Graduate Studies Reports Access

Graduate Course Proposal Form Submission Detail - EEC7417
Tracking Number - 1507

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Current Status: Approved, Permanent Archive - 2010-11-02
Campus: Tampa
Submission Type: new
Course Change Information (for course changes only):
Comments: To Grad Council 5/17/2010; pending information to reflect course is not required in program. Confirmed. GC approved 8/18/10. to SCNS 8/25/10. Approved. Effective 10/1/10. Number changed from 7404 to 7417. Posted in banner


Detail Information

  1. Date & Time Submitted: 2009-09-04
  2. Department: Childhood Education and Literacy Studies
  3. College: ED
  4. Budget Account Number: 172100
  5. Contact Person: Jolyn Blank
  6. Phone: 9743460
  7. Email: jblank@coedu.usf.edu
  8. Prefix: EEC
  9. Number: 7417
  10. Full Title: Family Literacy
  11. Credit Hours: 3
  12. Section Type: D - Discussion (Primarily)
  13. Is the course title variable?: N
  14. Is a permit required for registration?: N
  15. Are the credit hours variable?: N
  16. Is this course repeatable?:
  17. If repeatable, how many times?: 0
  18. Abbreviated Title (30 characters maximum): Family Literacy
  19. Course Online?: C - Face-to-face (0% online)
  20. Percentage Online: 0
  21. Grading Option: R - Regular
  22. Prerequisites: N/A
  23. Corequisites: N/A
  24. Course Description: Students will examine how literacy is acquired, how culture, language, and family life relate to literacy development, and how home, school, and community contexts influence literacy acquisition.

  25. Please briefly explain why it is necessary and/or desirable to add this course: Needed as part of recent program/concentration/certificate change
  26. What is the need or demand for this course? (Indicate if this course is part of a required sequence in the major.) What other programs would this course service? The focus of this course is family literacy, or the local literacy beliefs and practices that occur among family members in home and community contexts. This course is necessary because school professionals must critically examine how family literacy constructs and enactments relate to school structures.
  27. Has this course been offered as Selected Topics/Experimental Topics course? If yes, how many times? No
  28. What qualifications for training and/or experience are necessary to teach this course? (List minimum qualifications for the instructor.) Ph.D. in Early Childhood Education, Literacy, or Language or other related field. Research publications in refereed journals documenting the study of family literacy.
  29. Objectives: 1. Define family literacy and identify underlying assumptions about families and literacy that have informed family literacy programs.

    2. Demonstrate understanding of the ways "literacy and culture" influence the study and evaluation of family literacy programs.

    3. Describe the role of the professional educator in planning and implementing family literacy programs and describe strategies for developing relationships with families.

    4. Analyze multiple perspectives on literacy issues and tensions involved in providing family literacy programs.

  30. Learning Outcomes: a) Professional reading and written responses Students will demonstrate progress toward course goals by engaging with course material, going beyond the surface, pondering multiple perspectives on an issue or topic, reflecting upon their own situation and roles as professional educators, and formulating language to describe and understand that situation more fully.

    b) Discussion leading Students will lead a discussion of assigned readings in class. Students will prepare discussion questions and activities to engage the class in a meaningful discussion of understandings of family literacy and underlying assumptions about families and literacy that have informed family literacy programs.

    c) Family literacy program study Students will utilize techniques from program evaluation to analyze multiple perspectives on literacy issues and tensions involved in providing family literacy programs (e.g., interviews, document review, observation).

    d) Analysis of an issue pertaining to family literacy Students will use a delphi technique, a disciplined way of organizing communication among various experts and stakeholders, to explore a well-defined issue in family literacy. Students will analyze the data generated and present findings.

    e) Review paper Students will identify a clear focus (thesis/problem), locate relevant scholarly literature, analyze and synthesize the literature reviewed, and produce a written report that will be presented in class.

  31. Major Topics: Family literacy School literacy Cultural deficit theory Cultural difference theory Culturally responsive teaching
  32. Textbooks: Anderson, J. Kendrick, M., Rogers, T. Smythe, S. (Eds.). (2005). Portraits of literacy across families, communities, and schools. Erlbaum.

    Compton-Lilly, C. (2007). Re-Reading families: The literate lives of urban children. Teachers College Press.

    Gee, J.P. (2007). Social linguistics and literacies: Ideology in discourses. Taylor & Francis.

    Wasik, B. H. (2004) (Ed.). Handbook of family literacy. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.

  33. Course Readings, Online Resources, and Other Purchases: SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS:

    Additional readings from selected refereed journals.

  34. Student Expectations/Requirements and Grading Policy: a)Professional reading and written responses

    Students will demonstrate progress toward course goals by engaging with course material, going beyond the surface, pondering multiple perspectives on an issue or topic, reflecting upon their own situation and roles as professional educators, and formulating language to describe and understand that situation more fully.

    b)Discussion leading

    Students will lead a discussion of assigned readings in class. Students will prepare discussion questions and activities to engage the class in a meaningful discussion of understandings of family literacy and underlying assumptions about families and literacy that have informed family literacy programs.

    c)Family literacy program study

    Students will utilize techniques from program evaluation to analyze multiple perspectives on literacy issues and tensions involved in providing family literacy programs(e.g., interviews, document review, observation).

    d)Analysis of an issue pertaining to family literacy

    Students will use a delphi technique, a disciplined way of organizing communication among various experts and stakeholders, to explore a well-defined issue in family literacy. Students will analyze the data generated and present findings.

    e)Review paper

  35. Assignments, Exams and Tests: Dates/Topics

    Week 1: Introduction and course overview

    • Literacy in everyday lives

    • Defining family and literacy

    Week 2: Why family literacy?

    • Historical contexts

    • The four component model for family literacy programs

    • Childhood poverty and schooling

    Week 3: What are family literacy programs?

    • Family literacy program models

    • Parent and adult education

    Week 4: What is the relationship between family diversity and literacy?

    • Perspectives on parenting

    • Family ethnotheories

    Week 5: What is family literacy?

    • Family as a context for literacy learning

    • Communicative competence

    Week 6: What is social literacy?

    Week 7: What is the relationship between family literacies and school literacies?

    • Negotiating multiple worlds

    • Home and school incongruence

    Week 8: What are some underlying assumptions about family literacy programs and practices?

    • Cultural deficit theory

    • Cultural difference theory

    • Emerging understandings

    Week 9: What is the relationship between culture and early literacy?

    • Socio-cultural understandings of early literacy

    • Systems theory

    Week 10: What are some ways to bridge home and school literacy?

    • Strategies for building partnerships

    • Cultural reciprocity

    Week 11: What do culturally-responsive family literacy programs look like?

    • Case studies of family literacy programs

    Weeks 12-15: Evaluating family literacy programs

    • Constructions of quality

  36. Attendance Policy: Attendance is expected. Students may miss one class without penalty. Additional absences lower the course grade by one letter grade for each absence. Students who anticipate the necessity of being absent from class due to the observation of a major religious observance must provide notice of the date(s) to the instructor, in writing, by the second class meeting.
  37. Policy on Make-up Work: Any late work will be evaluated and one letter grade will be deducted. Late work will not be accepted more than one week past the due date. The University policy on academic integrity and plagiarism will be followed.
  38. Program This Course Supports: Ed.S. in Reading/Language Arts
  39. Course Concurrence Information: This course is optional in the Ed.S. program and it could also be used as part of the Ph.D. program in Reading/Language Arts. In addition, other advanced graduate students may use this course in their planned programs.


- if you have questions about any of these fields, please contact chinescobb@grad.usf.edu or joe@grad.usf.edu.