Prevention and diagnosis of Illiteracy

A cura di: Vittoria Gallina, Benedetto Vertecchi

Prevention and diagnosis of Illiteracy

A research project in the Campania region of Italy

Printed Edition

14.00

Pages: 60

ISBN: 9788846458674

Edition: 1a edizione 2004

Publisher code: 1326.1.6

Availability: Discreta

The Second International Adult Literacy Survey (SIALS), which was promoted by the OECD and saw the participation of Italy, showed that about one third of the Italian population ranked in the most unfavourable position – according to the international scale that measures literacy – and that another third only managed to rank in the position immediately above. In particular, the cultural picture of the over-50’s, i.e. the section of the population that did not benefit from the boom in schooling after the 1962 lower secondary school reform, turned out to be very negative indeed. To this must be added the fact that in Italy, and above all in the southern regions, illiteracy regression combines with the residual illiteracy of the most underprivileged section of the population.

There is thus enough material to place the issue of the prevention and diagnosis of illiteracy among the priorities of national and local policy aimed at providing all citizens with the necessary conditions for fully and consciously exercising their right to take part in democratic life.

Unfortunately, there appears to be not even the slightest willingness to proceed in the direction indicated by the policy decisions made at national level. We are a far cry from the sensitivity shown by other governments: as an example, the French government has set up the Agence Nationale de Lutte contre l’Illettrisme, which aims to study the phenomenon in depth and also to devise and implement plans to combat it. All the more reason to therefore appreciate the decision of the department responsible for education and training, employment and social policies, youth policies and immigration issues of the Campania regional government to promote a specific study whose results can provide useful indications for gearing future initiatives in this field.

This booklet illustrates the main lines of the project called Prevention and Diagnosis of Illiteracy (Predil). A survey of literacy skills in the adult population: methodology and tools.

Vittoria Gallina coordinated Italian participation to the SIALS through CEDE (now known as INValSI) and is a contract lecturer at the Facoltà di Scienze della Formazione of the Università Roma Tre. She is also responsible for the Italian side of the Adult Literacy and Life skills (ALL) study.

Benedetto Vertecchi is full professor of Experimental Pedagogy at the Università Roma Tre. He has over thirty years’ experience in international studies and is responsible for the Laboratorio di Pedagogia sperimentale . He is also the editor of the journal Cadmo. Giornale italiano di Pedagogia sperimentale .

 Vittoria Gallina, Benedetto Vertecchi , Presentation
What is the project called?
(What kind of project is it?)
Which parties are involved in the Predil Project?
(Proposing party; Partner 1; Partner 2)
Who is the proposing party?
(Laboratorio di Pedagogia sperimentale of Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Educazione of Università Roma Tre)
What are the main activities of the proposing party?
(What are the goals pursued?; What did Laboratorio di Pedagogia sperimentale do in 2002 and 2003?)
What activities does the Ceril carry out?
(How does Ceril work? What indications may be drawn from the ALL study? How are the analyses of the Adult Education Monitor used?)
What are the activities of the Museum Education Centre?
(What are the main research lines of the Museum Education Centre?)
What is the organisational structure of the Predil Project?
What actors cooporate in the Predil Project?
(The Centre of Science Museum)
What actors cooperate in the Predil Project?
(The Agence Nationale de Lutte Contre l’Illettrisme. France)
What objectives are pursued by the Predil Project?
What educational and cultural needs does the Predil Project meet?
(Literacy skill obsolescence: a study of the phenomenon in local contexts; Project duration)
Who are the targets of the Predil Project?
What methods will be used to achieve the objectives of the Predil Project?
What tools will be used to carry out the Predil Project?
How can the Predil Project idea be expressed in brief?
Why do we consider the Predil Project innovative and transferable?
What are the expected results of the Predil Project?
How will the result of the Predil Project be disseminated?
What actions are envisaged in the Predil Projects? 1. Skills profiles for manufacturing workers
(What are the objectives of this action?; How will the population profile be surveyed?; What are the expected results of this action?)
What actions are envisaged in the Predil Project? 2. The social relations networks in the manufacturing areas of Campania: the skills profile of manufacturing workers’ families
(What are the objectives of this action?; How will the households’ characteristics be surveyed?; What are the expected results of this action?)
What actions are envisaged in the Predil Projects? 3. Surveying the skills of rural populations: skills profiles according to age, sex and type of work linked to agro-food production; the skills profiles of seasonally employed immigrant workers
(What are the objectives of this action?; How will the skills profiles be assessed?; What are the expected results of this action?)
The Predil Project activities require one calendar year. January-December 2004. How will this time be used?
(What does the preparatory work envisage?; How is the field study carried out?; What should be done with the collected data?; What activities are envisaged in the final stage of the study?
What are the priorities of the Predil Project?
How will the grant of € 382,500 envisaged for the Predil project be spent?
(What are the designing costs?; What are the costs of the field study?; What are the cost of data analysis and report drafting?; What are the Predil Project management and running costs?)
How can we get more information on adult literacy problems?
(When did research on literacy start?; Which organisations decide on and implement comparative studies on adult literacy skills and how?; Has Italy taken part in studies on adult literacy skills?; What are the main studies underway?; How can we overcome language ambiguities in education?; Is there any online data available on adult literacy skills?).

Contributors: Gabriella Agrusti, Silvia Ciriello, Giovanni Corsi, Alessia Mattei, Emma Nardi

Serie: Ricerche sperimentali

Subjects: Adult Education - Experimental Education

Level: Scholarly Research

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