What practical connections can already be found between culture and reading? LKCA and Stichting Lezen asked Sardes to take an in-depth look at existing projects and programmes that combine literacy promotion and cultural education. These examples can provide starting points for coordinated efforts between Quality Cultural Education and the Library at School initiative.

As the study shows, there are a wealth of opportunities for interaction between cultural education and the promotion of literacy. Not only that, but they can take many different forms. The examples that feature in the publication can serve as inspiration.

By encouraging learners to talk, read, sing, dance, dramatise and work with their hands in certain ways, they can arrive at insights about themselves and the world around them. That said, the two areas differ in terms of emphasis:

Promoting literacy invites learners to talk about books and stories with a view to thinking more clearly and more deeply about what they have read.

Cultural education encourages learners to reflect on their choices, the expressiveness of work, materials and techniques and in doing so to explore their relationship with the world around them.

The reading circle is an effective instrument for working on the promotion of literacy skills. This is because it provides a setting for all relevant facets of the reading environment. Teachers in the arts can also benefit from this approach. By working with the reading circle, the aim is to create an environment that enables children to have positive reading experiences.

If you are interested in this field, you may also like to read our article on combining music and language teaching (this article is only available in Dutch).

For more information you can contact Chantal de Bonth chantaldebonth@lkca.nl or Ronald Kox RonaldKox@lkca.nl.