Jak nauczyć się czytać w dorosłości? Joanny Landy-Tołwińskiej walka z analfabetyzmem
How to learn to read as an adult? Joanna Landy-Tołwińska's struggle against illiteracy

Summary/Abstract: Joanna Landy significantly contributed to reducing illiteracy in post-war Poland throughout her fifty years of academic, educational, and popularizing activities. Additionally, she highlighted issues relating to functional illiteracy and the lack of institutional support for adult learners. This article aims to present Landy's scientific achievements considering contemporary knowledge about reading acquisition and the current state of reading difficulties among Polish adults. In the article, I discuss and cite textbooks for adults learning to read at introductory courses developed by Landy, and her scholarly publications. I present a study of the life trajectories of graduates from adult literacy courses conducted fifteen years after the literacy campaign ended. I also showcase a unique study of autobiographical materials collected in a memoir-writing contest, in which adults who learned to read on their own, informally and without courses, participated. Additionally, I delve into self-education and lifelong learning, which Joanna Landy advocated for in Poland. Despite the ultimate eradication of illiteracy, understood as complete illiteracy, in Poland, Polish adults still struggle significantly with functional illiteracy—understanding and using texts in practice, as highlighted by the OECD PIAAC study. The roots of this situation can be traced back to the educational policies of the post-war years, which can be explored through Landy's academic legacy.

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