Special Reading Initiatives
Several long term initiatives managed by the state and experts in reading are ongoing:
- State-managed initiatives—Covering organizations of the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports (i.e., the National Institute for Further Education, the National Institute for Education, the Education Counseling Centre, and the Centre for the Continuing Education of Teachers)
- Expert-managed voluntary initiatives—Covering concerned associations that unite experts (i.e., researchers, scholars, and teachers) in their respective fields of research (e.g., the Association of Teachers of the Czech Language, Czech Language and Literature Teachers Society or Association of Library and Information Professionals of the Czech Republic)
State-managed organizations focus on preparing and implementing educational programs for pedagogical staff in all regions of the Czech Republic, developing educational materials for use in schools, and analyzing future needs in education (including reading education). Expert-managed voluntary initiatives aim to support and improve reading education, disseminate new knowledge from theory into practice, and popularize new methods of reading development. These initiatives include conferences and educational training programs for teachers from all school types. Various nongovernmental organizations funded by the European Social Fund or regional funds offer further support to schools in the form of educational materials and programs.
Emphasis on Literacy
The Czech Republic currently has no national projects promoting reading, but several reading literacy projects have been organized at the regional and school levels. One important project is the Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking program, which provides in-service training to help teachers master the instructional methods that lead to the development of higher-order thinking skills necessary for functional reading. The program also implements reading workshops in which children read books of their choice at school in longer time blocks. Using notes they keep in a reader’s diary, students then discuss the book and their feelings about it and ask the teacher questions. The program uses innovative methods to develop children’s reading and writing skills outside of the workshops. Step by Step is another program with similar goals.
Since 2009, the program I Am Already a Reader: A Book for the First Grader, implemented through public libraries with the cooperation of schools, has promoted reading among children. Teachers participating in this program register children in the first year of school for library membership and facilitate their participation in various reading promotion activities (e.g., meetings with authors, book exhibitions, literary discussions, performances). Students who fulfill criteria such as mastering reading at the end of the year and participating in reading activities receive a special book that is not available on the standard market. Some students are awarded the book at a ceremony in the presence of the author and illustrator.
Since 2006, the Every Czech Reads to Kids family literacy program has emphasized the importance of reading aloud to children in terms of their emotional development and the formation of a habit of reading. Parents participating in this program are encouraged to read aloud to their children every day for 20 minutes. Supported by people from the world of culture, art, and sports, the program arranges for these celebrities to read to children in schools, libraries, and hospitals. Since 2011, the program has worked in collaboration with publishing houses and other donors to provide bookcases containing children’s books in hospitals and pediatricians’ offices. The Week of Reading to Children, which takes place in different towns and villages every year, encourages systematic reading and children’s affection for literature through a selection of valuable books to be read to children.
The Association of Library and Information Professionals of the Czech Republic organizes events for young readers such as Library Week, Month of Readers, Reader of the Year, Night with Andersen (in which children spend the night in a library participating in collective reading, theater performances, and other group activities), and the Best Children’s Library contest.
Growing with the Book is a reading support campaign to develop and deepen literary education and reading maturity of young readers and to improve and enrich their communication skills and knowledge of culture. The campaign organizes literary and reading contests, reading surveys, book exhibitions, author discussions, and workshops. It also is a part of the international reading group EU Read.20
In 2011, the philanthropic project Reading Helps was created in response to unsatisfactory results in international surveys of reading literacy from previous years.21 With the goals of motivating children to read and improving their comprehension of written text, the project is funded by an annual donation of 10 million Czech crowns. Students who take part in the project choose a book to read among recommended titles and earn 50 crowns to donate to the charity of their choice after completing a test about the book. Books are categorized for primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary school students with each frequently updated category containing more than 120 books to choose from.