Drawing on community knowledge to engage diverse communities with their children's learning

Carter, Jane

Abstract

Minoritsed groups are not always comfortable engaging with schools through the traditional approaches used (Moll et al., 1992). Without the engagement and inclusion of all groups, mistrust and conflict is given the space to grow. We also know that being a reader and learning to read is the foundation for academic and future economic success as well as engagement in democratic society (Breadmore et al., 2019). This paper will outline a research project located in inner city Bristol, England that aimed to engage, often 'hard to reach' groups (Bonevski et al.,2014), with reading and school. The research design involved community researchers identifying members of the school and wider community who were considered to be 'influential', drawing from religious organisations, community and parent groups as well as community elders. This group of 'influencers' (Briggs et al., 2012) shared their experiences of learning and understanding of the barriers for families in engaging with reading and schools. 'Messages' were collaboratively designed and shared over six weeks through the 'influencers'' channels of communication-informal WhatsApp groups, social media sites and word of mouth. During these six weeks, the school opened its library after school for families. Data was gathered to identify the number of families that visited the library (n=69), the books borrowed (n=144) and then analysed this to identify if any of the 'harder to reach' families had made use of the library. Twenty-six of these families were considered to be 'harder to reach'. Further data indicated that it was possible that at least eight of these families had engaged with the library as a result of the 'influencers'. This suggests the use of 'influencers' may present a promising area for further research.

• Presentation Conference Type: Presentation / Talk
• Conference Name: Strengthening Citizenship Education in Times of Conflict
• Start Date: May 25, 2023
• End Date: May 27, 2023
• Deposit Date: Jun 2, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 5, 2023
• Keywords: reading; inclusion; community engagement
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10834650
• Related Public URLs: http://www.cicea.eu/index.php/organisations-and-meetings/conferences