Engaging families in literacy and learning

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development sets ambitious targets that can only be met through integrated approaches to the persistent challenges of disadvantage, inequality and exclusion. Among the innovative strategies to emerge in past decades, family learning stands out as a transformative approach that works across generations and between institutions, breaking down barriers between home, school and community. Research evidence supports a ‘whole family’ approach to tackling literacy and other educational challenges that disadvantaged families and communities face. Creating environments that encourage reading and writing, promoting a culture of cooperation among institutions, and embedding literacy and learning in other services for disadvantaged families enable intergenerational learning programmes to succeed.