Learning-to-read materials in Danish L1 K1-3 and PIRLS 2021

TY - CONF

T1 - Learning-to-read materials in Danish L1 K1-3 and PIRLS 2021

AU - Gabrielsson, Rebekka Hegaard

AU - Neubert, Katja

AU - Molbæk, Louise

AU - Fougt, Simon Skov

PY - 2023/6/28

Y1 - 2023/6/28

N2 - The learning material market in Denmark is liberal, with no official guidelines or approval system, and Danish teachers are free to choose the learning material they would like to use. Nevertheless, a few learning materials are dominant. A representative quantitative study from 2017 on learning materials used revealed that the most frequently used material in Danish L1 K0-K10 is a phonics-based learning-to-read material called The First Reading. An analysis based on the phonics-based balanced approach to learning-to-read, also from 2017, by Danish reading researcher Jesper Bremholm revealed that while The First Reading prioritizes the technical aspect of reading, the meaning-orientated aspect and writing receives less attention.In PIRLS 2021, Danish L1 teachers were asked which learning-to-read-material was used as the primary material for grades 1-3. The First Reading was confirmed to be the most frequently used by far, as indicated by 64% of the teachers; this was followed by Fandango (17%) and This is Danish (6%). The latter two are not presented as learning-to-read materials but are apparently used as such. Fandango is a learning material that focuses on literature, and This is Danish has a holistic and broader approach to Danish L1 primary teaching.The data sources represented in this proposal are based on the Danish teacher questionnaire from PIRLS 2021. In addition, student achievement data on the most frequently used learning to-read materials in primary schooling in Danish L1 and how these compare with student reading achievement in PIRLS 2021 are used. The analysis of the learning materials is based on Bremholm’s theory of a balanced approach to reading instruction, which reveals that This is Danish offers the most balanced approach to reading instruction. The results are important because they indicate further consideration regarding improvement in reading instruction.

AB - The learning material market in Denmark is liberal, with no official guidelines or approval system, and Danish teachers are free to choose the learning material they would like to use. Nevertheless, a few learning materials are dominant. A representative quantitative study from 2017 on learning materials used revealed that the most frequently used material in Danish L1 K0-K10 is a phonics-based learning-to-read material called The First Reading. An analysis based on the phonics-based balanced approach to learning-to-read, also from 2017, by Danish reading researcher Jesper Bremholm revealed that while The First Reading prioritizes the technical aspect of reading, the meaning-orientated aspect and writing receives less attention.In PIRLS 2021, Danish L1 teachers were asked which learning-to-read-material was used as the primary material for grades 1-3. The First Reading was confirmed to be the most frequently used by far, as indicated by 64% of the teachers; this was followed by Fandango (17%) and This is Danish (6%). The latter two are not presented as learning-to-read materials but are apparently used as such. Fandango is a learning material that focuses on literature, and This is Danish has a holistic and broader approach to Danish L1 primary teaching.The data sources represented in this proposal are based on the Danish teacher questionnaire from PIRLS 2021. In addition, student achievement data on the most frequently used learning to-read materials in primary schooling in Danish L1 and how these compare with student reading achievement in PIRLS 2021 are used. The analysis of the learning materials is based on Bremholm’s theory of a balanced approach to reading instruction, which reveals that This is Danish offers the most balanced approach to reading instruction. The results are important because they indicate further consideration regarding improvement in reading instruction.

KW - PIRLS

KW - Learning materials

KW - Reading instruction

M3 - Paper

T2 - 10th IEA International Research Conference (IEA IRC)

Y2 - 28 June 2023 through 30 June 2023

ER -