Teaching phonics and reading effectively: ‘A balancing act’ for teachers, policy makers and researchers

Abstract

The debates about what are the most effective ways to teach young children to learn to read have been described as ‘the reading wars’. In 2022 the research published in a paper by Wyse and Bradbury (2022) stimulated widespread attention including in the media. Wyse and Bradbury concluded on the basis of four major research analyses that although systematic phonics teaching was important the approach in England to synthetic phonics was too narrow and therefore in need of improvement. In 2023 the paper was the subject of a critique by Greg Brooks (2023). This paper responds to Brooks' critique by providing new information about the nature of the responses to the paper to contextualise Brooks' response. It is concluded that Brooks' response includes too many errors, and is too selective, to be regarded as a robust and reasonable critique. It is argued that the nature of Brooks' approach to criticism only serves to entrench the reading wars, and raises ethical considerations about the nature of the attack on Wyse and Bradbury (2022). Context and implications Rationale for this study This paper responds to Greg Brooks' (2023) criticisms of Wyse and Bradbury (2022). Why the new findings matter It is important that the erroneous views expressed in Brooks (2023) are corrected because the debates about reading have important consequences for young children's education. Implications for practitioners, policy makers, researchers Understanding the most effective ways to teach reading is important for children's education worldwide. Research is a source of vital knowledge about what are the most effective ways to teach reading. Interpreting research findings accurately and in a balanced way in order to make recommendations about curriculum policies and classroom practice is vital to ensure that any such recommendations are well justified. Imbalanced and erroneous accounts risk non-optimal teaching and educational policies, and hence negative consequences for children's learning.