A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

From The ASSISTANT SECRETARY

Family Literacy: Beginning at the Beginning

A new Office of Educational Research and Improvement publication Family Literacy: Directions in Research and Implications for Practice - offers compelling evidence that our efforts to transform the education research and development enterprise are gaining real momentum. This new volume testifies to our progress in closing the distance between thought and action, theory and practice, and researchers and practitioners.

This new generation of research is already offering hope to millions of America's children who might otherwise be condemned to hopelessness. It is advancing the school readiness ideal that is the heart of Goals 2000. Some of the most valuable research presented in the emerging field of family literacy advances the understanding that we cannot expect our children to succeed academically if they arrive at school with their potential already diminished by hunger, malnutrition, emotional trauma, undiagnosed learning difficulties, and other consequences of social neglect.

One of the most important results to emerge from our September 1995 symposium on family literacy was renewed recognition of the need to ensure that comprehensive educational change is not stymied by a narrow vision of the prerequisites for academic success. An expanding research base now tells us that we must reach across self-created divides and focus on the whole child, the whole family, the whole community. This understanding has spawned hundreds of initiatives that give real meaning to the phrase "community-based schooling." From San Jose, California to Gainesville, Florida, local communities are establishing broad-based programs that empower families, provide social services, and promote the healthy development of children from cradle to campus.

These admirable programs will become even more effective as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) further disseminates its recent research documenting the characteristics of "quality" childcare. HHS is already providing families with information on the indicators they should look for in childcare programs. The goal is to make parents informed consumers as well as to enable them to work cooperatively and knowledgeably with state and local licensing agencies.

Additional progress is likely as a result of research focusing on even earlier interventions. Research on low-birth-weight and premature babies offers new insights into the most appropriate ways of caring for the tiniest, most vulnerable members of our society. The results are impressive: reduced infant mortality, better sensory integration, shorter hospitalizations, and brighter futures.

All of this is reason for hope, and all of this testifies to the power of research to improve academic achievement and enhance the quality of life for America's children. The 10 commissioned papers collected in the Family Literacy volume confirm what we have long suspected: Research can inspire progressive practice in dealing with children and families and communities -- especially when we insist on holistic vision, listen to our customers, and begin at the beginning.

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