Crescere Leggendo (Growing up reading) - CreL

Transcription

1 TEMPLATE FOR DESCRIBING GOOD PRACTICE Part I. Description Name / Title of intervention 1. Abstract An abstract of a maximum of 300 words is useful to provide a summary description of the practice Crescere Leggendo (Growing up reading) - CreL Crescere Leggendo is a literacy programme promoting reading among children aged six to eleven in Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region (Italy). The programme was launched by Damatrà Onlus - a non profit organization active in the field of non-curricular education - and is supported by the Italian Association of Librarians (AIB), the regional Department of Culture, the municipalities, public libraries and schools. Children, families, schools, libraries, publishers, authors and all those involved in reading promotion can benefit from CreL. Today the project involves 160 libraries and at least as many schools and municipalities and about 14,000 children yearly. All the activities are aimed at increasing the synergy among schools, libraries and the municipalities in order to raise the awareness about and promote the social value of reading. 2.Nation 3.Website Italy 4. Lead organization The lead organization is "Cooperativa Damatrà Onlus". Damatrà Onlus was founded in 1987 and operates mainly in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region. The association is characterized by the presence of a multidisciplinary staff: experts in theatre, storytelling, art, education, teaching and graphic arts. 5.Main partners This is the list of the main partners (2013/2014): - Italian Library Association (AIB) libraries - A Slovenian library - A Croatian library 1

2 - 22 school districts primary schools - 4 audiovisual libraries - A theatre institution (ERT FVG) 6.Period of activity 7.Language(s) 8. Conceptual basis of the good practice examples The project started in 2010/2011 and is still active. Italian The project is based on evidence which shows a strong relationship between a book rich environment and the development of frequent and enthusiastic readers. Please give a short description, and references or links to important documents. 9. Objectives Implement and disseminate good practices in the field of reading promotion. Support the network of educational and cultural services. Integrate reading promotion with programmes of education in to audiovisual technologies, theatres and music, museums so that the creation of new readers is a leverage for the entire cultural sector. 10.Target group(s) (Please indicate which age groups or school grades are specifically targeted by the intervention) 11. Number of people involved (e.g. % of the total population of the country or of the total target population, if a specific target has been set) Children 6 to 11 years Primary school teachers Libraries Reading experts Families In 2013/2014 CreL reached 18,000 children (37% of the total population in the region), 22 schools (27% of all schools in the region) and 160 libraries (76%). 12. Methods for Teachers and librarians are recruited through meetings. 2

3 recruiting participants (target group) Children and families are reached mainly through schools. (if applicable) 13. Professionals involved (e.g. teachers, librarians, volunteers, health care professionals, social workers, artists, ) 14.Role of each professional Describe briefly Teachers, librarians, teacher trainers, authors, actors, illustrators, musicians. - Teachers read in classrooms and promote shared reading as a family practice. -Librarians provide good quality books to be used in schools and they invite students and teachers to attend the school library. -Project staff and experts organize literacy workshops and meetings to promote reading, co-ordinate the project and are responsible for the broadening of the network. -Teacher trainers prepare courses on good reading practices. -Writers and illustrators let people know how to write and illustrate a story. - Actors, readers, musicians involve children and families and show how pleasant these activities can be by proposing these activities within and outside the school environment. 3

4 15. Main activities (Please describe briefly, referring to time lines or sequences if applicable) October/ December (each year): - project management -communication and dissemination of the project - preparation of informative tools and material on the importance of reading - definition of the activities - implementation of the activities January/ April: -training courses addressing the project partners, cultural operators, teachers and librarians. - activities in classrooms - activities involving families May/ June: - organization and realization of a reading festival for children and a reading marathon called Un libro lungo un giorno (A day-long book). - project report - action plan for the following year All year long: - Publication and distribution of leaflets and material concerning the importance of reading. All the information is available in the website - Preparation and dissemination of a bibliography containing a list of quality books for different age groups. 16. Implementation process Phases of implementation are essentially aimed at including new schools in the programme. Please describe any phases of implementation related to progressive scaling-up or addressing different topics 17. Resources and materials List / describe the main resources used in your programme, and give 4

5 links for accessing them, if applicable 18. Financing - Where do the funds for the intervention come from? How much per year / for the whole time? - Who makes decisions about budget allocation? 19. Evaluation Total budget: 160,000 Euro - 70,000 Euro Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region - 90,000 Euro municipalities The balance sheet is established by the main partners and approved by the Italian librarians association and the Friuli Venezia Giulia region. CreL has progressively increased the number of contacts - Is there currently an evaluation of the ongoing intervention? Who is conducting it (external or internal entity)? Which methodology is being used? (Indicators, periodicity, design, sample / control group, quantitative and qualitative methods, etc.) Crescere Leggendo Crescere Leggendo presenze Crescere Leggendo Crescere Leggendo Crescere Leggendo Crescere Leggendo Crescere Leggendo Crescere Leggendo Activities within the project taking place in schools are evaluated using questionnaires filled in by teachers and librarians. They include qualitative and quantitative indicators. - Questionnaires are distributed to parents in order to evaluate all activities involving families. - Damatrà Onlus is collaborating with the University Department of Statistics in order to develop a quantitative evaluation of the project. 20.Results of the evaluation Report data and give a brief statement 5

6 summarising the results of the evaluation; provide references if published results are available 21. Benefit incidence (Proportion of the resources and benefits of the programme that go to the most disadvantaged 20% of the population. This indicator has been developed to evaluate development projects and their ability to produce a redistribution/ equity effect. It is a crucial indicator to be proposed, taking into account that equity is one of the key dimensions proposed by the High Level Group.) 22. Anything else we think you should know... We do not have a specific benefit incidence figure. Children with cognitive disabilities are included in normal schools in the Italian educational system. They have assistant teachers working with them also during the CreL activities. During reading activities within the project, audio books and silent books are used. The use of different art forms allows the inclusion of all children. Crescere Leggendo won the Gutenberg Prize, awarded by the Italian Book Association for the year

7 Part 2: Strengths/weaknesses 23. SWOT analyses Indicate strengths and weaknesses (usually internal), and opportunities and threats (usually external) of the programme Strengths: - networking capacity - strong grassroots basis - continuity over time - quality and broadening of partners - synergy between the public and the private sector Weaknesses: - still many school districts not involved - teachers sometimes do not recognize the importance of reading aloud at school. Threats: - reduction in public funds allocated to the project Opportunities: - setting-up a model that can be transferred to other regions and states. 24. Political impact and policies - Has the intervention led to concrete changes in policies or government plans, legislation, funding? Briefly describe. Has it produced any crosssector/departmental policy-making and programme development? - Transferability: Has the programme / intervention been transferred to another region/nation? Has it been modified during this transfer? 25. Your personal evaluation By what criteria do you consider the intervention to be good practice? In which respects do you consider the intervention to be in need of further improvements / Thanks also to Crescere Leggendo and to other reading promotion projects, the regional government recently acknowledged "the role of reading as crucial for the cognitive, social and emotional development of children and adolescents" and has approved a multisectoral programme for the promotion of reading from birth to eighteen years. The programme has been approved by the health and welfare, culture and education departments of the regional government. CreL is a good practice because it: -promotes reading as a usual practice as well as the exchange of opinions about books. importance of reading in the society; - recognizes the role of books in cultural activities and creates synergies with other components 7 such as theatres, cinemas,

8 developments? museums - acts at grassroots level and links with local government - has long-term plans; - involves schools, libraries, cultural associations etc. in literacy promotion; -develops and implements the network of people involved in literacy; - motivates readers and people involved in the project -is able to involve non-readers in the project; - considers reading as a social practice involving families and the whole community Areas for improvement - collaboration with other projects working with children 0-6 years and years to ensure continuity - incorporating reading within intercultural activities - paying attention to the new ways of reading proposed by the digital environment. 26. Anything else we think you should know... This is a picture of FILOBUS n. 75. The bus guides families to the discovery of the most beautiful libraries in the region. The name of the bus comes from a famous novel written by Gianni Rodari. Parents share reading experiences among each other and with their children. 8

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