Werkt De Weddenschap? Opvattingen van (v)mbo-docenten en vmbo-leerlingen over leesbevorderingscampagne De Weddenschap en leescoaches DIO, Famke Louise en Jeangu Macrooy

Abstract

In 2020, Stichting Lezen (a Dutch institution aimed at reading promotion amongst youngsters) announced that three Dutch celebrities would star in its campaign De Weddenschap (The Bet): rapper DIO, singer/vlogger/model Famke Louise, and singer-songwriter Jeangu Macrooy. This article examines how teachers and pupils in preparatory secondary vocational education evaluate this campaign. First, the results of a questionnaire amongst L1-teachers of Dutch are reported. According to this survey, teachers have little trust in the campaign’s efficacy, but they still seem to believe that pupils might achieve reading satisfaction once they are seduced to read. However, the survey amongst pupils indicates that even a campaign starring celebrities does not convince youngsters in preparatory secondary vocational education to pick up a book. While they responded generally positively towards the efforts of one of the celebrities (Jeangu Macrooy), the large majority nevertheless did not consider participating in the campaign.