Evidence of the wider benefits of family learning: A scoping review

This scoping exercise confirmed that the evidence base for the wider benefits to parents of participating in family learning is thin. Just 15 relevant publications were identified, of which five were reviews of previous work. Of the 10 which reported new findings, seven were largely qualitative; only three had gathered quantitative evidence. Only three or four randomised controlled trials were mentioned across the sources. Most of the evidence came from studies of family literacy, with less from family language or numeracy, and hardly any from wider family learning. The range of benefits mentioned was multifarious, with very few covered in more than a handful of studies, even within the prior empirical work covered by the reviews.
The findings were largely positive, in that parents reported themselves, or were reported, as having derived benefits for themselves, their understanding and handling of their children, and their contributions to society. Even though participants are notoriously reluctant to give negative responses, and some researchers hesitate to report them, the stories are at least consistent.