'The video is an upgrade from them all': how incarcerated fathers view the affordances of video in a family literacy programme

In response to rising parental incarceration rates, some correctional facilities now offer family literacy and read-aloud programmes to strengthen parent-child bonds. However, the technologies used in these programmes - including older technologies such as audio and video recordings - have received...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of educational media : the journal of the Educational Television Association Vol. 46; no. 2; pp. 174 - 189
Main Authors Stickel, Tabitha, Prins, Esther, Kaiper-Marquez, Anna
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basingstoke Routledge 03.04.2021
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Affordances
Audio Equipment
Bonding strength
Caring
Children
Correctional Institutions
Families & family life
Family Literacy
Family Programs
Fathers
Grandparents
Imprisonment
incarcerated parents
Information Technology
Institutionalized Persons
Literacy
Literacy Education
multimodality
Parent Attitudes
Parent Child Relationship
Parents
Prisons
Program Descriptions
Rural Areas
video
Video Technology
Pennsylvania
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:In response to rising parental incarceration rates, some correctional facilities now offer family literacy and read-aloud programmes to strengthen parent-child bonds. However, the technologies used in these programmes - including older technologies such as audio and video recordings - have received little attention. Parents in the Read to Your Child/Grandchild (RYCG) programme at Pennsylvania state prisons are video recorded reading a book for their child; the book and video recording are then mailed to the child. Drawing on interview and observational data with 11 fathers at a rural prison, this study examines how fathers perceived the possibilities (affordances) of the multimodal videos. RYCG provided the only opportunity to send videos outside the prison. Moreover, the video enabled children to see their parents despite physical distance, captured a more 'lifelike' portrait of parents, was lasting and repeatable, and created another line of parent-child interaction. The perceived affordances of video reflected the restrictive prison setting and the desires of incarcerated fathers, including the desire to be recognised as a father and to show their children that they cared. Fathers' insights underscore the value of examining how people in marginalised educational sites use outmoded, receding technologies to forge new connections with loved ones.
ISSN:1743-9884
1743-9892
DOI:10.1080/17439884.2021.1888117