Workshop to foster international links with reading researchers

A psychologist at our University has received funding to establish research links between the UK and China to help combat poor literacy in those countries.

Dr Kevin Paterson from the Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour has been awarded a collaborative grant with Professor Xuejun Bai from the Academy of Psychology and Behaviour at Tianjin Normal University in China to organise a three-day Researcher Links workshop in China on “Improving Literacy: Understanding Reading Development and Reading Difficulties Across the Lifespan”.

The focus of the workshop will be on the development of skills required for reading English, Chinese and minority languages in China (e.g., Mongolian, Uyghur) and will feature a series of keynote talks by established researchers from the UK and China and presentations by a wide range of invited early career researchers from both countries.

The aim is to develop research collaborations between the two countries focused on combating the causes of poor reading abilities and informing educational practice. Reports identify poor reading skills as a cause of poverty and social exclusion and the workshop will address this by fostering research that examines the development and maintenance of good reading skills.

The workshop is funded by the British Council / Newton Fund and National Science Foundation of China. The Newton Fund is a £375 million fund which, through science and innovation partnerships aims to promote the economic development and welfare of poor people in developing countries.