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Lire avec fiston

1) Category:
Project

2) Issues Behind the Project:


According to Statistics Canada (2008), several leading indicators of academic success seem to show that, around the world, boys are lagging behind girls, notably in reading. The acquisition of solid literacy skills is crucial to academic success which, in turn, is a major determinant of the scope and nature of options open to young people when they finish secondary school. There are limited labour market opportunities for students who do not have sound literacy skills. Over the past few years, the media and the education community have told us that boys do not read or do not enjoy reading. There are many explanations for this phenomenon, particularly, the lack of male role models. However, a closer look reveals that boys read, but not necessarily what is proposed in school, tending to choose material such as Dungeons and Dragons game books, newspapers, non-fiction, magazines, practical guides or even recipe books. Boys very rarely read novels. In recent years, there has been a severe shortage of male teachers. In 2009, men represented 22.3% of Qubec teachers, compared with 30.4% in 1990. This figure plummets to 12.9% for primary schools (Le Devoir, 2010). At Universit de Sherbrooke, most of the few male students in the Bachelors program in preschool and primary school education drop out of the program before completing their degree.

3) Objectives:
Help boys in difficulty acquire a taste for reading by appealing to their interests. Provide these students with male role models who like reading. Foster family-school ties and use parenting skills for establishing an extracurricular partnership project. Broaden the concept of reading by, among other things, diversifying literacy tools. Rekindle the motivation of male students enrolled in a Bachelors program in preschool and primary-school education to complete their degree. Make the university students aware of the diversity of family reality.

4) Environment:
The home

This factsheet was taken from the following website: http://rire.ctreq.qc.ca/.

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5) Target Group:
Boys from 8 to 10 years old who do not like reading Significant male adults (father, grandfather, uncle, stepfather, etc.) (N.B. A woman if there is no significant male in the boys life) Male students in a Bachelors program in preschool or primary-school education

6) Key Words:
Lire avec fiston, curaction, school-family-community partnership, project, reading, boys, EDHD, motivation, interest, male role model, parenting skills, innovative practice, self-esteem, academic perseverance

7) Description:
Lire avec fiston is project to develop a taste for reading in boys in Cycle 2 of primary school who do not like to read or who have reading difficulties. The project consists of pairing a boy and a significant adult (preferably a man) with a male B.Ed. student to form a masculine trio for various reading-related activities. The boys interests are the centrepieces of the activities. In 2007, France Beauregard, a professor at Universit de Sherbrooke, joined forces with fellow professor Isabelle Carignan to establish the Lire avec fiston project. Researchers gave the participants free rein in organizing the meetings. As long as the activities were chosen on the basis of the students interests, the trio was free to decide where, when and how the reading sessions took place. However, the university students had to commit to not giving up midway. No outcomes were required, whether in terms of the young students motivation or grades.

8) Steps:
I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. Invitation to students to participate in the project. Screening of boys in difficulty by a remedial teacher in the classes in which teachers wanted to be part of the project. Invitation of the parents of the students selected. Preliminary meeting. Reading meetings. Mid-term meeting between the university students and the teachers. Continued supervision. Final meeting of all the participants in order to take stock of the activities.

9) Activities/Actions
In all, there were six meetings over four months lasting between one hour and two hours so as not to overload the university students. The meetings were scheduled according to the participants availability, at a predetermined time and place. Most participants opted for home meetings, but there were activities at school and at the library as well.

This factsheet was taken from the following website: http://rire.ctreq.qc.ca/.

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The first meeting took place at school. The students and teachers met with the principal, the school teachers and the remedial teachers. The principal then presented a profile of the school. The school teachers and the remedial teacher then went on to describe their students strengths, weaknesses and interests. This step made it possible for the university students to begin the project knowing something about the students and their families. Soon after, the parents joined the meeting. After introducing themselves, the university students visited the childrens classrooms and the school. This is when the trios were formed. In the meantime, the teachers explained the project to the parents and discussed what was expected in terms of the roles of the participants. The members of the trio exchanged contact information and scheduled the next meeting. The following meetings took place every two to three weeks. Given the leeway extended to the university students, the nature of these meetings varied considerably from one trio to another. The reading material used was highly diversified, ranging from joke books to instructions for board games. However, the students interests were the core of every project. When a student lost interest, another course of action was automatically tried. At the request of the school teachers, an extra meeting was set up to provide them with information about the activities that were taking place and the response to them. The children were not at this meeting. The sixth and last meeting brought all the participants together. The meeting was an opportunity to glean what the participants thought of the project, to talk about the changes they had seen in the students, and to indicate the projects strong points and shortcomings and suggest improvements. The students were given the gift of a book and a certificate attesting to their participation in the project.

10) Resources Required:


Human resources: o o o o o Male trio (student, university student and significant male) Teachers Other school staff: remedial teacher, homeroom teacher, principal cole en chantier coordinator Under PRS cole en chantier (Universit de Sherbrooke), monies were earmarked to cover the university students project-related expenses (travel, museum outings, purchase of games, books or magazines, etc.).

Financial resources:

11) Roles of the Participants:


University student: o o o o sets guidelines for carrying out the project, taking into account parent availability and the childs interests; presents different books or other reading material to the child, keeps tabs on the childs reading choices, and reads with him and the parent; gets the material needed for the activities. guides the university student so that he can have a clearer understanding of the childs interests;

Parent:

This factsheet was taken from the following website: http://rire.ctreq.qc.ca/.

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o o

participates in the reading activities; ensures that the university student carries out and arranges for reading-related activities, without teaching reading per se. recruit the students; liaise between the school and the university students; work with the coordinator and the principal; coach the university students in reading and collaboration. identify the students who have special needs; present the families and the students to the university students. establishes the family-university partnership; solves any problems that may crop up along the way. tasked with getting the resources needed to establish the project (participants forming the trios, expense budget, etc.).

Professors: o o o o

Homeroom teacher and remedial teacher: o o

Principal: o o

cole en chantier coordinator: o

12) Scientific Basis or Validity:


This innovative project, which involves the family, the school community, and the university community, has, for the past three years, proved beneficial in a number of ways, with positive outcomes for the university students and the students and their parents. o The 20-or-so students in Lire avec fiston developed a more positive attitude towards reading. School staff and the parents noticed more openness to books on the part of their children. This mindset continued after the project was completed. Half of the students no longer needed remedial services, and there were fewer behavioral problems. Lire avec fiston gave the university students a better grasp of the differences among families, in particular, the unknowns that arise, that are not always caused by the lack of parent will, and that may explain why some parents are not always there for their children. The project made it easier for them to conceptualize Bronfenbrenners Ecological Model (1986). Lastly, they had a more concrete idea of what collaboration with parents is. For their part, the parents learned a number of things about reading and their child. Firstly, their concept of reading expanded. It had never occurred to them that magazines or instructions for building models could be valid reading material. Secondly, they were surprised by their childs interests and by his knowledge. Lastly, the habits of some families changed. For example, several of them go to the local library more often. The teachers and remedial teacher were impressed with the changes after a mere four meetings. They also learned many interesting things about their students and bought a more varied assortment of books as a result. All participants had good things to say about the project and hoped it would be repeated every year.

This factsheet was taken from the following website: http://rire.ctreq.qc.ca/.

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A similar project was carried out in Sainte-Ccile-de-Whitton. However, in this case, retired male teachers were used instead of university students. The outcomes were just as worthwhile.

13) Project Material:


A chapter of the following book describes the project in greater detail: Carignan, I. and F. Beauregard (2010). Lire avec fiston : intgrer la famille dans la lecture, in L. Lafontaine (ed.), Pratiques et outils pdagogiques en littratie dans une perspective dinclusion, Qubec City, Presses de lUniversit du Qubec, pp. 95-108.

14) Additional Information:


Several success factors were identified by the researchers: o The teaching of reading is to be avoided as part of a project of this kind. Activities must be fun, with the focus on developing the students taste for reading. The students have the right to find certain books boring or to not finish a book. Other major assets are the trios right to conduct the meetings as they see fit and the absence of expectations as to results. The parents like the fact that a university student is part of the trio. This way, parents feel less intimidated and maintain their status as authority figures. Parent participation is optimised if the invitation to be part of the project comes from the children. It is important that the project be adjustable to the resources of each community. Part of the projects success stems from recognition of the expertise of each participant. The project would not have been possible without each and every partner.

o o o o o

The information contained in this factsheet was taken from an interview with France Beauregard and from: o o http://www.mels.gouv.qc.ca/sections/viepedagogique/154/index.asp? page=horsDos_3; http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/81-004-x/200410/7423-fra.htm .

This factsheet was taken from the following website: http://rire.ctreq.qc.ca/.

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15) Contacts:
France Beauregard, Ph. D. Researcher, CRIR-IRD, and Professor, Universit de Sherbrooke Faculty of Education Department of preschool and primary-school education 2500, boul. de l'Universit, local A7-122 Sherbrooke (Qubec) J1K 2R1 Tel.: 819 821-8000, extension 62479 Toll-free: 1 800 267-8337, extension 62479 Email: france.Beauregard@USherbrooke.ca Isabelle Carignan, Ph. D. Researcher, CRIE and CRIFPE, and Professor, Universit de Sherbrooke Faculty of Education Department of pre-school and primary-school education 2500, boul. de l'Universit, local A7-123 Sherbrooke (Qubec) J1K 2R1 Tel.: 819 821-8000, extension 65340 Toll-free: 1 800 267-8337, extension 65340 Email: Isabelle.Carignan2@USherbrooke.ca

This factsheet was taken from the following website: http://rire.ctreq.qc.ca/.

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