Module 2 literary analysis and interpretation

Community Research

By placing the demands of literacy education on the community as a whole, a shared responsibility is created and therefore a substantial interest is gained in the process. Literacy is indeed a problem of not just students and teacher, but for the entire population. The purpose of this essay is to review literature pertaining to this argument in order to defend my position and create an opportunity for knowledge and learning. This essay will discuss and reveal some expert opinions about the subject at large and adds context and ideas to the already heavily discussed topic of literacy programs and ways to successfully implement large scale educational changes within an already existing format.

Literature Review

Reese & Goldenberg (2008) found explicit data that literacy resources within immigrant Latino families are seriously lacking. They wrote " findings from a study of 35 communities show that communities with greater concentrations of Latinos are less likely to have printed materials, and available materials are more likely to be in Spanish, " (p.109). After consideration this is obvious. It is expected to take some time for immigrants to adjust and assimilate to a new culture and it is unwise to think that change would happen so rapidly. This is applicable for the school I have chosen for examination, because Latinos' make up a large part of the minority population. It also suggests to strengthen my hypothesis that the community is largely responsible for literacy rates, and that the education system can influence that learned skill in an appropriate direction.

Epstein & Salinas (2004) suggested that a well organized literacy program must involve family and community in order for any real benefits to be realized. To help guide this argument the authors presented six type of involvement. These include parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision making and collaborating with the community. When these involvements are balanced in a correct recipe, then literacy rates and educational achievement are expected to grow. The wrote "Organizationally, educators, parents, and other partners are working together to systematically strengthen and maintain their family and community involvement programs over time. Interpersonally, these partners recognize that they all have roles to play in helping students succeed in school -- and that, together with students, they are the school's learning community." This article is a very helpful and resourceful piece of data that corresponds and aligns correctly with my hypothesis. This research can be used to echo sentiments in stressing the importance of incorporating community-based education. The limitations of the school system appear to be evident as much failure is rampant throughout the public education system. It stands to reason that a community can only save itself when a cooperative attitude is applied to the situation. This article agrees with the essence of this idea, they wrote "To learn at high levels, all students need the guidance and support of their teachers, families, and others in the community."

Sheldon & Epstein (2005) placed much importance on community involvement in the improvement of mathematics achievement. Although this article does not specifically address literacy rates, there is much evidence to support the benefit of community involvement as a strategy for all subjects of learning. Ultimately the authors concluded that "findings suggest that subject specific practices of school, family and community partnerships may help educators improve students' mathematical achievement. In this article the six types of involvement are also discussed as in the previous article mentioned above. These qualities provide a clear and concise manner in which to fully understand what is necessary to achieve a cooperative effort where all parties that need to be involved are involved. The authors wrote "educators may attain the best results by effectively implementing activities that facilitate parent-child interactions involving mathematics and that encourage the development of mathematical skills.

What is ignored in the research presented in this essay is the identification of a large problem that contributes to the difficulty of solving it. For the most part, parents and the community at large have been conditioned to believe that schools are magic centers of learning and that it is that institutions' moral obligation to educate students. There is little data suggesting that community and family involvement in education is caused by an indifferent society. All of the research assumes the premise that the community has an interest in the process. There appears to be little to no motivation explicitly displayed in regards to this angle of the problem.

Practical Application