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JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH
with support of many school supplies. However, the progress in
the Czech school is quicker, and the knowledge of pupils may be
shallow while in Ukraine, the learning is deeper, children are
given more tasks…" (Kobzová, 2019, in Vyhnálková, Plischke,
p. 50). Education is a path to self-realisation, social prestige,
right, need and obligation for children and adult Ukrainian
population. The accessibility of quality education is limited by
the financial status of families and by the current political-
economic situation of Ukraine. Ukrainians make up an active
group of foreigners educated at various types of schools abroad,
including the Czech Republic. Many factors (external and
internal) influence the quality of education, of which the level of
reading strategies of the participants in the educational process
also appears to be a key factor.
3
Reader-oriented background
The pedagogical public supporting the performance of reading
literacy research in the broader international context and within
the life-long learning highlights the need to elaborate reading-
oriented theoretical background for reading literacy development
to the application planes across the field. Absence of theoretical
background supporting the development of reading strategies of
lower secondary school pupils is evident also in the Czech
Republic, Slovakia and Ukraine. Czech pupils achieve poor
results in international researches (PISA 2009, 2018) focused on
reading literacy. Many European countries prevent their
participation in the international reading literacy researches for
various internal and external political reasons, nevertheless the
interest in the education of future teachers in the sphere drawing
from the theoretical concepts of preconceptions and aspects of
constructivisms (in the sense of activity concept) is increasing as
was also mentioned by Paris, Paris (2001). The authors also
mentioned the importance of strategic learning development
throughout the strategic reading, which positively contributes to
pupils' reading literacy even during autoregulation practice. The
interest to educate the future generation of teachers in
communicative, information, digital, mathematical, scientific
literacy as a part of functional literacy dynamically increases.
Harits et al. (2015) and Deyo (2018) highlighted the importance
of formation of pupils' and adolescents' preconceptions in
relation with the understanding in the communicative process
focused on the development of functional literacy by the form of
interactive ability to lead participative dialogue in the
international context. The growing number of educational policy
representatives understand that the level of reading literacy is
closely linked to the economic, social and cultural environment.
Abilities of a teacher in the sphere of functional literacy is
directly related to the level of skills of pupils under the teacher's
influence. E.g. Gavora (2002, 2003, 2005) was interested in the
problem of literacy models in Slovakia as well as J. Doležalová
(2005) and D. Vicherková (2018) in the Czech Republic. The
term "reading strategies" was defined in the 1980s. Dijk and
Kintsch (1983) pointed out the importance of understanding the
term "reading strategies" by its description:" We have an explicit
goal to be reached, the solution of a problem. And there may be
specific operations, mental steps, to be performed to reach that
goal. These steps are under our conscious control, and we may
be at least partly able to verbalise them so that we can analyse
the strategies followed in solving the problem." (Dijk, Kintsch,
1983, p. 68). If the reader intentionally checks the understanding
of written information, they consciously use reading strategies as
was highlighted by Afflerbach, Pearson, Paris (2007). The
requirement of implementing reading strategies in learning is
currently gaining intensity. D. H. Tracey & L. Morrow (2012)
were interested in the theoretical approaches to literacy
development. Vicherková (2016, 2018) and Paličková (2019)
highlighted factors influencing the specific system in the
regularity of the use of the necessary reading strategies at the
stage of their training (e.g. a range of deliberate procedures in
the implementation of reading activities) and reading skills (a
range of automated reading activities procedures) and reading
competencies. "Due to the increasing pressure on the increase of
for-learning culture as a starting point for the pro-learning
society, the examined pupils consider including successful
learning activity interactive learning" (Vicherková, 2018,
p. 424).
Qualitative multicase study (Velčovská, 2019) was focused on a
problem of the development of reading strategies on the lower
secondary schools in the Moravian-Silesian Region in the Czech
Republic. The study analysed learning of Czech and English
throughout the communication and reading focused didactic
games. It highlighted the need to teach pupils to think critically
by using activation methods and RWTC methods (e.g.
I.N.S.E.R.T., Five-leaf, Four corners, etc.) when reading the text.
The transfer of expertise and research outputs, not only from the
international researches on reading literacy but also from
regional researches on reading strategies, is performed by
Department of Education and Adult Education at the Faculty of
Education, University of Ostrava in the Czech Republic which
performs the research of curriculum, study motivation,
professional orientation, reading strategies of pupils of
engineering-oriented secondary technical schools in the
Moravian-Silesian Region. The organisation of other topical
regional researchers of reading abroad, e.g. in Slovakia, Georgia,
Ukraine belongs among other notable activities of young
researchers. The first outputs from the research of fifteen years
old primary school pupils on Ukraine point out the current need
for education in the field of critical and strategic thinking
teaching, problem-solving, pupil motivation and meta motivation
for reading, varied range of student reading strategies when
reading different types of texts, etc. Harmonisation of effective
autoregulation and external management contribute to the
success in learning.
4
Methodology of quantitative research on fifteen years old
pupils in Ukraine and the Czech Republic
Methodological framework of the research is formed by the
curricular document (Framework Education Program for
Primary Education) with target competence focus e.g. on three
key competencies (learning competence, problem solving
competence, communicative competence) and selected outputs
of international researches PISA (2000, 2009, 2018) with the
focused on the reading literacy development.
4.1
Research metodology
The pilot phase of the research was performed in September
2018 on the sample of 10 fifteen years old pupils (of Ukrainian
origin) who live in the Czech Republic and attend the 9th year of
the primary school in Ostrava and Opava. A survey was
performed on the sample of selected pupils. The structure of the
questionnaire corresponded to the concept of the structured
interview with 15-year-old pupils in elementary schools in the
Moravian-Silesian Region (Vicherková, 2018).
Based on the previous experience, the research was based on the
identical approach but used a different research method –
structured questionnaire. The research was carried out from June
2018 to January 2019 on the sample of 121 pupils attending
three primary schools in Ukraine, in Kyiv and Chernihiv region.
Fifteen primary schools (rural and urban) in Kyiv and Chernihiv
region were addressed. Only two urban schools expressed their
interest to participate in the research. The research sample was
selected intentionally. Data collection was performed in person
through a structured questionnaire and via two submitters
(Doctoral study programme student of Ukrainian origin and
mentor – academic).
4.2
Evaluation of selected items of the questionnaire
Problem questions of structured questionnaire were classified
into four categories, including:
1.
Reading experience and reading needs
2.
Use of reading strategies
3.
Relationship to reading at school
4.
Reflection of the value of reading
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