About this Research Topic
In today’s knowledge societies, literacy skills are key to promote success in many aspects of people’s lives, including employment and personal development. Yet, many adults are functionally illiterate. This Research Topic aims to bring together experts in the field of adult literacy to share their findings and insights.
Submissions on a variety of topics are encouraged, including innovative approaches to the measurement of adult literacy, basic skills, reading assessment, education, dyslexia, and interventions, and analyses of their determinants and outcomes. Original research articles, reviews, short reviews, meta-analyses and opinion articles are welcome.
This collection aims to address the problem of adult functional illiteracy. According to the OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) study (2011-2018), on average 15% of participants from 33 countries had low levels of literacy skills, meaning that they could, at most locate information in short texts but lacked the ability to navigate, comprehend, and evaluate the set of more complex written texts that permeate everyday life today. The study further revealed that the prevalence of individuals with low levels of literacy differed across countries and population groups. The study results also indicated that individuals with low levels of literacy were less likely than other participants to be employed, they had lower wages, reported being in poorer health and were less likely to report having participated in civic activities.
Recent advances in the field have shed new light on the issue and offered promising solutions to reduce the individual and social burden of low literacy among adults. These include, for example, innovative approaches to promote adult literacy and effective reading interventions. However, the field of adult literacy remains understudied both from a theoretical, methodological and policy perspective, especially when considered alongside the wealth of research that considers literacy development in school-aged children. This Research Topic aims to bring together experts in adult literacy to share their findings, insights, and practical solutions. The goal is to foster a greater understanding of the problem of adult functional illiteracy and facilitate the discussion on what interventions could be most effective in improving the literacy skills of adults.
The scope of the Research Topic is to advance our understanding of functional literacy in adult populations. We invite submissions from researchers and practitioners that address the following themes:
- Reading assessment in adults
- Innovative approaches to adult literacy education
- Effective reading interventions for adults
- Relations between dyslexia and functional literacy
- The role of technology in adult literacy education
- The impact of functional literacy on individuals and society
- Socioeconomic background and implications
Submissions on a variety of topics are encouraged, including innovative approaches to the measurement of adult literacy, basic skills, reading assessment, education, dyslexia, and interventions, and analyses of their determinants and outcomes. Original research articles, reviews, short reviews, meta-analyses and opinion articles are welcome.
This collection aims to address the problem of adult functional illiteracy. According to the OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) study (2011-2018), on average 15% of participants from 33 countries had low levels of literacy skills, meaning that they could, at most locate information in short texts but lacked the ability to navigate, comprehend, and evaluate the set of more complex written texts that permeate everyday life today. The study further revealed that the prevalence of individuals with low levels of literacy differed across countries and population groups. The study results also indicated that individuals with low levels of literacy were less likely than other participants to be employed, they had lower wages, reported being in poorer health and were less likely to report having participated in civic activities.
Recent advances in the field have shed new light on the issue and offered promising solutions to reduce the individual and social burden of low literacy among adults. These include, for example, innovative approaches to promote adult literacy and effective reading interventions. However, the field of adult literacy remains understudied both from a theoretical, methodological and policy perspective, especially when considered alongside the wealth of research that considers literacy development in school-aged children. This Research Topic aims to bring together experts in adult literacy to share their findings, insights, and practical solutions. The goal is to foster a greater understanding of the problem of adult functional illiteracy and facilitate the discussion on what interventions could be most effective in improving the literacy skills of adults.
The scope of the Research Topic is to advance our understanding of functional literacy in adult populations. We invite submissions from researchers and practitioners that address the following themes:
- Reading assessment in adults
- Innovative approaches to adult literacy education
- Effective reading interventions for adults
- Relations between dyslexia and functional literacy
- The role of technology in adult literacy education
- The impact of functional literacy on individuals and society
- Socioeconomic background and implications
Keywords: reading, writing, functional illiteracy, functional literacy, reading assessment
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
