Special Reading Initiatives
The National Agency of Education supports school improvement with regard to literacy in a number of ways. Between 2008 and 2012, a campaign called “reading-writing-counting” (läsa-skriva-räkna satsningen) was initiated by the government. The campaign was directed to all schools with the aim of increasing basic skills in reading literacy and mathematics. Schools were able to apply for financial support to employ more teachers, buy instructional materials, and offer professional development.18 The National Centre for Literacy (Nationellt centrum för språk-, läs- och skrivutveckling) additionally works to stimulate schools and school authorities to work actively with language and literacy.19 The center supports a system of language, reading, and writing networks coordinated by experts throughout regions in the country.20
The Swedish government initiated The Literacy Boost in 2014 as a reaction to the continuous decline in the average performance of students on international literacy studies. The Literacy Boost is a program structured around collaborative learning, a type of structured colleagues’ collaboration that aims at assimilating new knowledge into day to day practices. The target group for the program is teachers in compulsory school, secondary school, and upper secondary school as well as preschool class teachers, preschool teachers, and school librarians. Because the Swedish national curriculum states that enhancing literacy skills among students is the responsibility of teachers in all subjects, teachers of all subjects are included in the program.
The Literacy Boost provides teachers with tools and methods to develop their teaching as a group to improve students’ literacy skills. The structure of the collaborative learning is based on educational materials called modules. While every module is structured in the same way, the content of each is unique. One example of content for Grades 4 to 9 is “Enhancing learning through language development: Focus on natural science or social studies.” Teachers learn with and from each other while being guided by a colleague who leads the collaborative learning. Teachers in participating schools form groups that work together with one module per semester. Participants in the program may apply for state funding to compensate for the time they spend working with their colleagues instead of teaching. The program will continue until 2019.
In 2016, the government appointed a committee with the aim of assembling all actors who are involved in promoting reading inside and outside the school. This involves schools and cultural, athletic, and other associations. The committee will analyze and follow up on the development in this area, coordinate initiatives, and present suggestions for the continued work with reading promotion. Some examples of ongoing initiatives by the committee include the Ministry of Culture’s support of child health care centers and libraries in trying to get parents to read with their young children, funding for increased personnel in school libraries, extending the education for and raising the wages of remedial teachers, and targeted funding to schools for employing more reading specialists.21