Family Literacy
What is Family Literacy?
Although family literacy has usually meant education within the family, we expand it to include education about the family. In short? It’s the ability to see the world through the family lens.
Video: Family Literacy in one minute
Scholarly Definition of Family Literacy
The following is the broadened definition of family literacy:
Family literacy entails the ability to understand, discern, and analyze the fundamental
intersections of family with social, political, and cultural life. Specifically, a family-literate
person will possess (1) a basic understanding of the history, research, theories, and key texts
related to families across various cultures, faith traditions, and societies; (2) the ability to
critically examine how family and family influences are manifested in the world; (3) the capacity
to discern, explore, and view the world through a family lens; and (4) the skills necessary to
effectively articulate the ways in which the family is the fundamental group unit of society.
Central to this definition is the recognition that family and family influences are inextricably woven
into all dimensions of the human experience and that the family shapes both individuals and society
in complex ways. This serves as the methodological basis of family literacy: family is embedded in
culture, and “culture” encompasses social, political, and economic influences within local, national,
and global social contexts.