What is the Course About?

This course is about teaching children to read. Its authors believe that having the ability to read is a basic human right. As we approach the year 2000, all the citizens of Europe require this ability if they are to function appropriately in society, if not, they risk social exclusion.

In the early 1990s an extensive survey - the IEA Study of Reading Literacy - was undertaken in 32 countries around the world. By comparing information about cultures, school systems and the strategies employed for teaching reading, the survey provides a basis for considering effective teaching. This course is based on the findings of the Survey.

The main aims of the Survey are explained in the following paragraph:

“Many diverse views exist about the best way to teach children to read, yet little is known about which countries are most successful in achieving this aim or what the most productive strategies are for doing so. Moreover the campaigns for turning around the rising tide of illiteracy in the world add a note of urgency in the efforts of literacy researchers and practitioners.”

(Foreword to: Elley, Warwick B.The IEA Study of Reading Literacy: Achievement and Instruction in Thirty-Two School Systems)

This course offers you the opportunity to learn about and to share ideas and experiences of teaching reading with teachers in other countries in Europe. You will learn that some strategies and approaches have been found to be more effective than others and will have the opportunity to try them out in your own classroom.

By reflecting on your own practice and the experience of teachers in other areas, the course will allow you to consider new possibilities and to enrich and develop your teaching.

The authors of the course believe strongly that the number of children who have reading difficulties, and are labelled as having special educational needs, will be reduced if teachers in Europe can recognise and deploy teaching strategies for reading which are the best and most effective for their particular situation.

The course has been developed by a partnership involving 11 countries and funded by the European Commission, DGXXII under the ‘Open and Distance Learning’ Chapter of the Socrates Programme.