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A Rigorous Approach to the Teaching of Reading? Systematic Synthetic Phonics in Initial Teacher Education

Glazzard, Jonathan; Stones, Samuel

Authors

Samuel Stones



Abstract

This paper argues that no single method of teaching children to read is superior to any other. Although research suggests that a systematic approach to phonics produces gains in word reading and spelling, there is no clear evidence that synthetic phonics is the most effective approach for supporting reading development. We highlight the current policy allegiance to synthetic phonics in England. This approach is mandated in the teachers’ standards and the inspection framework for initial teacher education in England. This attempt to regulate the way new teachers are prepared to support children’s reading development is extremely concerning, given the body of research which demonstrates that no single approach is necessarily more effective than another.

Citation

Glazzard, J., & Stones, S. (2020). A Rigorous Approach to the Teaching of Reading? Systematic Synthetic Phonics in Initial Teacher Education. Frontiers in Education, 5, Article 587155. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2020.587155

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Sep 10, 2020
Online Publication Date Sep 29, 2020
Publication Date Sep 29, 2020
Deposit Date Oct 25, 2023
Publicly Available Date Nov 3, 2023
Journal Frontiers in Education
Electronic ISSN 2504-284X
Publisher Frontiers Media
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 5
Article Number 587155
DOI https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2020.587155
Keywords Phonics; Synthetic phonics; Initial teacher education; Reading; Literacy
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4425026

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Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2020 Glazzard and Stones. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.




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