The research, reported in a paper in the peer-reviewed research journal Review of Education, was based on a discourse analysis of national curriculum texts in English-dominant nations who score highly in PISA and PIRLS and a comparison of their orientations to teaching reading compared to England the survey of more than 2,000 teachers a new Systematic Qualitative Meta-Synthesis (SQMS) of tertiary reviews, systematic reviews and meta analyses, and of 55 experimental trials with longitudinal designs. The survey is part of a comprehensive study led by Professor Dominic Wyse and Professor Alice Bradbury, directors of IOEвЂ™s Helen Hamlyn Centre for Pedagogy (0-11 years) (HHCP). Synthetic phonics focuses first and foremost on teaching about phonemes (sounds) and how they are represented by letters in words. However, a new survey of more than 2,000 teachers conducted by researchers from IOE, UCLвЂ™s Faculty of Education and Society, shows that synthetic phonics has become the main approach. The main focus of the balanced approach to teaching reading is comprehending the meanings of texts. For this reason, it is vital that the teaching of reading, and curriculum policies on reading, are informed by robust research.ДЇor more than 100 years, children in England have been taught to read through aВ balanced approach where teaching about the relationships between phonemes (sounds) and letters is carefully balanced with teaching about whole texts and other aspects of reading.

If children are not being taught to read in the most appropriate way then they will not progress as much as they should. Teaching children to read is one of the most important elements of primary education because it is fundamental to childrenвЂ™s development.

By the way