Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association’s Post

VoxDev: how to improve literacy learning in adulthood? “Adult literacy programmes should be designed to address the unique cognitive needs of adults. Given the slower speed of literacy acquisition of adults, programmes should focus on modest goals in the short-term with the aim of maintaining engagement to achieve higher-level skills in the long-term. This will require more practice, although the precise length of time required for each step remains an important issue for future research. […] more research and innovation is needed to understand the most effective methods to accommodate adults’ busy schedules and encourage them to learn. Existing research has shown that technology can play a role in providing flexibility and maintaining engagement, but more work could be done to explore further innovations in incentives and curricular design.”

Check out the Literacy from the Start blog post on authentic early literacy assessment! https://lnkd.in/g9t3Yi3S

Educators can strengthen home-to-school ties that are critical to supporting students’ literacy development. Reading Is Fundamental's Vice President of Literacy Programs and Research, Erin Bailey, Ed.D. shares some key #RIF resources for creating and reinforcing these important connections in a new article for American Consortium for Equity in Education. Read the article now: https://lnkd.in/ecWke3Z6 #UntilEveryChildReads

One of the greatest joys for a mother is being able to read to their child. Can you imagine not being able to read, and as a result being robbed of that joy? Not only do the parent and the child miss out on this wonderful bonding time, but the child is negatively impacted for the rest of their lives. Research shows that a mother’s reading skill is the greatest determinant of her children’s future academic success, outweighing other factors, such as neighborhood and family income. Thus, by helping adult learners (many of whom are mothers) improve their literacy skills we are impacting the next generation, as well. Check out our latest blog post written by First Literacy Executive Director, Terry Witherell. https://lnkd.in/ebzNR_Ny #adultliteracy #familyliteracy

In 2017, 11 states were awarded a combined $380M in Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy (SRCL) grants to support schools and teachers in providing #EvidenceBased #literacy instruction—with a focus on serving disadvantaged schools. According to AIR’s evaluation of SRCL implementation across states, most fell short of key program goals, including targeting resources to disadvantaged schools and investing in literacy programs that are supported by rigorous research evidence. These findings reveal how differently states and schools approached the program and how much we still have to learn about its effectiveness. Read the report:

Struggling with how to support students who are behind in literacy? You're not alone. With the Ministry of Education's push for structured literacy in primary schools, many intermediate and secondary educators are wondering: What about older students? In our latest blog, Ros explores how StepsWeb offers a solution for intermediate and secondary students - providing a comprehensive, non-age specific literacy program that allows students to work at their own level and pace. https://hubs.li/Q02WfS-k0

Early literacy not only helps children develop crucial reading and writing abilities, but it also fosters cognitive development, critical thinking, and a lifelong love of learning. When children are exposed to books, stories, and language-rich environments from a young age, they gain a solid foundation that supports their academic success and personal growth. Furthermore, early literacy enhances social skills, as children learn to communicate effectively and understand different perspectives through the stories they read and share. At Ready for Reading, We are nvesting in literacy programs and resources is, therefore, a vital step in nurturing well-rounded, knowledgeable, and empathetic individuals #SDGs #sdg4 #sdg4qualityeducation #sdg4action #ReadyforReading #literacyforall #fortheloveofbooks #community #librarylife #RfR #TillEveryOneCanRead #Library #coffee #weekend #selfcarethreads

Introducing more literacy resources while cutting access to rural schools and at the same time collapsing the rural sector. This Minister who lies to other ministers, lies to the public, takes 2 months to reply to emails about her program, run by her servant James Meffan, to cancel rural primary bus services and rural feeder bus services to high schools. As far as getting children to school Hon Erica Stanford MP is totally incompetent, or just does not care about the "ineligible" students she is going to leave on the side of the road and put out of the school system. News items like this without looking at what she is doing to rural education is not helpful. In fact her actions in the rural sector beg the question, are her new literacy resources are actually worth the paper theya re written on?

September is National Literacy Month! Reading is a basic human right; every child deserves to be able to read and write. That’s why the U.S. Department of Education funds Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) grants and established the CLSD National Literacy Center (https://lnkd.in/epGFB_Zr) to improve literacy for all students, but especially disadvantaged children, including children living in poverty, English learners, and children with disabilities. Developing literacy skills is important for learning in all subjects. The better a student’s literacy skills, the more likely the student is to: ✅ Stay engaged in class. ✅ Graduate from high school. ✅ Attend and graduate from college. ✅ Secure meaningful employment. ✅ Earn a high salary. ✅ Avoid substance use, cognitive decline, and other health issues. ✅ Avoid incarceration. This means that literacy rates have a huge impact not just on individual children—each of whom is uniquely valuable—but also in reducing disparities and creating a more equitable society as a whole. Yet according to the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress, only 33% of 4th graders and 31% of 8th graders are proficient readers. Even the youngest children are entering school already facing pre-literacy challenges (https://nyti.ms/3ZyeuN0). The good news is that there are solutions. Evidence-based educational practices can be used in classrooms. These are activities, strategies, and interventions proved by research to have positive effects on students’ learning or other outcomes. With an eye toward equity, many studies also find that practices tailored to the unique needs of different student populations have positive impacts. And because so many practices have been supported by rigorous research, schools have a wide array of options. In fact, anyone can browse resources on evidence-based practices using the CLSD National Literacy Center’s website (https://bit.ly/4gnrICg), the What Works Clearinghouse (https://bit.ly/3MPwDyr), and Evidence for ESSA (https://lnkd.in/ecq68rPu). Promoting evidence-based practices is just one of the ways the CLSD National Literacy Center aims to improve literacy education, during National Literacy Month and all year long. Let’s get America’s kids reading! 

Wake Forest University has launched the Center for Literacy Education to explore how literacy education can strengthen individuals and communities through teaching, research, creative activities and programming. #ProHumanitate https://lnkd.in/eywWEu4y