EU Read

Research by Stiftung Lesen

In Focus: Extracurricular reading promotion opportunities

Stocktaking and analysis of extracurricular reading promotion opportunities in child day-care centres, libraries and extracurricular work with young people

Extracurricular opportunities targeting the promotion of language and reading can have positive compensatory effects in many different ways. On the one hand, provisions can set in at an early stage, targeting pre-school aged children, kindling reading motivation and thus preparing for better conditions to text comprehension later in life. On the other hand, measures can run in parallel to school curricula, thus providing for and assuring school achievement. Guided extracurricular reading promotion does not run against the school but rather, it is a complementary supplement to school curricula.

Supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Stiftung Lesen therefore conducts a stocktaking and analysis project targeting extracurricular reading promotion in the three exemplary institutional areas of child day-care centres, libraries and extracurricular work with young people.

What are the objectives?
- Assessment of extracurricular reading promotion projects in the areas of child day-care centres, libraries and extracurricular youth work;
- quantitative and qualitative description of projects on the basis of selected indicators;
- identification and analysis of success factors in extracurricular reading promotion;
- development of recommendations for new educational policy measures in promoting reading.

Procedure
- Documentation of child day-care centres, libraries and institutional forms of extracurricular youth work in Germany;
- questioning and assessing institutions with respect to their reading promotion measures;
- analysis and expert interviews regarding experience reports and evaluation studies on respective projects;
- development of educational policy recommendations including suggestions for the three areas of child day-care centres, libraries and extracurricular work with young people regarding required action, target groups, applied methodological-didactic forms, qualification of staff and other.

Results will probably be published in summer 2010!