"Shared Reading" in a Nordic Context

About the project

Shared Reading (SR) is a unique method of reading aloud and discussing literature in groups, developed by the English literary scholar Jane Davis. The method has gained widespread adoption in the UK through The Reader Organisation, which organizes hundreds of SR groups, often led by volunteer reading facilitators. There is now a rapidly growing interest in SR in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, but the method has not yet been widely established in the Nordic region.

Project Objectives

The aim of the project is to collaborate closely between researchers and practitioners to spread knowledge about Shared Reading (SR) and to work on developing and adapting the SR method to meet the needs and practical conditions in the three Nordic countries. This will also involve reaching new target groups. We will test the method among children and young people, as well as among newly arrived immigrants whose native languages are different from the Nordic languages. In the UK, SR has limited experience working specifically with younger individuals and immigrants.

Ultimately, the project aims to facilitate the work of various stakeholders who wish to implement SR in our three countries. The participating researchers (see below) will compile findings from a series of smaller studies on SR, focusing on different contexts and perspectives, into an anthology. This work will take an action research approach and will be carried out in close collaboration with various actors in our countries who have started working with SR activities and are participating as partners in this project (see below).

We anticipate that SR work in the Nordic region will develop in three main directions, and within the project, we aim to study and engage with all three:

1. Literary Didactics Approach – SR linked to public libraries’ efforts to promote reading among children and adults, as well as the role of experiential reading in schools.
2. Literature and Integration – SR connected to issues of social inclusion, welfare, democracy, and citizenship. This also includes the role of literature in language learning for newly arrived immigrants.
3. Literature and Health – SR as a tool to improve the well-being of patients experiencing various health issues (e.g. SR as a method within the "Kultur på recept" program).

Participating universities and reserarchers

Uppsala University
Professor Kerstin Rydbeck
Associate Professor Åse Hedemark

Lund University:
Professor Anders Ohlsson
Professor Torbjörn Forslid
Associate Professor Katarina Bernhardsson
Researcher Evelina Stenbeck

Aarhus University:
Researcher Mette Steenberg
Associate Professor Anne Line Dalsgaard
Doctoral Student Charlotte Christiansen
Associate Professor Stefan Kjerkegaard

Syddansk University:
Professor Peter Simonsen

OsloMet Storbyuniversitet:
Professor Kjell Ivar Skjerdingstad
Førsteamanuensis Cecilie Naper
Førsteamanuensis Åse Kristine Tveit

Høyskolen Kristiania:
Førsteamanuensis Thor Magnus Tallerås

Other participants

Foreningen Leserne i Norge
Læseforeningen i Danmark
Regionbibliotek Stockholm
Regionbibliotek Uppsala
Region Skånes kulturförvaltning
Folkuniversitetet Syd (Lund)
Folkuniversitetet Mitt (Uppsala)