Family Literacy: A Research Agenda to Build the Future. Report from Penn State's Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy Think Tank.

A think tank on researching family literacy was held to brainstorm a national research agenda for family literacy. The think tank brought together 12 researchers, policymakers, and practitioners involved in family literacy. Key themes emerging during the think tank were as follows: (1) family literacy is difficult to research because it is essentially a "black box"; (2) integration of four components--adult education, early childhood education, parent education, and parent-and-child together (PACT) time--is a hallmark of family literacy; (3) curricula in PACT time are especially lacking; (4) the selection of appropriate assessment instruments in family literacy is limited; and (5) determination of those who are best served by family literacy programs is critical. The following were among the items identified as belonging on the research agenda: (1) good measures of the components with demonstrated validity and reliability to assess the components' impact; (2) a multidisciplinary team approach using multiple research methods; (3) longitudinal research with cross-sectional data collection and multiple time frames for data collection; (4) research focusing on the differential impact of the four components for various subpopulations; and (5) quantitative measures to track program effects over time. Lists of 12 references and the think tank attendees are appended along with the Gooding Institute's goals. (MN)