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Project duration 01.01.2014 - 31.12.2020

Berlin Longitudinal Reading Study

Individual and social impact factors on the development of reading literacy, reading motivation and reading behaviour in the period from third to sixth form are analysed within the framework of a longitudinal study.

Project description

The skill of reading is relevant not only in school contexts, but it is a central condition to participation in social, political, cultural and economic life in modern society. Findings from international comparative assessments such as PISA are all the more dramatic as they demonstrate that parts of the student body in Germany show considerable deficiencies in their reading competence (see Baumert et al., 2001; Bos et al., 2003).

Grüner Schriftzug des Projektnamens LESEN 3-6

The Berlin Longitudinal Reading Study (LESEN 3-6) investigated individual and social influence factors on the development of reading competence, reading motivation and reading behaviour, tracking students from grades 3 to 6.

33 primary school classes in Berlin participated in the study. The first assessment was at the end of the third year. At this stage, pupils have generally developed their basic reading skills and complex reading and comprehension processes gain in importance. Students were monitored until the end of the sixth year at three further measurement points, to monitor reading competences, reading attitudes and beliefs. Parents and teachers were also interviewed.

Lead researcher at IFS

Project team

  • Prof. Dr. Nele McElvany

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Location & approach

The most convenient highway exits are on the B 1/A 40 (Dortmund-Barop) (closer to the North Campus) and on the A45 (Dortmund-Eichlinghofen). The university is signposted at both exits. In the local road network you will find signs to Campus Nord, where the Campus Treff is also located. From Emil-Figge-Strasse, entrance no. 18 and from Vogelspothsweg entrance no. 23 lead to parking spaces near the venue.

From Dortmund main station, take the S-Bahn "S1" in the direction of Solingen on track 7 to the stop "Dortmund-Universität" (price level A). The S-Bahn runs every 15 minutes during peak hours on weekdays and takes about 6 minutes. From Düsseldorf, the S-Bahn runs every 30 minutes. Directly at the S-Bahn station you will find the CDI building, which houses the Center for Research on Education and School Development.

One of the university's landmarks is the H-Bahn, which has two terminuses on the North Campus. One is located directly above the S-Bahn station and is easily accessible from it by elevators. The other is located in the center of Campus North at the bridge between the University Library and the Mensa, right next to the Audimax. The H-Bahn runs from here to the South Campus and the Eichlinghofen district.

Dortmund has an airport connected with some destinations in Central Europe. There are regular flights, for example, to Amsterdam, Berlin, Dresden, Katowice, Krakow, Leipzig-Halle, London, Munich, Nuremberg, Paris, Poznan, Stuttgart, Vienna and Zurich. For the approximately 20 kilometers from the Dortmund airport to the campus, you can take the bus to the main train station and from there the S-Bahn. Faster is usually the use of a cab. Far more international flight connections are offered by the Rhine-Ruhr Airport in Düsseldorf, about 60 kilometers away, which can be reached directly by S-Bahn from the university station.