"Las for Mej, Pappa" a Swedish Model for Addressing Family Literacy (Report‪)‬

A literacy-based project for fathers called "LAS for Mej, Pappa" ("Read to Me, Daddy"), initiated by IF Metall and three other national unions in Sweden in 1999, reaches working fathers at local union halls, housed in the fathers' places of employment. "LAS for Mej, Pappa" reflects a commitment to family literacy on the part of the Swedish society. Unfortunately, many other countries, including the United States, relegate the responsibility for literacy to its education systems rather than viewing literacy as everyone's responsibility. The result, according to a United Nations survey of worldwide adult literacy of the 158 participating nations, is that the United States ranks 49th, while Scandinavian countries, including Sweden, rank 7th. Social constructivists believe that literacy is constructed across the larger learning environment, encompassing school, home, and community; thus, literacy must be considered everyone's responsibility, not just the schools'. Further, attention must be paid to family literacy long before the onset of formal education. Sweden appears to embrace this precept.