‘Social-contextual’ approaches to family literacy programmes: policy and practice lessons from Nigeria, Mexico and Nepal

Family literacy programmes have been framed as effective strategies to improve the learning and literacy of children and adults, particularly among disadvantaged families. However, a number of these programmes have been critiqued as being framed within a deficit discourse, placing the ‘problem of illiteracy’ within ‘non-mainstream’ families. Drawing from a comparative analysis of family literacy programmes from Nigeria, Mexico and Nepal, this paper aims to increase understanding of the dynamics of an alternative, social-contextual approach to family literacy. It identifies the importance of starting with families’ skills, knowledge and everyday realities to shape family literacy programming (instead of the other way round); shifting the aim from community participation to community ownership; and offering programmes that are flexible to accommodate other demands of family life. These could be useful first steps for policymakers and practitioners who are committed to developing a more situated approach to designing and implementing family literacy programmes.