Project management: Prof. Dr. Thomas Lachmann, apl. Prof. Dr. Maria Klatte, Dr. Kirstin Bergström

Project members: Dr. Réka Vágvölgyi, Aleksander Bulajić

Funding: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

Total costs: € 325,027.84

Total costs incl. project lump sum: € 390,033.41

Duration: 01.11.2018 - 15.02.2022

Content:

In Germany, around 12% of the working-age population is low-literate, resulting in limited opportunities and high economic costs. People with low literacy skills (formerly known as functional illiterates) can read and write letters, words and individual sentences, but cannot understand coherent texts.

The project examines whether and to what extent research findings on the causation, prevention and treatment of reading and spelling disorders (LRS) in children can be transferred to adults with low literacy skills. This question is based on studies showing that a considerable proportion of those affected were affected by a specific learning disorder during their school years and studies showing that functional illiteracy is associated with similar cognitive and brain structural abnormalities as reading and spelling disorders. In this project, similarities and differences between adults with low literacy, adults with normal literacy development and adults and children with dyslexia will be identified and the available findings systematically summarized. The findings will be used to derive consequences for the prevention of low literacy in adulthood and the design of evidence-based literacy learning opportunities. The findings will be integrated into the LONDI platform. In addition, evidence-based strategies for future research activities in the field of low literacy will be developed.

AlphaDys closing event (Thursday, January 27, 2022) www.sowi.uni-kl.de/psychologie-ii/final-symposium-alphadys-2