Italian adult literacy survey

Vittoria Gallina, referent for the IALS-SIALS survey in Italy

Report of the Second International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS-SIALS), published in 2000

Italian

The report deals with the results of the IALS-SIALS survey, published in 2000 in so far as Italy is concerned. The International Adult Literacy Survey Database (IALS) was a seven-country initiative conducted in the fall of 1994. Its goal was to create comparable literacy profiles across national, linguistic and cultural boundaries. A second round of data collection of IALS wws conducted in 1996 with the Second International Adult Literacy Survey (SIALS), that saw the participation of additional countries, including Italy. In total, IALS includes data pertaining to 23 countries or regions around the world.Literacy of adults (people between 16 and 65 years) has been computed for each of the three different domains listed below:
- prose literacy: the knowledge and skills needed to understand and use information from texts including editorials, news stories, poems and fiction;
- document literacy: the knowledge and skills required to locate and use information contained in various formats, including job applications, payroll forms, transportation schedules, maps, tables and graphics;
- quantitative literacy: the knowledge and skills required to apply arithmetical operations, either alone or sequentially, to numbers embedded in printed materials, such as balancing a cheque book, figuring out a tip, completing an order form or determining the amount of interest on a loan from an advertisement.The results concerning Italy were not encouraging. Indeed about 30% of adult population is almost illiterate while only 30% shows a medium or good literacy; the results are analogous for each of the three domains. Literacy is seen to be dependent on age and gender, on geographic area of residence and on qualification.

The report underlines that few Italian adults show good literacy and analogous results are evidenced when, the scientific literacy in particular, is considered.

http://archivio.invalsi.it/ricerche-internazionali/sials/base-sials.htm

Anna Maria Cardinale

Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale - University of Genoa

Researcher