Reading makes us who we are ****************************************************************************************** * Reading makes us who we are ****************************************************************************************** CU graduate Anežka Kuzmičová returned to Prague after more than a decade abroad to conduct into children’s reading, made possible largely thanks to the Primus programme. Kuzmičová completed her Master’s in comparative literature and Scandinavian studies at CU’ Arts back in 2007; from there, she continued her studies at Stockholm University, where sh doctorate. Research took her to other places as well: to Denmark, England and Canada. Now later – she’s back at Charles University. “I had a post-doctoral position in Stockholm that I knew would be ending in January, and h time to complete. In Sweden, you can postpone work – including research – for maternity le two children. For the last two years, I had been thinking intensively about what to do nex to return to the Czech Republic,” Kuzmičová says. Now she’s researching reading – ultimate informs who we are – at the Institute of Czech Language and Theory of Communication at the She first prepared to apply with the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic, but the head of t Jan Chromý, suggested that she try Charles University’s internal Primus programme as a via Primus exists primarily to help young researchers establish new research teams at CU; it s year in March. Alongside 21 other researchers, Kuzmičová won support and has CZK 4 million for her research over the next three years. Getting to the core of readers’ experiences Kuzmičová’s focus is research into reading, especially children’s reading, in a natural en wanted to work in a team that would be formalised in some way. Until now, I’ve held an ind position, and for the last two years I worked in Bristol; all contacts and collaborations personal initiative. It was informal academic cooperation, not consolidated by an official speak,” she says in Prague. In excellent company Kuzmičová is among 22 young researchers who received Charles University internal Primus gr from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics (6 recipients), the Faculty of Science (5 reci Kuzmičová’s focus is research into reading, especially children’s reading, in a natural en wanted to work in a team that would be formalised in some way. Until now, I’ve held an ind position, and for the last two years I worked in Bristol; all contacts and collaborations personal initiative. It was informal academic cooperation, not consolidated by an official speak,” she says in Prague. From the start she knew exactly whom and what she wanted. “There are four academics on the member brings something completely different to the project and that is the main joy for m three-year project is called Integrating Text & Literacy Research (InT&L). Kuzmičová’s sen Markéta Supa of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University, who researches media well as how children experience media, its messages and narratives. “She’s inspired me a l a lot of experience from abroad and a doctorate from Great Britain. She’s building somethi exist in the Czech Republic,” Kuzmičová says. The researcher is also betting on two younge are doctoral students: Jana Segi Lukavská who focuses on children’s culture and Kamila Hom of expertise includes didactics and communication in education. For a long time and on an interdisciplinary basis, Kuzmičová has been delving into the dep as a cognitive process and activity, and has published a number of studies. Her work shows how important the inner experience is for reading, as well as what different reading situa scenes stored in memory do for text comprehension. In other words, she focuses on how book help form readers’ personalities (and vice versa). Given the context, it seems natural that a psychologist would be a part of the team, but t case. Kuzmičová explains: “I’ve already worked with psychologists a lot, and I will be usi consultants. This time I’m not planning experimental research. We’re interested primarily its natural environment. For us it’s about what happens in the field, for example in schoo is approached both at home and in school,” she replies, adding that she has already made a at different schools in the Czech Republic. In addition, the team will analyse primary lev anthologies and leisure books. “We’re aiming at lower primary. In our case it’s from third which is a period when it’s very important to develop reading on a volitional basis. We wo findings to be applicable. For me, it’s extremely important to build a more lasting relati education sector, but at the same time I realise how difficult the profession is in practi aren’t that many teachers exactly waiting for theoretical advice,” she laughs. Enjoying learning Anežka Kuzmičová’s older child transferred from a British school to a regular Czech school returning as a parent, I’ve noticed a few things. It seems to me, for example, that not ve try actively to make the child happy and enjoy learning,” Kuzmičová says. One way to incre through activities promoted by the Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking (RWCT) initia educators to cultivate the joy of reading in children by sharing experiences and feelings them. “The purpose of our project is to see how children are – or could be – led to start percei holistic experience; that it isn’t just something abstract that happens in their heads, bu that they can experience physically and that can shape them,” Kuzmičová says, adding that social activity where, in the words of Ondřej Hausenblas, “people commune with text.” But enjoy it enough to feel motivated to talk about texts in depth. She is interested in how t can be skillfully developed, promoted and stimulated. Swedish children’s literature used to be a buzzword and category unto itself. What’s it li “The image presented by the media is not surprising: just like here, the perception is tha children don’t read. But of course they do. Some schools have introduced 10 minutes of lis self-selected audiobook every morning, so children have a moment of experience and concent teacher doesn’t care what the topic is; what’s important is the setting – ‘now I’m enjoyin have the time to notice how I feel,’” Kuzmičová says. She adds that expert and parental ex how important it is for children in various stages of life to be enchanted by themes prese children then concentrate on selecting what they’re interested in: football, adventure, na literacy instruction in the Czech Republic apparently focuses on reading for information a stages it is all learning about literature. That risks missing important aspects: experien visualisation and the pure joy of reading itself. “It’s a shame when teachers don’t tell children anything about how they read themselves,” is why she wants to teach a new course at the Faculty of Arts called Reading: Theory, Prac During the semester, university students will take one book they’ve long wanted to read bu to get around to, and during 12 weeks they’ll read it in a self-reflective style and thoro only the book but above all their own reading processes. Results for research and practice The team intend to use the findings from their research in primary schools and elsewhere i publications as well as in developing recommendations for practitioners. Kuzmičová already experience in this regard; she has been published in academic journals such as Semiotica, Theory, the Journal of General Psychology or Poetics Today. Last October, in a ranking in Fokus, she was ranked first among all humanities researchers in Sweden, something which su considerably. “I thought they’d made a mistake,” she laughs. The ranking’s methodology was published between 2012 and 2015 and citation tracking adjusted with a subject coefficient, overseen by an expert who led the latest reform of Swedish university financing. A religio scholar from Stockholm came in second place, while a lecturer in ancient culture from Goth third. What would she say was the most important skill she learned abroad? “Mainly how to work in where nobody knows me. In different countries, even the disciplines look different; it gav possibility to define myself, what I do and how I do it, and to concentrate on relatively the best decision right at the beginning was to start writing all publications in English, who originally studied Swedish. Anežka Kuzmičová (37) Anežka Kuzmičová, Ph.D., literary scholar, originally in Scandinavian studies, returned to year, the Swedish magazine Fokus listed her as the most cited humanities researcher in Swe group investigating reading in natural environments and its impact on personality.