Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-zzh7m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T19:28:44.951Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Reading with Angels: Improving Literacy among Children in Foster Care

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 May 2013

Ruth Knight
Ruth Knight*
Affiliation:
Zark Consultancy
*
addresses for correspondence: Ruth Knight, Zark Consultancy, PO Box 1145, Mudgeeraba, Qld 4213. E-mail: ruth@zarkconsultancy.com.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The Pyjama Foundation is an Australian charity working to improve the literacy and numeracy outcomes for children in foster care. The foundation delivers the Pyjama Foundation Love of Learning programme, a learning-based mentoring programme in which volunteer ‘Pyjama Angels’ visit children in care each week to read books, play games and engage in other learning-based activities.

This study surveyed 121 Love of Learning mentors (‘Pyjama Angels’) to assess their perceptions of the relationships they had developed with the children they mentored and of the children's improvement in their literacy skills, a key aim of the programme.

The statistical data analysis based on the structural equation modelling and multiple regression approach showed that several factors had a statistically significant impact on the mentors’ perceptions of the children's improvement in literacy skills: relationship with the child, child's engagement and tenure in the programme, and frequency of meetings. Age and gender of the mentors were not found to have a statistically significant impact on mentors’ perceptions of this improvement, while mentors’ perceptions of their relationship with the children was the most important factor influencing their perceptions of improvement in literacy skills. The study did not include objective measures of the children's literacy outcomes, so its results are limited to the mentors’ perceptions. However, this study offers valuable insights for mentoring programmes working with children living in foster care.

Keywords

Foster careliteracyprogrammementoringchildrenlearning
Type
Articles
Information
Children Australia , Volume 38 , Issue 2 , June 2013 , pp. 54 - 60
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Academy Of Pediatrics (2000). Developmental Issues for Young Children in Foster Care. Pediatrics, 106 (5), 1145–1150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2011). Educational outcomes of children on guardianship or custody orders. A pilot study, Stage 2 Child Welfare Series No. 49. Canberra: AIHW.Google Scholar
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (2011). Youth Outcomes Survey. Retrieved from http://oregonmentors.org/library/evaluationtools/view/7/.Google Scholar
Carlson, V., Cicchetti, D., Barnett, D., & Braunwald, K. (1989). Disorganized/disoriented attachment relationships in maltreated infants. Developmental Psychology, 25 (4), 525–531.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christian, S. (2003). Educating Children in Foster Care. National Conference of State Legislatures: Children's Policy Initiative.Google Scholar
Duursma, E., Augustyn, M., & Zuckerman, B. (2008). Reading aloud to children: the evidence. Archives of disease in childhood, 93 (7), 554–557.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fox, M. (2006). Reading Magic. Sydney: Pan Mcmillan.Google Scholar
Grossman, J. B., & Rhodes, J. E. (2002). The Test of Time: Predictors and Effects of Duration in Youth Mentoring Relationships. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30 (2), 199–219.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harvey, J., & Testro, P. (2006). Report Card on Education 2006. Sydney, NSW: CREATE Foundation.Google Scholar
Jones, L. P. (2010). The educational experiences of former foster youth three years after discharge. Child Welfare, 89 (6), 7–22.Google ScholarPubMed
Jucovy, L. (2002). Measuring the Quality of Mentor-Youth Relationships: a tool for mentoring programs. Public/Private Ventures: Retrieved from www.ppv.org.Google Scholar
Kline, R. B. (2011). Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling (3rd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Kutner, M., Greenberg, E., Jin, Y., Boyle, B., Hsu, Y.-c., & Dunleavy, E. (2007). Literacy in everyday life: Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.Google Scholar
McDowall, J. (2009). CREATE Report Card 2009. Sydney, NSW: CREATE Foundation.Google Scholar
Mech, E.V., Pryde, J.A., & Rycraft, J.R. (1995). Mentors for adolescents in foster care. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 12 (4), 317–328.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meyer, L. A., & Wardrop, J. L. (1994). Effects of reading storybooks aloud to children. Journal of Educational Research, 88 (2), 69–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nguyen, N. (2010). Early Post-School Outcomes of Indigenous Youth: The Role of Literacy and Numeracy. Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth. Briefing Paper 22: National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER).Google Scholar
OECD (2000). Literacy in the Information Age. Available from www.oecd.org.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
OECD (2001). Literacy Skills for the Knowledge Society Statistics Canada: OECD Publishing.Google Scholar
Rhodes, J. E., Grossman, J. B., & Resch, N. L. (2000). Agents of change: Pathways through which mentoring relationships influence adolescents’ academic adjustment. Child Development, 71 (6), 1662–1671.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rhodes, J. E., Reddy, R., Roffman, J., & Grossman, J. B. (2005). Promoting Successful Youth Mentoring Relationships: A Preliminary Screening Questionnaire. The Journal of Primary Prevention 26 (2), 147–167.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shin, S. H. (2003). Building evidence to promote educational competence of youth in foster care. Child welfare, 82 (5), 615–632.Google ScholarPubMed
Slicker, E. K., & Palmer, D. J. (1993). Mentoring at-risk high school students: Evaluation of a schoolbased program. The School Counselor, 40, 327–334.Google Scholar
Smarter Schools National Partnership (2010). Literacy literature review for evidence based practices framework. Northern Territory Government.Google Scholar
Taussig, H.N., & Culhane, S.E. (2010). Impact of a mentoring and skills group program on mental health outcomes for maltreated children in foster care. Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine. 164 (8), 736–746.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thomson, N. R., & Zand, D. H. (2010). Mentee's Perceptions of Their Interpersonal Relationships. Youth & Society, 41 (3), 434–445.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zimmerman, M. A., Bingenheimer, J. B., & Notaro, P. C. (2002). Natural mentors and adolescent resiliency: A study with urban youth. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30 (2), 221.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed