Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Closing The Gap Between Research And Practice : Foundations For The Acquisition Of Literacy., Molly De Lemos

Literacy and Numeracy

Over the years two main approaches have emerged in the teaching and learning of reading and writing. One is the 'whole language' approach; the other concentrates more on instruction in phonics. This paper focuses on the theoretical assumptions underlying these two approaches to the teaching of literacy, and the studies which have been undertaken, in the international arena, to find out how children progress, from their earliest educational years, in attaining both initial reading skills and lifelong literacy.