About us
The project group has a varied composition. What the participants have in common is the fact that they work in teacher training and are part of effective networks of teachers and schools. As well as teachers and teacher trainers, the group consists of educational researchers and literary theorists.Most partners occupy a prominent position in the field of literature teaching in their country or department and are involved in the design of national exam programmes, in the compilation of textbooks and in curriculum development.
The project group also has an international orientation, with the participants’ institutes taking part in various European projects. Two members of the project group are involved in the Council of Europe’s Language and Education Project.
University of Groningen (Netherlands)
- Theo Witte - Project leader
Dr. Theo Witte is a Dutch-language teaching methodologist, a teacher trainer, researcher and project manager in the Teacher Education programme at the University of Groningen.
His publications relate to research into teaching methodology and native language education, but mainly to literature teaching.
In 2008, he was awarded a PhD with a thesis entitled Het oog van de meester[The Eye of the Master], in which he analysed the literary development of secondary school students in senior general secondary and pre-university education.
He is editor in chief of www.lezenvoordelijst.nl, a website for literature education in the Netherlands supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture & Science, Stichting Lezen and the University of Groningen.
Homepage: http://www.rug.nl/staff/t.c.h.witte
Email: t.c.h.witte@rug.nl - Jan Kok - Project coordinator
Drs. Jan Kok is an educational scientist that trains teachers and teacher trainers and manages projects at the University Centre for Learning and Teaching in Groningen.
He advises on quality assurance systems for schools, is a consultant for school teams and school managers and a coach for individuals.
For a Dutch project that stimulates teacher research in (academic) primary schools he guides the cooperation between teachers and students on research projects.
During the LIFT-2 project he managed the meetings, the book marking, the quality assurance, the working process and the finances.
Homepage: http://www.rug.nl/staff/j.kok
Email: j.kok@rug.nl
Charles University of Prague (Czech Republic)
- Ondřej Hník, Ph.D
from 2009 the deputy head of The Literature Department of the Faculty of Education, Charles University in Prague; teaches mainly: literary didactics, literary theory, children´s literature, interpretation seminars, creative writing,
2006 – 2009 lecturer at The Literature Department of the Faculty of Education, Charles University in Prague;
2006 - 2009 part–time teacher of lower secondary school – literature, Spanish and French language (ZŠ Zenklova, Prague);
2004 – 2009 lector in The House of Children and Youth.
Email: andrecito1@seznam.cz - Štĕpánka Klumparová, Ph.D
1999 - 2004 Master studies at Pedagogical faculty in Pilsen, study combination: Czech language – German language
2004 - 2010 Doctor (Ph.D.) studies at Pedagogical faculty of Charles University in Prag, subject: Pedagogy, specialisation in Didactics of literature (doctor theses: Reading competencies of adolescents)
2009 – till today teacher at Department of Czech literature of Pedagogical faculty at Charles University in Prag (as teacher of these subjects: Didactics of literature I.-III., Pedagogical praxis, Interpretation of fundamental works of Czech literature etc.)
Participation on these research projects:
- Revision of Framework Educational Programme of Basic Education from the point view of reading competencies for Institute of Pedagogical research (2009-2010)
- LiFT-2 (since 2009)
- Project – We help schools to be successful – Maps of learning progress in developing of reading competencies (since 2010)
Email: stepanka.klumparova@pedf.cuni.cz
Didactics website: www.nacteno.cz
University of Hildesheim (Germany)
- Prof. Dr. Irene Pieper
Full professor for literature and literature education in the Department of German Language and Literature at the University of Hildesheim/Germany. Research on reading socialisation, the acquisition of poetic literacy, communication in the literature classroom. Part of the project ‘Languages in/for education’ of the Language Policy Division of the Council of Europe/Strasbourg.
Email: Irene.pieper@uni-hildesheim.de - Volker Pietsch, Ph. D
Volker Pietsch is a literature and film scholar who works as scientific assistant and lecturer at the University of Hildesheim, Germany.
His field of activity covers Media Socialisation and Media Didactics. Regularly, he publishes articles on film analysis and intermediality in magazines as well as in anthologies and has written a monograph on the motif of divided personalities in literature and film. At present, he is writing his PhD on intermedial relations between literature and film from a didactical perspective.
Email: pietsch@uni-hildesheim.de
University of Joensuu (Finland)
- Dr. Raisa Simola
Dr. Raisa Simola is a university lecturer of the pedagogy of the mother tongue and literature at the University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu Campus. She is also Docent of African literature at the University of Helsinki.
In 1995 she was awarded a PhD with a thesis entitled World Views in Chinua Achebe’s Works (being the first doctor of African literature in Finland) which was published as a book by Peter Lang (Frankfurt am Main etc.) Particularly since then she has been interested in the world views of the texts, as well as of the readers (reader and response –criticism).
In 2008 she was awarded the prize of the Equality by the University of Joensuu (which was the name of her university at that time).
She has edited, translated and written books and articles on literature and cultural studies; on Finnish, European and (especially) African literature; on multicultural issues including criticism of Eurocentrism and discourse of race and racism.
Email: raisa.simola@uef.fi
University of Minho (Portugal)
- Dr. Maria Lourdes Trindade Dionisio
- Dr. Regina Duarte
Regina is a Portuguese Language teacher and a teacher trainer. She was the Coordinator for the Portuguese Language teaching in the Ministry of Education for several years. She is now the Coordinator of the Education Department in London, working for Camoes Institute and the Portuguese Embassy. She is a researcher in Language teaching and in the teaching of Literature.
Email: regina.duarte@gmail.com
University of Bucharest (Romania)
- Dr. Tina Sãmihãian
Email: tinasamihaian@gmail.com - Dr. Magda Raduta
- Conf. Dr Liviu Papadima
Project members
- Pieter Vroegop - External evaluator
Since 1976 Pieter Vroegop has been working at Leiden University as a teacher trainer, manager and administrator. In the past two decades he has been involved in a number of European projects (Comenius, Grundtvig, Leonardo). As of 1 January 2011 he’s retired from the university, but still active as a private consultant in educational areas such as curriculum development, professional development of teachers and organizational development of schools.
Email: pietervroegop@live.nl - Jan Folkert Deinum - Advisor
Email: j.f.deinum@rug.nl
