Phonics: reading policy and the evidence of effectiveness from a systematic ‘tertiary’ review

Torgerson, Carole; Brooks, Greg; Gascoine, Louise; Higgins, Steve

doi:10.1080/02671522.2017.1420816

Phonics: reading policy and the evidence of effectiveness from a systematic ‘tertiary’ review

Torgerson, Carole; Brooks, Greg; Gascoine, Louise; Higgins, Steve

Authors

Professor Carole Torgerson carole.torgerson@durham.ac.uk
Honorary Professor

Greg Brooks

Dr Louise Gascoine louise.gascoine@durham.ac.uk
Associate Professor

Professor Steven Higgins s.e.higgins@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Abstract

Ten years after publication of two reviews of the evidence on phonics, a number of British policy initiatives have firmly embedded phonics in the curriculum for early reading development. However, uncertainty about the most effective approaches to teaching reading remains. A definitive trial comparing different approaches was recommended in 2006, but never undertaken. However, since then, a number of systematic reviews of the international evidence have been undertaken, but to date they have not been systematically located, synthesised and quality appraised. This paper seeks to redress that gap in the literature. It outlines in detail the reading policy development, mainly in England, but with reference to international developments, in the last 10 years. It then reports the design and results of a systematic ‘tertiary’ review of all the relevant systematic reviews and meta-analyses in order to provide the most up-to-date overview of the results and quality of the research on phonics.

Citation

Torgerson, C., Brooks, G., Gascoine, L., & Higgins, S. (2019). Phonics: reading policy and the evidence of effectiveness from a systematic ‘tertiary’ review. Research Papers in Education, 34(2), 208-238. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2017.1420816

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Dec 17, 2017
Online Publication Date	Jan 2, 2018
Publication Date	2019
Deposit Date	Feb 1, 2018
Publicly Available Date	Jul 2, 2019
Journal	Research Papers in Education
Print ISSN	0267-1522
Electronic ISSN	1470-1146
Publisher	Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	34
Issue	2
Pages	208-238
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2017.1420816

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Copyright Statement
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Research papers in education on 2 January 2018 available https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2017.1420816