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ERIC ED405079: Integration: Making the Pieces Fit. PDF

14 Pages·1996·0.27 MB·English
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DOCUMENT RESUME PS 024 787 ED 405 079 AUTHOR Dwyer, M. Christine; Lash-Freeman, Bonnie Integration: Making the Pieces Fit. TITLE National Center for Family Literacy, Louisville, KY.; INSTITUTION RMC Research Corp., Portsmouth, NH. Department of Education, Washington, DC. SPONS AGENCY PUB DATE 96 13p.; For related documents, see PS 023 877-878 and NOTE PS 024 789-790. Non-Classroom Use (055) Guides PUB TYPE EDRS PRICE MFO1 /PCO1 Plus Postage. Adults; Cooperation; Educational Principles; Family DESCRIPTORS Attitudes; Family Needs; Family Programs; Literacy Education; Parent Child Relationship; Preschool Education; Program Administration; *Program Design; Program Development; *Program Improvement; Staff Development; Supervision; Teamwork; Theory Practice Relationship; Young Children Even Start; Family Literacy; Family Support IDENTIFIERS ABSTRACT This paper discusses: (1) the importance of building a comprehensive web of support for families in family literacy programs (such as Even Start) that communicate consistent values and messages essential for educational success; and (2) how integration of program components can be developed and strengthened. The paper is organized around four major principles. For each principle, practical examples illustrate how the theories would be implemented in program practice. Principle 1 focuses on identifying family needs and building services around those needs. Principle 2 identifies intense experiences and a high degree of connection across services as a key to changing family attitudes and perspectives in lasting ways. Principle 3 involves providing continuity through a set of common messages and values presented and reinforced in all program components. Principle 4 specifies that integration requires connections across program components. The five implications of these (1) the need for principles for program design and management are: (2) building and nurturing a strong staff increased planning time; (4) a supervision style (3) the need for cross-staff training; team; that extends the web of support to staff; and (5) developing integrated approaches and common messages across various collaborators. The paper concludes with a list of resources. (Contains 23 references.) (KDFB) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this 6 document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. Integration Making the Pieces Fit BY M CHRISTINE DWYER. RMC RESEARCH CORPORATION AND BONNIE LASH-FREEMAN. NATIONAL CENTER FOR FAMILY LITERACY One in a Series of Papers for Even Start Project Managers Commissioned by the US Department of Education Do Developed by RMC Research Corporation 0 1996 2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE Integration Making the Pieces Fit BY M. CHRISTINE DWYER, RMC RESEARCH CORPORATION AND BONNIE LASH-FREEMAN, NATIONAL CENTER FOR FAMILY LITERACY High quality family literacy programs demonstrate every day that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts; that is, they are organized to offer families something much greater than the individual services of early childhood, adult education, and parenting compo- nents. We use the label integration to describe that value-added and elusive characteristic of the best programs. Integration is a way of designing education and support services for families that builds on and replicates the interdependence of family members. Successful Even Start programs build a comprehensive web of support for families who are working toward the goals of self-sufficiency and self-determination. At the heart of the web of support constructed by family literacy programs are consistent values and messages that are essential for educational success. Integration of components occurs as staff from separate program service areas work together with families in a variety of ways to build and reinforce that web of support, values, and messages. This paper discusses the importance of building a web of support for each family and explores ways that integration of program components can be developed and strengthened. A basic rationale for integrating components is the knowledge that an in- tense experience is needed to change intergenerational patterns associated with low liter- acy. A strong team effort is required to motivate families to alter the circumstances of their lives and to sustain them as they take the risks to undertake transformational changes. The topic of integration is a challenging one that is based on a theoretical frame- work grounded in a set of principles about families and development. The organization of this paper is structured around four major principles. For each principle, practical exam- ples are provided to illustrate how the theories would be implemented in program prac- tice. The paper concludes with a series of implications for program design and management. c. fOCUS ON fAMILIES Integration begins with a focus on families: Where we belong, we learn. Where we are families identify their needs and services are supported, we learn to support others. When we are built around them; designing services at the treated with respect, we learn to appreciate others. Family-focused programming is built on the value of family level requires a high degree of connected- an appreciation of the strengths and capabilities of ness across services. I> EVEN START PROJECT MANAGER'S GUIDE <I / ... / . Even Start affects each member of the family. As individual all families. The goals, interests, and needs of fami- family members develop and change, all other lies and their individual members are the starting members of the family are affected. Even Start staff places for design of successful family literacy ser- are sensitive to changes and continuously develop vices. Family literacy programs recognize that par- strategies to involve other family members. ents must first develop in themselves what they need Because each family is different, Even Start to transfer to their children: self-confidence, the programs must shape program services to match value of education, and a vision of a successful families, and not fit families to the program. Each person. family presents a different combination of strengths Basic to the notion of integration is that and needsand those are ever-changingrequiring families are the units of learning and the transmit- that family literacy programs develop a high degree ters of educational values. Values incubate within of individualization and operate with great flexibility. family systems and are transferred to family mem- Some family literacy programs use individual Family bers. For example, the value of persistence in pursu- Action Plans as a way to recognize the importance ing goals is taught to and observed by children when of individualizing services and begin to organize the they know their parents are learning new skills and information that staff will need to support the fami- strategies. Family literacy programs focus on the lies in the program. transfer of educational values from parents to chil- dren. Education produces changes and change fAMILY ACTION PLANS and breaking projects into simpler steps with Family action plans identify and match the goals less personal matters before tackling the of families with specific program services. In Family Action Plan. programs collaborating with Head Start, the One staff member should work with the family Head Start Family Needs Assessment might be to develop the plan. Other staff can be involved the starting place to develop the action plan. In at the discretion of the family. adult education, the learner's poltfolio might be a Completing the plan takes some time; the starting place. Because planning has probably family will need to think about the plan and not been a natural part of the lives of families may want to consult with other family mem- served by family literacy programs, the develop- bers and relatives. ment of a Family Action Plan may seem like an If goals are unrealistic, explore the choices and overwhelming task. While the structure of a outline steps so that parents can choose the formal plan may provoke anxiety at first, eventu- best strategies. Remember that families are ally the plan will become a source of security for responsible for their plans, not staff members the family. Here are some guidelines to remem- who play a supportive role in family progress. ber in the development of Family Action Plans: (NCFL, 1994; Dunst, 1988) Develop a knowledge of the family and a trusting relationship before developing a Family Action Plan. Practice identifying goals I> EVEN START PROJECT MANAGER'S GUIDE <1 .. .. §. . . . .o Even Start ponent staff members, i.e., early childhood, adult Staff from successful family literacy programs education and parenting staff, and the staff from see themselves as a team working together to sup- supporting collaborators. port individual families; each family is seen as a point of service for the collective team of core com- c INTENSITY AND CONNECTION attention in a supportive environment. It may take Trans formative change requires intense experi- several years of intense experiences in a family ences: a high degree of connection across services literacy program for a family to achieve even a is needed to change attitudes and perspectives in modest degree of self-sufficiency or the confidence lasting ways. that they will some day attain self-sufficiency. After Many families must make major changes in all, an adult family member may have been sur- their lives in order to accomplish even modest goals. rounded with discouraging messages for twenty or In addition to acquiring strategies and skills, family thirty years prior to entering a family literacy pro- members need to build self-confidence and may gram; those attitudes are not going to be changed in need to change perspectives, values, and habits of a few months or through occasional contact. thinking that are out of sync with a newly developed Every contact that the family literacy program vision of themselves as self-sufficient, not only in has with the family is an opportunity to reinforce economic terms but also in the ability to develop developing attitudes; in this delicate relationship competencies and envision strategies for next steps. with a family in transformation there is no room for In early research on family literacy program- lost opportunities or mixed messages. It is critical ming, Hayes found a pattern of characteristics of that staff in all program components operate with families in the target population for family literacy the same philosophy and provide consistent rein- that suggests some of the perspectives and educa- forcement to scaffold a family's developing attitudes tion-related values that may need to change. He and values. At one level, integration of components noted that parents often had little understanding of means delivering consistent messages in all contacts their role in the education of children. They viewed with a family, surrounding a family academically and school learning as something that belonged to socially. That challenge requires a high degree of "others" and had little value for them in contrast to staff interchange about individual families and a common sense. Further, adults had no history of solid commitment to a well-articulated set of com- setting goals for themselves or working to accom- mon values and messages. plish goals (Hayes, 1991). Changing such attitudes Thus, a critical task of all Even Start programs is much more difficult than simply learning new is to engineer the degree of intensity of services for literacy or vocational skillsand most families in each family that can really make a difference family literacy programs must work in all arenas. providing consistent reinforcement for educational Changing attitudes requires an approach that is values across all the components and services that qualitatively different from most training currently engage families and keeping them engaged with provided by adult education or vocational programs. services long enough to affect real and lasting To build strategies and skills and also change a changes toward developing the educational values. family's perspective takes a great deal of time and 5' D EVEN START PROJECT MANAGER'S GUIDE Even Start PERSPRTIVI TRANSFORMATION Building competence and confidence Mezirow has identified the stages that adult family members will pass through as they de- Planning and goal-setting velop new transforming perspectives: Acquiring knowledge and skills for imple- Experiencing a disorienting dilemma menting the plans and accomplishing goals Examining self and assessing present status Trying out, experimenting with new roles, and assessing feedback Looking at the personally internalized role assumptions and comparing with new goals Reintegrating into society as a "different person" (Mezirow, 1978) Sharing discontent with the status quo Exploring options for new ways of acting rituals and ceremonies to elaborate success; Remember that family members in family literacy programs may be transforming perspectives ongoing academic connections to vocational related to many aspects of their lives at the same goals; time: their role within their birth family, role as a relating the curriculum to day-to-day parent, role as a spouse or partner, role as a worker, applications; and role as a competent adult. They need a consis- debriefing parent-child activities to elicit new tent set of values and messages that work to support learnings in child development and parenting; their growth and development in the multiple roles and they play. providing concrete markers of transitions such Program staff can develop strategies to sup- as certificates of attendance, or incentives for port adults as they come to view themselves as a goal achievement. "different person" including: As staff understands more about the primary daily reinforcement of successes and attempts; messages and values of family literacy, they can teaching problem-solving techniques and en- develop additional strategies to nurture family couraging parents to use these with ongoing development. issues, beginning with simple issues and work- ing towards tougher problems; biweekly or monthly parent conferences that emphasize the different roles of student, par- ent, spouse, citizen, etc.; 6 > EVEN START PROJECT MANAGER'S GUIDE <I ... # / 1.7 . Even Start c COMMON MESSAGES AND VALUES core messages, there are several statements of Continuity is grounded in a set of common mes- educational values that are likely to appear on most sages: components are integrated when they lists such as: present and reinforce the same set of values. Growth and development depends on opportu- A successful Even Start program defines and nities and experiences. articulates a set of educational principles by which the program operates. Those principles are the High expectations bring high achievement. foundation for the core set of values or messages Values are transmitted intergenerationally. that all program staff use to guide their interactions All families have strengths from which they can with families and to design growth experiences and build. supports for family members. These foundational Parents have the central role to play in a child's messages are a combination of values, beliefs, atti- development. tudes, and dispositions that are cultural norms Planning and setting goals are basic to attaining associated with lifelong learning. goals. This common core of messages provides a While families will differ in the focus and critical link across the experiences of family mem- intensity of attention to education values, core bers; as family members are exposed to new experi- messages such as these can be the starting place for ences, their learnings are reinforced through working with families and other staff members to interactions with other family members who have plan the experiences that will help attain families' had complementary experiences. For example, as a goals. For example, at a team meeting, an adult parent builds her own sense of self-esteem through educator and early childhood teacher can find ways reflecting with a staff member on her own achieve- that they both can stimulate family members to ask ments in mathematics, her young child is learning to questions to seek information or to break down a review and record his accomplishments in kinder- complex task into component parts. gartenand, especially powerfully, the parent is Messages at a finer level of detail will be even encouraged to engage her son in the same review more useful as staff from different components and and praise his specific new developments. The collaborators work together to understand how a parent is learning to develop in herself what she particular message might be reinforced. must give to her child. While it is important that staff in each pro- gram spend some time as a team developing a set of I> EVEN START PROJECT MANAGER'S GUIDE / .... o -.# Even . Start *: fOUNDATIONAL EDUCATIONAL MESSAGES Listening to the ideas of others is a good way The following list of messages at different levels to learn. might provide a useful starting place for a dis- We can learn much from stories to apply to our cussion among staff members from different own lives. components: We develop talents and interests through It takes practice to attain mastery. experience and participation. We need to take care of things we value. There are ways to make friends, e.g., being Asking for help when you need it enables interested in others, sharing interests, etc. learning. Finishing things that you have started provides Establishing routines makes life easier and a sense of satisfaction. helps you to accomplish more. Working with others requires give-and-take. Learning involves asking questions and seeking It is possible to express your ideas and emo- information. tions in many different ways and through Applying what is learned in one situation to different media. another (transfer of skills) is a key to flexible Seeking variety and diversity opens up new thinking. experiences. Creating and inventing are essential to devel- Competence with print literacy makes our lives oping other thinking skills. easier and more enjoyable. Observing and noting patterns are a basic We can learn to make good decisions by mak- thinking skills. ing choices/ expressing preferences and experi- There are lots of solutions to any prgblem. encing the consequences. (Dwyer, 1995) There are lots of different ways to be smart. tion becomes a way of living and working for family When the concept of integration becomes literacy program staff members. concretely articulated in a set of messages, integra- CONNECTIONS ACROSS COMPONENTS Perhaps the most critical connections are those Integration requires connections across program linking the parenting components (i.e., parent components. visiting) to groups, parent-child interaction, home There are many opportunities for making each other and to other aspects of family literacy. specific connections across components and among The following are examples of how such specific collaborators in Even Start programs and there are a connections might occur: variety of ways in which those linkages can be made. S I> EVEN START PROJECT MANAGER'S GUIDE <I BEST COPY AVAILABLE e . .0 Even Start both home visits and parent groups have a parent group time is used to address questions literacy focus; and issues that arise during home visits and parent-child interaction times; literacy skills for adults are taught in the con- text of early childhood development, parenting, the activity of home visits is based on current and use of community resources; activity in the early childhood setting, the goals of adult learners, and the activity of parent- planning for parent-child interaction time is child interaction time; used as a subject of study in adult education classes; and parent-child activities and home visit activities are designed with ideas for ease of transfer to staff connect what young children are learning home for practice; to education skills in later learning, including adult education. the home visit is used to practice an application At one level, integration means the connec- of what has been discussed in parent groups; tion of the curricula of the family literacy program the home visit encompasses every aspect of the components of adult education, early childhood family literacy program; and education, parent education, home visits, and voca- parenting education material is the focus of tional exploration. In fact, when components do not adult literacy activities. connect in the specific ways described above, they Other critical linkages are based on the liter- often simply become a duplication of the services acy goals of the various components. Examples of already available in most communities. connections across components that have literacy as a focus are: DEVELOPING LINKAGES museum, cooking with children), or learning When staff meet to develop connections across strategies (e.g., asking questions for information, components, there are various starting points organizing and ordering information), or prob- that can be used to develop linkages: connec- lems and events that are of immediate concern tions can be based on values and attitudes (as (e.g., safety in the neighborhood following an discussed above), or meaningful themes (e.g., : incident, difficulty in getting a child ready for celebration of diversity, seasonal changes), or (Dwyer, 1996) school). particular activities of interest (e.g., a visit to a IMPLICATIONS FOR PROGRAM DESIGN parents' personal adjustment and development, Programs that seek to empower families to and children's developmental needs" (Weiss and function independently assume the responsibility for Halpern, 1990). Thus, the very design of Even Start creating comprehensive approaches to services. programs takes into consideration an array of ser- Family focused services must emphasize "a reason- ,-vices responding to family goals and needs. All able balance between families' basic survival needs, 9 I> EVEN START PROJECT MANAGER'S GUIDE Even Start social development. Program design and staffing workable designs include adult education, early plans must accommodate this need for planning childhood services, and parenting support. All de- time; a common model is to provide services four signs collaborate with community agencies and all days a week and allow one day for planning across provide some services in the home. All designs are and within staff teams. intense and continue over time. In addition to the 2. It is vitally important to build and nurture a above broad guidelines, there are some specific strong team of staff. Ingredients in shaping an practical program design and management issues effective team include solid information for each that must be addressed within the context of inte- staff member about family literacy, an opportu- gration: planning time, team work, staff develop- nity to participate in shaping the program's goals ment, and supervision. and messages, a chance to learn about other staff 1. Integrating services and messages takes planning members' talents and abilities and cultural time. It is essential to set aside time for staff from backgrounds, and clarity about roles and different components and collaborating staff to work together as a team. Teamwork is essential to responsibilities. Each week's planning time offers the opportu- integration and provides the basis for connecting nity to strengthen the bonds among team mem- the components. As staff members talk with each bers. It is critical that all staff honor the planning other in planning for individual families, they are time and not use the day to schedule other ap- articulating key messages about family literacy pointments. Teamwork is enhanced if leadership and integration and strengthening the web of for meetings is shared and time limits for differ- support for families. Integration becomes a way ent segments observed. Including staff from other of working instead of an abstract idea. collaborators and parents in the planning process All staff require paid planning time to create enhances effectiveness. The outcomes of planning the connections that make families' program meetings should be documented as part of the experiences meaningful and powerful. The full team of staff will need to meet at least weekly for self-evaluation process. joint discussion and planning of academic and SUGGESTED WEEKLY PLANNING AGENDA Conduct an evaluative discussion about the The National Center for Family Literacy sug- growth and development of the overall pro- gests the following meeting outline to ensure gram. It is very important for frontline workers conversation about all aspects of the program. to be able to reflect on the big picture. Begin with an overview of the previous week Discuss strategies, themes, and concepts for with each staff member contributing to the curriculum in the coming week. discussion. Observations about families are a key part of this discussion. Each member takes some time to develop a specific plan and then shares those to identify New information that impacts the program is points of intersection with others. (NCFL, 1994) shared by all. C EVEN START PROJECT,MANAGER'S GUIDE 4

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Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.