health improvements as part of the environmental layers identified in the home were linked to literacy becoming an indigenous process as well.

an: 508445287; source: International Journal of Educational Development; docTypes: Article; pubTypes: Academic Journal;