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Goodling Institute strives to improve family literacy nationally By Andrew Fisher
William F. Goodling, retired congressman from Pennsylvania, and Michele Ridge (third from left), former First Lady of Pennsylvania, are honored for their contributions to family literacy during the Pennsylvania Association for Adult Continuing Education’s (PAACE) Midwinter Conference on the theme of “Caring Hands Joining Families and Learning” held in Hershey, Pa. Shown are, from left, Barbara Van Horn, co-director of the Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy; Cheryl Keenan, director of the Division of Adult Education and Literacy, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education; Ridge; Goodling; and Dr. Eunice N. Askov, Distinguished Professor of Education and co-director of the Goodling Institute. Goodling was presented with a plaque and Ridge received the Pennsylvania Family Literacy Quilt shown in the photo. The quilt, made by the Centre Pieces Quilt Guild in State College, was developed as a project by PAACE to bring family literacy programs across the state together on a collaborative project reflecting the diverse talents and creativity of Pennsylvania families. Parents and children participating in family literacy training programs designed the quilt squares. Photo by Ed Radesky—Pa. Association for Adult Continuing Education	The Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy is guiding the national research agenda for family literacy, according to Dr. Eunice N. Askov, Distinguished Professor of Education and co-director for research of the Goodling Institute.   Established in July 2001 with a $6 million one-time federal appropriation to honor retiring Pennsylvania Congressman William F. Goodling, the Goodling Institute is housed within the College of Education with the Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy. Barbara Van Horn is co-director for administration of the Goodling Institute.   From the beginning, the Goodling Institute has been committed to excellence in the field of family literacy. This commitment created the drive for an ever-growing research-based institute that has its sights set on creating and sustaining a leadership role in the field of family literacy. The idea for the institute’s creation dates back to the 1980s. In 1988, Goodling sponsored legislation to establish local family literacy programs across the country. This program, part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Title I, was known as the Even Start Family Literacy Program. When Goodling retired from the U.S. House of Representatives, the legislation was renamed the William F. Goodling Even Start Program, part of the Literacy is Families Together Act, to honor his commitment to family literacy.   “At a time when funders are demanding research-based practices, the goal of the Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy is to develop and disseminate research that improves practice,” said Askov, who also served as the first Literacy Leader Fellow at the National Institute for Literacy in Washington, D.C.   The Goodling Institute has three primary goals: To develop a sound conceptual, interdisciplinary research base for guiding practice and policy, including the development of a cohort of researchers, graduate students and fellows who will focus on family literacy research. To build, in cooperation with the National Center for Family Literacy, the capacity of the field to provide high-quality, research-based instruction and program development in family literacy. To provide leadership in family literacy through communication and collaborative action with professional organizations, state departments of education, policymakers and the general public.   Last fall, leading family literacy researchers, policymakers and practitioners gathered in Washington, D.C., for a “think tank” to discuss research needed in family literacy and to develop a national research agenda. The Goodling Institute is sharing this agenda with researchers, policymakers and practitioners through the report titled Family Literacy: A Research Agenda to Build the Future, which is available online at http://www.ed.psu.edu/goodlinginstitute/images/research.pdf. The report was extensively reviewed and revised by think tank participants and others, Askov said.   In conjunction with developing the research agenda, the Goodling Institute is creating a 15-credit postbaccalaureate Family Literacy Certificate Program that will be offered through the Penn State World Campus. Developed in collaboration with the National Center for Family Literacy, the certificate program will allow students across the country and around the world to study family literacy via distance learning. Students will have the option of using the certificate program as part of the College of Education master’s degree in adult education program or to complete a baccalaureate degree, Askov said.   “We anticipate development of the certificate program will begin in the fall,” she said. “We hope to begin offering the first new course in the summer of 2003.”   As part of the Goodling Institute’s third goal, the institute and its advisory board are working with the National Center for Family Literacy to design and conduct the institute’s first national policy forum on family literacy. This forum will inform legislators of relevant research and practices in family literacy and support the value of this approach to education.   The Goodling Institute has made considerable progress in the research and education of family literacy. A national advisory board has now been appointed to advise the Goodling Institute. Primarily, the board is paving the way with insightful ideas to ensure the institute is always moving toward improving family literacy education through research and its application to practice and professional development.   When asked where she thought the institute would be in five years, Van Horn, who also is co-director with Askov of the Penn State Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy, replied, “I would like to see that the Goodling Institute’s research and professional development initiatives have moved the field forward and that our partnerships with others working in the field have helped us present policymakers with cohesive findings and recommendations about family literacy as an effective education approach.”
© 2002 Outreach Communications,   Outreach & Cooperative Extension,   The Pennsylvania State University phone: (814) 865-8108,   fax: (814) 863-2765,   e-mail: outreachnews@outreach.psu.edu