Receptiveness of the Kindytxt Universal Early Literacy Texting Program by Parents from Low, Medium, and High Socioeconomic Communities

Fuente: ERIC Institute of Education Sciences
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Main Authors: Susan M. Hill, Caroline Barratt-Pugh, Nicola F. Johnson, Lennie Barblett
Format: Recurso educativo Open Access
Language:en
Published: 2025
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author Susan M. Hill
Caroline Barratt-Pugh
Nicola F. Johnson
Lennie Barblett
author_facet Susan M. Hill
Caroline Barratt-Pugh
Nicola F. Johnson
Lennie Barblett
Susan M. Hill
Caroline Barratt-Pugh
Nicola F. Johnson
Lennie Barblett
collection Education Resources Information Center
contents Receptiveness of the Kindytxt Universal Early Literacy Texting Program by Parents from Low, Medium, and High Socioeconomic Communities Susan M. Hill Caroline Barratt-Pugh Nicola F. Johnson Lennie Barblett Parent Attitudes Telecommunications Handheld Devices Emergent Literacy Family Programs Socioeconomic Status Program Attitudes Kindergarten The home literacy environment (HLE) plays an important role in children's early literacy learning. Texting programs are an increasing feature of family literacy interventions that support parent engagement in their children's learning. Unlike face-to-face interventions, texting programs can offer sustained parental support at low cost and large scale. Messages can be translated into other languages, saved and shared, thus potentially widening the influence on children's HLEs. Most early literacy texting programs target families from disadvantaged communities, yet research suggests all families may benefit from guidance on supporting their children's early literacy. This study examined the receptiveness of a universal early literacy texting program, Kindytxt, by parents of kindergarten children from low, medium and high socioeconomic communities. Kindytxt was developed as a component of a universal book gifting program that uses a library-school model of program delivery and has statewide reach. Parents received 90 texts over 30 weeks and were invited to provide feedback via SMS at several intervals. Non-parametric tests were used to compare parent responses based on community-level socioeconomic status. Similarly high levels of parental support were evident across all socioeconomic strata. We argue that a universal approach can avoid the stigma and potentially lower uptake of programs that target disadvantaged families. Moreover, the Kindytxt cooperative delivery model allows targeted strategies to be incorporated within the universal program. Teachers and librarians can proactively bolster recruitment to the texting program and support parents to differentiate the literacy activities to suit their child's cultural context and level of literacy development.
format Recurso educativo Open Access
id eric_EJ1483250
institution ERIC Institute of Education Sciences
language en
publishDate 2025
record_format eric
spellingShingle Receptiveness of the Kindytxt Universal Early Literacy Texting Program by Parents from Low, Medium, and High Socioeconomic Communities
Susan M. Hill
Caroline Barratt-Pugh
Nicola F. Johnson
Lennie Barblett
Parent Attitudes
Telecommunications
Handheld Devices
Emergent Literacy
Family Programs
Socioeconomic Status
Program Attitudes
Kindergarten
Receptiveness of the Kindytxt Universal Early Literacy Texting Program by Parents from Low, Medium, and High Socioeconomic Communities Susan M. Hill Caroline Barratt-Pugh Nicola F. Johnson Lennie Barblett Parent Attitudes Telecommunications Handheld Devices Emergent Literacy Family Programs Socioeconomic Status Program Attitudes Kindergarten The home literacy environment (HLE) plays an important role in children's early literacy learning. Texting programs are an increasing feature of family literacy interventions that support parent engagement in their children's learning. Unlike face-to-face interventions, texting programs can offer sustained parental support at low cost and large scale. Messages can be translated into other languages, saved and shared, thus potentially widening the influence on children's HLEs. Most early literacy texting programs target families from disadvantaged communities, yet research suggests all families may benefit from guidance on supporting their children's early literacy. This study examined the receptiveness of a universal early literacy texting program, Kindytxt, by parents of kindergarten children from low, medium and high socioeconomic communities. Kindytxt was developed as a component of a universal book gifting program that uses a library-school model of program delivery and has statewide reach. Parents received 90 texts over 30 weeks and were invited to provide feedback via SMS at several intervals. Non-parametric tests were used to compare parent responses based on community-level socioeconomic status. Similarly high levels of parental support were evident across all socioeconomic strata. We argue that a universal approach can avoid the stigma and potentially lower uptake of programs that target disadvantaged families. Moreover, the Kindytxt cooperative delivery model allows targeted strategies to be incorporated within the universal program. Teachers and librarians can proactively bolster recruitment to the texting program and support parents to differentiate the literacy activities to suit their child's cultural context and level of literacy development.
title Receptiveness of the Kindytxt Universal Early Literacy Texting Program by Parents from Low, Medium, and High Socioeconomic Communities
topic Parent Attitudes
Telecommunications
Handheld Devices
Emergent Literacy
Family Programs
Socioeconomic Status
Program Attitudes
Kindergarten
url https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1483250