Engaging parents in children’s literacy: an investigation into the Impact in Writing programme as a strategy for parental engagement

Sarjeant, Suzanne 2020. Engaging parents in children’s literacy: an investigation into the Impact in Writing programme as a strategy for parental engagement. EdD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

This thesis investigates the literacy programme, Impact in Writing. The study's focus is on the effectiveness of the programme as a parental engagement initiative and whether it improves children’s writing skills. Drawing on an action research approach, the study utilised a two-phase mixed methods explanatory design frame. The first phase used quantitative data which assessed children’s progress in writing; the second phase was qualitative, using focus groups with parents and school staff to understand how this programme worked as an engagement strategy. Using convenience sampling, three schools participated in the study, with 90 children and 11 parents / family members and 8 school staff providing data. The findings of this study suggest that adopting the Impact in Writing programme can result in improvement in children’s literacy. However, the levels of success differed between the participating schools and indicate that for parental engagement strategies to be successful and have the maximum impact, schools must have certain structures and attitudes in place. These findings challenge deficit models of parenting and illustrate that the majority of parents want to be engaged with their children’s learning if the requisite structures and support are in place. However, the findings indicate that the practice around parental engagement is inconsistent and lacks a cohesive approach and that it is those schools who adopt specific parental engagement strategies that are successful. The main recommendation from this study is that the Impact in Writing programme should be considered as an effective literacy intervention and as a catalyst for developing parental engagement.

Item Type:	Thesis (EdD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 November 2020
Last Modified:	26 Oct 2021 01:34
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/136692

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