Special Reading Initiatives
Germany has many resources and initiatives at the national and state levels to support the teaching of reading, and participates in Europe-wide initiatives such as the European Literacy Policy Network’s Declaration of European Citizens’ Right to Literacy.50 Some of the national initiatives include: the German Society for Reading and Writing, which supports the establishment of teacher training and professional development programs as well as research in reading and writing;51 the German education server, a nationwide online platform that collects and disseminates practical pedagogical tools, information, and programs, as well as other resources on the German education system;52 and the initiative for language support, language diagnostics, and reading support (Bildung durch Sprache und Schrift, or BiSS), which pools, evaluates, and develops further the many diverse provisions and resources for language education in Germany.53 The main objective of BiSS is to ensure that, from the start of school, children across Germany’s federal states get even better individual language and reading support in kindergartens, primary schools, and secondary schools by facilitating cooperation among individual schools across the levels of the school system, as well as by fostering support among schools and universities and libraries. Individual federal states also have in place many initiatives aimed at supporting language and reading, including advanced teacher education and professional development in reading instruction.54
In North Rhine-Westphalia, there are several initiatives directed at reducing the achievement gap in reading. For example, there is “gender-sensitive” programming to increase boys’ interest in reading, which includes cooperation between libraries and schools, programs where fathers read to their sons, and activities such as “Kick and Read,” which combines reading and sports training.55 North Rhine-Westphalia has additional initiatives to reduce the gap in reading and language achievement among pupils with and without migration backgrounds, including increasing kindergarten teachers’ abilities to diagnose language difficulties and develop language skills within polylingual classrooms.56