Page 4 - Handbook for reluctant, struggling and poor readers

The publication Handbook for Struggling, Reluctant and Poor Readers emerged out from the project of the
same title, financed and supported by the Erasmus + program of the European Commission.

In the past decade reading came into European and international focus. Although, within the education
system and supporting structures the problem has been recognized (the results from PISA, 2009-2015)
still a large number of young people are finishing school without adequate literacy skills. This failure of
their secondary education has irreversible consequences for their future. Lack of awareness about the
issue among politicians, decision makers and other supporting social structures is deep in majority of
European countries. EU calls for urgent action.

We live in a rapidly changing world and in the time when the quantity and diversity of written materials is
growing, leading to higher expectations among people in using the materials in a new and more
complicated way. Today, it is accepted that our understanding of reading is developing alongside the
changes in society and culture. The reading skills needed twenty years ago were vastly different than they
are today and it is certain that they will change over the next twenty years. The focus on educational goals
continues to be redirected from the mere collection and memorization of data to include a wider
understanding of knowledge. Whether it is a person with a vocational or higher education, success lies in
the ability to communicate, share and use information for problem solving, adaptation and innovative
approaches to a changing environment that sets new conditions as well as keeping pace with technology
development and expanding areas due to technological achievements in creating new insights and
increasing human capacity and productivity.
The ability to discover, access, understand, and apply all kinds of information is necessary for a person to
fully function in a knowledge-based society. Acquiring literacy is not only a foundation of success in other
areas within the educational system, but is also necessary for successfully addressing the challenges
students face in adulthood. The framework for a successful readership for students throughout their
compulsory education must focus on mastering reading literacy skills that include finding, selecting,
interpreting, linking and rating information across a whole range of texts that relate to situations beyond
school classrooms.

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Considerably increased demands of high-technological knowledge and media-society in the 21 century
society as to the comprehension of all kinds of texts are not only valid for academic jobs but for the whole
working world. Persons without the reading skills lack one of the basic competences necessary for leading
a satisfactory life with regard to personal, civic and financial aspects.
PISA 2018 marks the third time reading as a major domain and the third time that the framework receives
1
a major revision. Such a revision reflects the changing definition of reading literacy as well as the contexts
in which reading is used in citizens’ lives. Thus, the resent revision of the framework builds on
contemporary and comprehensive theories of reading literacy as well as considers how students acquire
and use information across broad contexts.
PISA Studies define this minimal standard as competence level 2 (of 5 levels): Adolescents ranging on
competence level 1 are consequently regarded as low achievers in reading / poor readers or as students
at risk. In the EU, the number of these low achievers has increased from 21.3 % in 2000 to 24.1 % in 2006.
This means, nearly one quarter of school-leavers in the EU does not meet the demands of our knowledge
society and will be confronted with numerous problems as grownups. For this reason, the improvement of
reading literacy counts among the 5 Education Benchmarks for Europe defined by the European
Commission in the framework of the Lisbon-Strategy: “By 2010 the percentage of low achieving 15-year
olds in reading literacy in the European Union should have decreased by at least 20 % compared with
2000.” (European Commission 2008: 92).
This goal has not been reached so far.

1 https://www.oecd.org/pisa/data/PISA-2018-draft-frameworks.pdf
Definition of measurable capacity for Reading Literacy in PISA, 2018: Reading literacy is understanding, using, evaluating, reflecting on and engaging with
texts in order to achieve one’s goals, to develop one’s knowledge and potential and to participate in society.