Nationales Netzwerk
nets | résco – Research Network for School Languages Methodology
nets | résco stands for "Forschungsnetzwerk Schulsprachdidaktik | Réseau de recherche en didactique de la langue de scolarisation" and is the joint endeavour of five teacher training colleges, four universities from the German and French speaking parts of Switzerland, and the Swiss Institute for Children's and Youth Media (SIKJM).
Bibliomedia Foundation
Bibliomedia supports libraries, schools and other institutions with collections for loan in German, French, Italian and eight additional foreign languages, and participates in national projects to promote reading.
www.bibliomedia.ch
The Swiss Institute for Children’s and Youth Media SIKJM
The SIKJM is a national institute responsible for research and documentation in the field of children's and youth media as well as for developing projects to promote reading. It has branches in the French and Italian speaking parts of Switzerland and is an associated institute of the University of Zurich.
The Centre for Reading at the School of Education FHNW
The Centre for Reading is responsible for research interests in reading, media, and language at the Institute for Research and Development of the School of Education FHNW. Research projects are carried out at the Centre for Reading and the results are made available for practical application via professional development offerings and in the development of teaching materials.
The Institute for Educational Research and Documentation IRDP
The domain of language and culture is a priority area for the IRDP. It includes research and development work in the field of French as a first language, foreign languages, bilingual education, plurilingualism, and cultural variety. The activities of the IRDP range from engaging with methodological questions to evaluations (PISA, HarmoS, evaluation of teaching materials), and even the development of materials (for example, for promoting language awareness).
SRED - Service de la Recherche en Education
The SRED is the internationally-oriented research department of the Department of Public Education of the canton of Geneva which brings together sociological, statistical, psychological, and pedagogical approaches, among others). Literacy also forms one of its areas of interest and work.
Groupe de recherche pur l'analyse du français enseigné GRAFE
This research group brings together French methodology specialists from the University of Geneva and other research bodies. Its central task is to analyse what is taught in the language classroom. It focuses on the teaching at school of text production, reading, grammar, and engagement with literary texts.
Their second research area is geared more to the natural sciences, and addresses diagnosis, and therapy for those experiencing difficulties in speech, reading, and writing. On occasion, the group is also involved in training educational professionals for classroom work centred on reading and literature.
For a number of years, the group has also conducted occasional studies into the history of French language teaching, especially in the fields of written and oral text production.
The connections between teaching and development are framed by Vygotskian theory. Current research focuses on the role played in development by knowledge.
The department of teaching and research in French teaching methodology
The department of teaching and research in French teaching methodology (UER-FR) at the University of Teacher Education of the Canton of Vaud (HEP/VD) trains teachers in the disciplines of French as a first and second language and in plurilingualism both for the three cycles of compulsory schooling and for post-compulsory education.
In addition to research into lexis and spelling (in connection with compulsory schooling), and into the effect of plurilingual approaches at primary school level, the following research projects are currently underway on the subject of literacy:
- Reading circles and guided reading: Models for interacting, developing and promoting the comprehension of literature for children and young adult literature (cycle 2)
- Awareness of and familiarity with the subject matter and goals of French literature teaching and the literary knowledge of secondary level teachers from university study to entry into the teaching profession at secondary level.
- Classroom ideas geared to promoting plurilingual reading
«Maison des Petits» Network
The Maison des Petits Network is part of a partnership project between the Department of Public Education of the Canton of Geneva and the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at the University of Geneva. Since its foundation in 1913, the Maison des Petits has been a centre of observation and application of scientific discoveries in the development and education of children. Today, it is a network of several schools where teachers and academics work together in research and in subject-specific methodology training. The website brings together a variety of documents developed in connection with research into the teaching of languages, mathematics, and science conducted at the schools of Saint-Antoine, Ferdinand Hodler, Roseraie and Micheli-du-Crest.
Those interested in language teaching methodology can find activities on early writing and on reading comprehension.