Brussels, 11/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - The member states of the European Union have set themselves the goal of bringing below 15% the number of people without a good basic literacy. Despite efforts made, one out of every five 15-year-olds, or 20% of these young people, and many adults, still cannot read properly, according to the results of a pan-European Eurydice study published on Monday 11 July on the teaching of reading in Europe (2009 figures). This challenge is particularly urgent as the employment market will become increasingly demanding in terms of skills in the future.
“It is totally unacceptable that so many young people still lack basic reading and writing skills in Europe. This puts them at risk of social exclusion, makes it harder for them to find a job and reduces their quality of life”, said Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth. The study, which was carried out on behalf of the European Commission, looks at four main themes: methods of teaching, solutions to reading problems, teacher training and encouraging reading outside school.
The strategic framework for European cooperation in educational matters has set itself the objective of bringing down the number of people lacking sufficient basic skills, particularly in reading, mathematics and sciences, to a level below 15% by 2020, as part of its education priorities to feed into the EUROPE 2020 strategy. The situation differs vastly across Europe. Finland is the only country which has succeeded in getting the number of people with literacy skills well below the 15% mark (8.1%). Others are just below this level (Flemish Community of Belgium, Estonia, the Netherlands), some are achieving precisely the recommended average (Denmark, Poland), whilst Romania and Bulgaria are still recording a worrying average rate of 40%. These two member states are in the process of bringing in reforms to remedy the situation, said Commissioner Vassiliou.
Most experts recommend creating bridges between school and home in order to create a link and to continue to stimulate pupils' interest, particularly through play. Member states have also adopted programmes to improve teacher training, increase the professional skills of teachers or train them to teach small groups of struggling youngsters. These methods call for additional support in terms of funding and human resources. Only eight countries (Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Malta, the United Kingdom and Sweden) have made reading specialists available to schools to support teachers and pupils alike. Many member states are also trying to promote a “culture of reading”, but these campaigns do not necessarily affect those with them greatest need of help, such as the poorest citizens.
The results of the report will make a major contribution to the work of the high-level expert group on the fight against illiteracy set in place in January by Commissioner Vassiliou, and which is chaired by Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands, and which will submit proposals for strategic actions by mid-2012. (I.L./transl.fl)