School and home working together for literacy development
The aim of the project is to develop a model for increased collaboration between home and school for pupils who need more training to progress in their literacy development.
Who are we?
Catarina Björnsson and Tina Arnold, business developer, School Development Center, Labor Market and Education Administration in Boden. From Luleå University of Technology, Agnes Strandberg, PhD student in the Graduate School of Practical Research (PROFS). She has participated in the preparation of the application in the spring of 2023 and her contribution is partly financed as departmental employment via the graduate school. Agnes' continued role is to be the scientific leader of the project by providing a scientific perspective and ensuring scientific quality. This will provide great opportunities for the dissemination of a project on a scientific basis.
The area of R&D practice-oriented research
The practitioners have identified a need for systematic training in short periods for literacy development in collaboration between home and school with a focus on phonological awareness. The lack of such a working model was the start of the current ULF project.
The working model includes a web application and a reading protocol that is expected to promote collaboration between pupils, guardians and teachers who are involved through documentation of reflection after the training session. The student works at school 3 times/week and at home 2 times/week. The goal is for all special educators and educators in the municipality of Boden to have access to the model.
In order to increase interest in school research in the municipality of Boden, the School Development Council is important, where LTU and the head of operations initiate practice-oriented research. A business developer is employed with the task of supporting and initiating research in schools. We are also linked to UDiN-Utbildningsdialog i Norr for exchange of experience and networking with other municipalities in the county. A newly released inspiration page on the Intranet is available for the administration's staff where we have gathered the School Development Council's activities, tips, links and courses for practice-based research.
Purpose of the project
The purpose of the project is to develop a model for increased collaboration between home and school for students who need more training to progress in their reading and writing development. The project is based on the following questions:
- How is the working model for collaboration between home and school experienced by students, guardians, teachers and special educators?
- How do students experience the working model for literacy development in terms of self-determination and self-confidence?
- What factors can be identified/described as favorable in the students' literacy development when the working model is developed and tested?
Implementation and documentation
A pilot project started in November 2022 and the special educators received training in the working model. There is a weekly Q&A session for special educators and a channel has been established on Teams (M365) for training materials and documents. We have established contact with other municipalities that use the web application to exchange experiences and get good tips before the start of the project.
The project is disseminated internally in the municipality via competence development days and digitally via the administration's communication channels. For external dissemination, the UDiN network, educational digital platforms and articles in popular science journals are used digitally and analogously.
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