Reading wars or reading reconciliation? A critical examination of robust research evidence, curriculum policy and teachers' practices for teaching phonics and reading

Abstract

Teaching children to read is one of the most fundamental goals of early years and primary education worldwide, and as such has attracted a large amount of research from a range of academic disciplines. The aims of this paper are: (a) to provide a new critical examination of research evidence relevant to effective teaching of phonics and reading in the context of national curricula internationally; (b) to report new empirical findings relating to phonics teaching in England; and (c) examine some implications for policy and practice. The paper reports new empirical findings from two sources: (1) a systematic qualitative meta‐synthesis of 55 experimental trials that included longitudinal designs; (2) a survey of 2205 teachers. The paper concludes that phonics and reading teaching in primary schools in England has changed significantly for the first time in modern history, and that compared to other English dominant regions England represents an outlier. The most robust research evidence, from randomised control trials with longitudinal designs, shows that the approach to phonics and reading teaching in England is not sufficiently underpinned by research evidence. It is recommended that national curriculum policy is changed and that the locus of political control over curriculum, pedagogy and assessment should be re‐evaluated. The video abstract for this article is available at https://youtu.be/bJImJ79JKNI . Context and implications: Rationale for this study: Teaching children to read is one of the most important elements of primary education because it is fundamental to children's educational development. For this reason it is vital that the teaching of reading, and curriculum policies on reading, are informed by robust research. Why the new findings matter: If children are not being taught to read in the most appropriate way, because curriculum policy and teaching practices are not informed sufficiently by robust research evidence, then children's education will not be as effective as it should be. Implications for practitioners, policy makers, researchers: The outcomes of the survey of teachers in England, and the new analysis of systematic reviews and meta analyses, and randomised controlled trials with longitudinal designs, reported in the paper show the need for changes to the teaching of reading and to national curriculum policy on the teaching of reading. The teaching of phonics and reading in curriculum policy and practice should more closely reflect the evidence that contextualised teaching of reading , or balanced instruction , is the most effective way to teach reading.