Whose Literacy Needs are not Being Met?

Whose Literacy Needs are not Being Met?

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A blog by Aoife Crawford
Research and Policy Officer. National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA), Ireland. 
acrawford@nala.ie

The National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) is a registered charity and membership-based organisation based in Ireland. See www.nala.ie

Our mission is to

  • Campaign for literacy as a human right
  • Be leaders and champion best literacy practice
  • Support organisations in their efforts to be literacy friendly

In Ireland, one in five adults have literacy needs. What does this mean?

If we want to be specific about it, this means that one in five adults score at or below Level 1 – out of five levels – in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) Survey of Adult Skills (OECD 2024). This survey is run by the Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC).… Read the rest

ELINET at the UIA Associations Round Table Europe 2025

ELINET at the UIA Associations Round Table Europe 2025

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Blog by Winnie-Karen Giera

Strengthening Networks and Expanding Our International Presence

ELINET was invited to be represented at the Union of International Associations (UIA) Round Table Europe 2025. ELINET was presented by Prof. Dr. Winnie-Karen Giera, Chairperson of ELINET.
The event, held on 21 November 2025 in Brussels, brought together more than 100 participants from diverse international associations for a day of exchange, reflection, and strategic dialogue.
Event link: https://uia.org/roundtable/2025/eu

Key Insights from the UIA Meeting

In the round-table discussions, there were several points of relevance for ELINET’s future development:

  • Participation in UN deliberations:
    Securing a seat in the decision-making processes of various United Nations bodies would be highly valuable for ELINET. Such representation would enable the organization to contribute evidence-informed perspectives on literacy policy at a global level.
… Read the rest
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS Conference TRAIL

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS Conference TRAIL

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CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
Transnational Approaches To Promote Reading Skills in Inclusive Environments (TRAIL) Conference 2025

We, the team of Inclusive German Didactics, warmly invite interested authors to submit abstracts for the post-conference publication of the Transnational Approaches to Promote Reading Skills in Inclusive Environments (TRAIL) Conference 2025.

For more information on the conference, see the Blog here.  You can download this Call in PDF here 

The forthcoming publication on TRAIL will build on the conversations and contributions from the
conference. It aims to provide a platform for both research-based and practice-based papers that address a range of perspectives on inclusive literacy in transnational contexts. Each paper should be 10-12 pages long (exkl. references).

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Your abstract should include:

  • Title (max. 15 words)
  • Author(s) and affiliation(s)
  • Abstract (max.
… Read the rest
Transnational Reading Approaches in Inclusive Learning Environments (TRAIL)

Transnational Reading Approaches in Inclusive Learning Environments (TRAIL)

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Thinking about Reading Promotion Transnationally.
A report on the conference “Transnational Reading Approaches in Inclusive Learning Environments (TRAIL)” at the Bildungsforum Potsdam, University of Potsdam

by Winnie-Karen Giera & Lucas Deutzmann
An Elinet Blog 

A Call for Abstracts for conference participants has been issued with publication planned for late 2026. Abstract submission has been extended until the beginning of December 2025! 
You can read the details of the Call for Abstracts HERE and/ or download the Call in PDF HERE 

The acronym TRAIL (Transnational Reading Approaches in Inclusive Learning Environments) reflects both the topic and spirit of the conference: exploring new “paths” to reading promotion in schools. Held on 17–18 September 2025 at the Potsdam Education Forum, the event gathered 65 reading researchers and education professionals (30 insite, and 35 via zoom) from ten countries (Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Germany, England, Ghana, Italy, Austria, the USA and Cyprus).… Read the rest

ELINET Webinar series May 2025. The results

ELINET Webinar series May 2025. The results

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ELINET Webinar series Multilingual Literacies Across Learning Contexts

In May 2025 Elinet organized successfully the second series of webinars.  We kindly ask you to share this information with any academics, teachers, teacher educators and others interested in educating students for multilingual literacies. We hope to see you at the events!

See and download the flyer here.

Seminar 1 Presenter: Aoife Ahern

Reading to Learn, Learning to Write, genre pedagogy in multilingual school contexts
Date: Thursday 29th May 2025
Time: 18:00–19:00 CET

Video

The webinar was recorded and is available here. 

Abstract

This talk will explain recent extensions, for second / additional language
learning contexts, of Rose & Martin’s (2012) approach to literacy education,
Reading to Learn. The approach is based on a carefully designed, scaffolded
teaching and learning cycle.… Read the rest

Literacy at blue-collar work: making visible the diverse practices

Literacy at blue-collar work: making visible the diverse practices

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Blog by Sari Sulkunen

Quite often we perceive blue-collar work as manual and physical work in which literacy has only a limited role. Indeed, adult literacy surveys have shown that the role of literacy is pronounced in expert occupations (e.g., senior officials and managers) and to some extent in white-collar occupations (e.g., clerks and sales professionals) (OECD 2013; 2020). In contrast, literacy has a minor role in blue-collar occupations: workers read and write less frequently and less diverse materials at work and show lower level of average literacy proficiency than experts or white-collar workers (Grotlüschen et al. 2020; Sulkunen et al. 2021). However, these surveys focus on limited set of self-reported print literacy activities, ignoring the work-specific practices and the multimodal meaning making. While qualitative, often ethnographic, studies paint a more nuanced picture, such research on blue-collar workers’ literacies is scarce (cf.… Read the rest

24th European Conference on Literacy

24th European Conference on Literacy

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24th European Conference on Literacy.
Literacy. The Door to a Better World.

The 24th European Conference on Literacy will be jointly organized by the Slovenian Reading Badge Society (Društvo Bralna značka Slovenije – ZPMS) and the Federation of European Literacy Associations (FELA), with the support of local and national partners.

It will take place in Ljubljana, Slovenia, from July 6 to 8 July 2026.

With the conference theme and subthemes, we aim to acknowledge diverse voices and highlight the importance of inclusivity and the power of cooperation.

The following subthemes will be explored:

  • Subtheme 1: Literacy in the Early Years & Family Literacy
  • Subtheme 2: Adolescent & Young Adult Literacy
  • Subtheme 3: Lifelong Development of Literacy Skills
  • Subtheme 4: Digital Literacy and Artificial Intelligence
  • Subtheme 5: Literacy Environments
  • Subtheme 6: Inclusive Practices in Literacy for Diverse Learners

IMPORTANT DATES

1 December 2025 Deadline for abstract submission
26–30 January 2026 Letter of Acceptance
2 February 2026 Registration opens
30 April 2026 Early Bird registration ends
29 May 2026 Final registration deadline

All queries regarding the conference should be directed to FELAconference2026slovenia@gmail.com… Read the rest

ELINET Webinar series May 2025 An invitation to register.

ELINET Webinar series May 2025 An invitation to register.

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ELINET Webinar series Multilingual Literacies Across Learning Contexts

Given the high priority and relevance of the webinar theme in current times, and that there is a limited number of places available, please don’t delay if you want to have the opportunity of participating. Certificates of attendance will be available upon request.
More information is available on the registration form. Register for one or more sessions in the series using this form

See and download the flyer here.

 

 

 

 

Schedule

Seminar 1
“Reading to Learn, Learning to Write, genre pedagogy in multilingual school contexts”

Date: Thursday 29th May 2025
Time: 18:00–19:00 CET

Presenter: Aoife Ahern

Abstract:
This talk will explain recent extensions, for second / additional language
learning contexts, of Rose & Martin’s (2012) approach to literacy education,
Reading to Learn.… Read the rest

Improving reading across Europe: More reading! More talking!

Improving reading across Europe: More reading! More talking!

An Elinet Blog by Colin Harrison
First published on the European School Education Platform, April 10 2025, by European Commission. We have permission to publish this article also as an ELINET blog post

Reading scores were down in almost every European nation that participated in the PISA 2022 tests – often by the largest margin ever. How can this trend be reversed?


Preschool child reading a picture book with simple words
Lina Kivaka / Pexels

This decline in international reading test scores is not new: in most nations reading scores had already been declining for more than a decade.

In response to this, the European Commission asked an international group of literacy experts to put together a report that would, drawing upon on the latest evidence-based research, provide guidance for policymakers and teachers on how reading should be taught.… Read the rest

Framing Reading Literacy as a Public Health Crisis in South Africa

Framing Reading Literacy as a Public Health Crisis in South Africa

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William G.Brozo. Emeritus Professor of Literacy, George Mason University, USA
Gail Andrews. Past Chief Operating Officer, National Department of Health, Cape Town, South Africa

An Elinet blog.  

The connection between literacy and health has been recognized by the medical and public health professions for several decades (Dewalt, Berkman, Sheridan, Lohr, & Pignone, 2004).

This connection came into stark relief for the two of us—a career South African public health policy expert and an American literacy professional—when the most recent Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) scores were published in 2023, showing once again the rock-bottom reading levels of South African children. At the same time, the persistence of diseases and other serious health challenges largely eradicated in other regions of the globe (Achoki, 2022) alerted us to take a closer look at the comorbidity of these conditions in South Africa.… Read the rest