The notion of literacy has changed constantly and is still changing according to the needs and requirements of the time we live in. Literacy represents a complex ability, combining different knowledge and skills that individuals need to be able to successfully integrate into their environment. Since the results of international research show that Slovene adolescents and adults achieve lower results in literacy tests than residents of other developed countries (Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, the United States and Belgium), improving functional literacy seems very important. For this purpose, the National strategy for promoting literacy has been formed.
Among the socially vulnerable groups are also people with mild mental disorders. Both studies carried out to date in Slovenia (the International Literacy Survey - IALS and the International Adult Competence Program - PIAAC) only include adults with no mental disorders. Consequently, in Slovenia, we do not have any data about the literacy of individuals with special needs, especially those with minor mental disorders who, despite their developmental shortages, have successfully completed elementary education and some also lower vocational education.
In the theoretical part of the thesis, we present various definitions and types of literacy. We specifically highlight functional literacy. In addition, we present the literacy studies of schoolchildren and adults in Slovenia and describe the existing research of functional literacy of adults with special needs around the world. In the following, we identify mental disorders in the context of special needs. We present the characteristics of people with minor mental disorders as well as education and employment of the mentioned population.
The empirical part exhibits the results of the research on the functional literacy of people with minor mental disorders who completed a program with adapted curriculum at a lower educational standard. The survey included 51 high school students with mild mental disorders and 20 adults with mild mental disorders who completed such an educational programme. Of the latter, 9 were employed and 11 were never employed. The data was obtained through a test that verified textual and document literacy at three levels.
The results of the study showed significantly lower achievements of adults with mild mental disorders, both in terms of general functional literacy and the level of functional literacy compared to secondary-school students with mild mental disorders who completed an educational programme with adapted curriculum at a lower educational standard. Statistically significant differences between secondary-school students and adults with mild mental disorders are expressed primarily at the highest, third level of literacy, while there are no differences between employed adults and secondary-school students with mild mental development disorders.
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