Clackmannanshire Reading and Readers Project August 2017 - August 2020
Background: Achievement in reading is influenced by both socio-economic
background and gender. This is because learning to read, and being a reader is not just about acquiring the necessary knowledge or skill-sets, but is also about how reading as an activity is socially and culturally mediated; what any learner ‘takes’ from any learning event depends on what they think the activity is about
and what they think the task is for. Working in partnership with Research Project Funded Clackmannanshire Council this project shall explore the above with educators by the Scottish using the Strathclyde Three Domains Model. Government Aim: This project is designed to help educators co-create, with their pupils, a Contacts: reading curriculum that explores how cognitive knowledge and skills for reading, Sue Ellis reader and learner identity and cultural capital can intersect with the class and Professor of Education School of Education curriculum organization and teaching in schools and classrooms in positive University of Strathclyde effective and efficient ways to raise attainment. Floor 5, Lord Hope Building Participants: Head teachers and classroom teachers from all primary schools 141 St James Road, across Clackmannanshire. Glasgow G4 0LT 0141 444 8045 Method: A qualitative longitudinal approach shall be taken over a period of three [email protected] years. This shall include Continued Professional Development (CPD) sessions, interviews and questionnaires. Information shall be gathered from several sources and shall utilise both qualitative and quantitative methods in order to
enable an exploration of; understanding, implementation and impact. Design and Procedure: In Year 1 volunteer schools shall engage in direct staff
development, acquiring content knowledge and tools to address the cultural
capital, identity and cognitive aspects of reading. Participants will trial ideas, report back and collectively problematize and contextualize the aims and execution of the reading curriculum in their own context. Class-based and school- based curriculum development initiatives, building on the interests and strengths of individuals and schools will be established with success shared with non-
participant schools. New schools and individuals will be recruited for Year 2,
following the above. In Year 3, we will use the momentum built in both sets of schools to bring the writing curriculum into line with the reading curriculum.
Outcomes: The research elements will generate knowledge about how to achieve the above, by understanding how and why teachers need to adapt their views of literacy learning to create an appropriate ‘literacy learning mix’ for the children that the school serves. The knowledge generated will be original knowledge, applicable to schools across Scotland and perhaps internationally.