Tag: vocational training

Regina Duarte (MEC team) Discusses Literacy, AI, and Lifelong Learning in New Interview

Written by iread4skills on March 6, 2025. Posted in News.

The iRead4Skills project highlights a recent interview with Regina Duarte, Commissioner of the National Reading Plan 2027 and a key member of the iRead4Skills team, published on EPALE – the Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe. The interview explores the role of literacy in the digital age, the impact of artificial intelligence on education, and the challenges and opportunities in adult learning.

Duarte emphasizes the growing integration of digital tools and AI in literacy education, particularly in Portugal’s national strategies. She discusses how these technologies can support adult learners, improve access to reading materials, and enhance learning outcomes. The conversation also highlights the importance of collaborative efforts between educators, policymakers, and literacy projects like iRead4Skills in addressing existing gaps in adult education.

The interview provides valuable insights into how digital transformation is shaping the future of literacy education. It underscores the need for accessible learning materials, effective teacher training, and policies that encourage digital inclusion.

The full interview is available on EPALE: https://epale.ec.europa.eu/en/blog/interview-regina-duarte-mecpnl-portugal

New iRead4Skills Policy Brief Highlights the Impact of Literacy on Employment

Written by iread4skills on February 27, 2025. Posted in News.

The iRead4Skills project has released a new Policy Brief focusing on the importance of reading skills for lifelong learning and employability. The report, based on surveys conducted in Portugal, Spain, and French-speaking countries, reveals how literacy challenges affect daily life, professional opportunities, and digital inclusion.

Low Literacy Affects Employment and Confidence

The study found that 70% of participants felt more self-confident after improving their reading skills, and 65%reported feeling better prepared for the job market. However, many adults still struggle to understand complex documents, including rental contracts and medical leaflets, highlighting the need for clearer communication in essential services.

Key Policy Recommendations

The Policy Brief proposes several measures to improve literacy support:

Simplifying public documents through plain language initiatives.
Creating real-world learning materials tailored to adults’ daily needs.
Training adult educators (AL/VET) in digital literacy tools to enhance reading support.

The findings reinforce the need for stronger literacy policies that connect reading skills with digital and employment opportunities, ensuring a more inclusive society.

🔗 Read the full Policy Brief here: https://zenodo.org/records/14936989

New iRead4Skills Deliverable: Annotated Corpora by Level of Complexity for FR, PT, and SP

Written by iread4skills on February 5, 2025. Posted in News.

We are pleased to announce the release of Dataset 2: Annotated Corpora by Level of Complexity for French (FR), Portuguese (PT), and Spanish (SP). This dataset is a collection of texts categorized by complexity level and annotated for complexity features, presented in Excel format (.xlsx). The corpora were compiled and annotated under the scope of the iRead4Skills.

Dataset 2 is derived from the previously released Dataset 1: Corpora by Level of Complexity for FR, PT, and SP (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10055909), which consists of written texts of various genres and complexity levels. A sample of texts from Dataset 1 was selected for classification and annotation, providing additional data and test sets for the complexity analysis systems in the three project languages.

Data Collection and Annotation Process

The classification and annotation tasks were carried out through a structured methodology:

Texts were distributed to Adult Learning (AL) and Vocational Education Training (VET) Centres, where trainers and students participated in classification tasks.
The classification was conducted via the Qualtrics platform, ensuring a standardized approach.
Participants assigned texts to one of four complexity levels:
- Very Easy (140 texts) – Easily understood by all.
- Easy (140 texts) – Understandable for those with less than 9 years of schooling.
- Plain (140 texts) – Readable at a 9th-grade level.
- More Complex (42 texts) – Challenging for individuals with a 9th-grade education.

For full details on the annotation process, data descriptions, and inter-annotator agreement, refer to the documentation available at Zenodo.