Reading instruction in Geneva: What is taught? What is assessed?

Abstract

This contribution analyzes contents as they are taught at school corresponding to what the international PISA studies evaluate as «reading literacy». It is based on the study of: (a) official programs of study concerning reading instruction at the end of elementary school and at secondary school; (b) texts and activities proposed in 8th grade classrooms in Geneva. The aim of the contribution is to map what is really taught as reading in the classroom. It focuses on the interest of bottom up research methods that take into account the teachers’ professional capacities in classroom and the type of students’ resistance.