Eric.ed.gov – Incarcerated Fathers’ Experiences in the Read to Your Child/Grandchild Program: Supporting Children’s Literacy, Learning, and Education. Research Brief #10

This study used qualitative data to analyze how fathers in a rural Pennsylvania prison were involved in their children’s literacy, learning, and education before and during incarceration and through the Read to Your Child/Grandchild (RYCG) program. Before RYCG, most fathers took steps such as reading to children, teaching reading and math, attending parent-teacher conferences, helping with homework, and singing and rhyming–and then sought to continue supporting their children’s learning from within prison. Drawing on interviews and observational data, the authors analyzed the experiences and perspectives of 11 fathers to address the following research questions: (1) How were fathers in a rural Pennsylvania prison involved in their children’s literacy, learning, and education before and during their incarceration? and (2) How did the fathers use RYCG to support their children’s literacy, learning, and education?