SDU continues efforts to inspire children to read through new five-year partnership
A new grant will ensure that the Every Word Matters (Alle Ord Tæller) initiative continues for another five years. At the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), researchers will help turn the knowledge gained during the project's first phase into new activities and resources designed to strengthen children's motivation to read.
Since 2023, the University of Southern Denmark has been part of the nationwide partnership Every Word Matters, in which researchers, libraries, educational organisations, DR and the Tryg Foundation work together to encourage children's enjoyment of reading.
The project is based on the understanding that children discover reading in different ways and develops activities, learning resources and media content that connect reading with children's interests, communities and everyday lives.
The initiative has now been extended for another five years, and researchers at SDU are looking forward to building on the experience gained since the project began.
- The first years of the project have provided valuable insights into what sparks children's interest in reading. We will now translate that knowledge into activities and resources that build on children's own interests, experiences and communities. Our aim is to strengthen the motivation to read among many different groups of children, says Mette Elmose Andersen, Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology.
A broader understanding of reading
At SDU, the researchers have contributed to a broader understanding of reading. Rather than viewing reading solely as a skill, they see it as an embodied activity shaped by the interaction between a child's individual characteristics and the situations and communities in which reading takes place.
During the first three years, the research team focused on deep reading, breaks, multimodal reading (such as comics), and children with autism and ADHD.
This work has generated new knowledge about how activities and resources can be designed to give more children the opportunity to participate in reading communities on their own terms.
More pathways into reading
Every Word Matters builds on evidence showing that children are often more motivated to read when reading is connected to their everyday lives and personal interests. The partners therefore work across early childhood education, schools, libraries, leisure activities and media to create more meaningful encounters with books, stories and storytelling.
- We will continue exploring reading from children's own perspectives. At the same time, we will investigate how activities and communities centred on books and storytelling can be developed to engage children who do not necessarily enjoy more traditional approaches to reading. Our experience shows that children are motivated by different things, which is why it is important to offer multiple ways of taking part, says Mette Elmose Andersen.
The partnership includes DR, the Tryg Foundation, the University of Southern Denmark, Centre for Educational Resources, the Central Libraries, the Tryg Foundation's Centre for Child Research and Enact:Lab. The new funding period will run until 2031.
Meet the Researcher
Mette Elmose Andersen is Associate Professor and Head of the Unit for Clinical Psychology at the Department of Psychology, University of Southern Denmark. Her research focuses on neurodivergence, particularly autism and ADHD, and on how evidence-based interventions can promote well-being, inclusion and positive learning experiences.