Developing Communication, Personal and Social Key Competencies through Reading Lessons: An Action Research Study

This thesis examines the possibilities for developing communication, personal and social competences of pupils in one second-grade class of a primary school (24 pupils) through reading lessons based on a constructivist approach to teaching. The theoretical part outlines the requirements of the Framework Educational Programme for Basic Education (RVP ZV 2025) for supporting key competences and presents work with literary texts, elements of dialogic teaching and RWCT strategies as suitable tools for their development. The practical part employs the methodology of action research conducted over a several-week intervention consisting of four reading lessons. Data were collected through a pre-test, post-test and systematic classroom observation. The lessons focused on active text comprehension, open- ended questioning, cooperation and reflection. The results indicate that the intervention contributed to the development of pupils' communication skills, especially in expressing opinions, basic argumentation and responding to peers. Positive changes were also observed in text comprehension and in selected aspects of personal and social learning, particularly in the areas of cooperation and working with emotions. Although the findings must be interpreted with regard to the limits of action research, the...