PAVLA SYKOROVA
EDUC 290B
CHILDREN'S READING AS A CONTEMPORARY PHENOMENON IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

MASARYK UNIVERSITY, BRNO
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•Faculty of Education
•Main tasks: training and education of teachers for elementary and middle school

THE INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH IN SCHOOL EDUCATION
•The Institute for Research in School Education (IRSE) is a research department of the Faculty of
Education at Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
•
•Its goal is to promote research in school education in broader socio-cultural contexts.
•
•Aim: projects and research in the area of curriculum, teaching, learning and teacher education,
etc.
•

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF THE RESEARCH
•In PISA (OECD, 2009, p. 14) is reading literacy defined as:
•
•“an individual’s capacity to understanding, use and reflect on and engage with written texts, in
order to achieve one’s goals, to develop one’s knowledge and potential and to participate in
society”.
•
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THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
•Czech understanding of reading literacy completely ignores an aesthetic-educational function of
literary texts.
•
•It is obvious that the aesthetic component of literature is one of the integral parts of the
education.
•Literary literacy (Baleiro, 2011, p.22) can be defined as:
•
•“the competency to amplify individual self-reflective interaction with a literary text in order to
produce an interpretation”.
•

RESEARCH OF READING LITERACY, READING COMPREHENSION, READING
•PISA 2012 results READING
Mean Score in PISA 2012
Annualised change
OECD average
496
0.3
Schanghai-China
570
4.6
United States
498
-0.3
Czech Republic
493
-0.5
•TOTAL SCORE PISA 2012
•
•1. Schanghai-China
•7. Lichtenstein
•24. Czech Republic
•32. United States
•

RESEARCH OF READING LITERACY, READING COMPREHENSION, READING
•Czech research
•
•There are currently (Lederbuchova, 2004) three types of reading research in the Czech Republic:
(1) Research on the layout of the text; (2) Research on the disposition of the reader; (3) Research
on the communication situation. These studies are closely interconnected throughout the all
research field.
•
•We also have some Czech study what focuses on reading literacy, process of reading, reading
comprehension (Gabal & Helsusova, 2003; Prudky, 1996; Lederbuchova, 2004; Travnicek, 2008).

METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK I
•RESEARCH GOALS
•(1) to describe and analyze the specific aspects influencing individual students reading and using
guided interview and observation, then (2) to reveal the differences in understanding of a literary
text for each child recipients fall into the category of reader permanent and non-reader
•RESEARCH QUESTIONS
•Which aspects impact an individual student reading in fourth grade of elementary school the most?
•
•What kinds of relationships exist between individual student reading and aspects that impact it?

METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK II
•MIXED DESIGN
•Quantitative methodology describes and analyzes the state of the examined phenomenon and
•
•Qualitative methodologies analyze the aspects on specific cases in detail.
•
• Hendl (2005, p. 275) regards the sequential combining qualitative and quantitative methodology of
Scheme QUAN→qual, the qualitative approach used to investigate deflected units or unexpected
results.
•RESEARCH SAMPLE
•Elementary schools: 4;
•Classes: 8;
•Students in elementary school: 187;
•Their parents: 163;
•Teachers: 8;
•Management of school: 4;
•Students for the interpretation of literary text: 16 (two from each class)
•

METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK III
•RESEARCH TOOL
•Quantitative research – questionnaire
• (total 67 items)
•
1.Student (15)
2.Parental (12)
3.Teacher (22)
4.School management (17)
•
•
•Cronbach's alpha for the student questionnaire reaches values: α = 0.70 and parental questionnaire
α = 0.73.
1.
1.
•Qualitative research –
•Interpretation of literary text
•
•Prose (M. Twain)
•
•

Pavla Sykorova.pdf



SELECTED RESULTS (QUANTITATIVE PART ) I
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•47.6 % students like reading books;
•79.7 % students prefer reading of prose;
•31.6 % of them also like comics;
• 87.7 % like getting books as a gift;
•44.4 % students like to read books to their parents;
•75.7 % parents think their children like reading books;
•

SELECTED RESULTS (QUANTITATIVE PART)  II
•60.1 % parents think that their support is very important in the relationship between child and
reading books;
• 6 of 8 teachers discuss with their students about reading books;
•only one of four school links the elementary and secondary school in activities for the support of
reading books.
•
reading mom.jpeg

SELECTED RESULTS (QUANTITATIVE PART) III
•We assume that students have a better relationship to reading books when their parents discuss the
subject of reading book with them.
•
•Chi-square (x2 = 12,02; p < 0,05), significant difference
•Z-score test “a” (z = 1,33); “c“ (z = 2,34), significant difference
•Cuprov (T) coefficient of contingency T = 0,38, medium dependence
•
•
•

Pavla Sykorova.pdf



CONCLUSIONS
•Children like more reading books if their parents read them from books too.
•The support from family is very important.
•Almost all students discuss with someone about books (especially with parents, then with friends).
•Children read seven books per school year.
•Parents think that the support from school is good.
•No school participate in any national activity to support reading books.
•A comparative study?

THANK YOU
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REFERENCES
•Baleiro, R. (2011). A definition of literary literacy: A content analysis of literature syllabuses
and interviews with Portuguese lecturers of literature.  In TOJNED: The Online Journal Of New
Horizons In Education (p. 16–25). TOJNED. From: http://www.tojned.net/pdf/tojnedv01i04-02.pdf
•
•Barton, D. (2009). Literacy: An introduction to the ecology of written language. Oxford, MA:
Blackwell.
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•Campbell, J. R., & Mullis, I. V. S, et al. (2001). Framework and specifications for PIRLS
Assesment 2001. Chestnut Hill, MA: TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center, Boston College.
•
•Gabal, I., & Helšusová, L. (2003). Jak čtou české děti? Analýza výsledků sociologického
•výzkumu. Praha: Gabal, Analysis & Consulting.
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•Hendl, J. (2005). Kvalitativní výzkum. Praha: Portál.
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•Iser, W. (1993). Prospecting: From reader response to literary anthropology. Baltimore: John
Hopkins University Press.
•
•

REFERENCES
•Kern, R. (2002). Reconciling the language-literature split through literacy. Association of
Departments of Foreign Languages Spring Bulletin 33(3), 20-24. Retrieved from
http://www.lrc.cornell.edu/events/past/2008-2009/papers08/Kern.pdf
•
•Kern, R. & Schultz, J.M. (2005). Beyond orality: Investigating literacy and the literary in second
and foreign language instruction. The Modern Language Journal, 89 (3), 381-392.
•Lages, M.F., Liz, C., António, J.H.C. & Correia, T.S. (2007). Os estudantes e a leitura. Lisboa:
Ministério da Educação.
•
•Lederbuchová, L. (2004). Dítě a kniha: O čtenářství jedenáctiletých. Plzeň: Vydavatelství
•a nakladatelství Aleš Čeněk, s.r.o.
•
•Najvarová, V. (2007). Model funkční gramotnosti a RVP ZV. In T. Janík, P. Knecht, & V. Najvarová
(Eds.), Příspěvky k tvorbě a výzkumu kurikula (p. 77–84). Brno: Paido.
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•PISA. (2009). PISA 2009 Results: Executive Summary. Paris: OECD. From
http://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisaproducts/46619703.pdf
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