Reading Recovery was trialled and implemented in the 70s, based on Dame Marie Clay’s extensive research in the preceding years, while the ideology behind Whole Language was popularised in the 80s.
Clay acknowledged that children enter school having learned different things in different ways in different cultures and communities. In its purest form, the Structured Literacy approach expects that all children will learn to read by progressing through the same predetermined set of phonics decoding exercises - but even its most ardent supporters accept that not all children learn in the same way.
Whether a school chooses to adopt Reading Recovery or some other intervention programme is not the point. All children have a right to be taught in ways that are individually relevant and meaningful. This involves close observation and analysis of their strengths and needs, a basic tenet of Reading Recovery and, one would hope, of any pedagogically sound approach.
Reading Recovery has always included letter recognition and the development of letter-sound relationships.
The extent to which this occurs in an instructional session is determined by the needs of the learner. If a child does not understand basic concepts about print, for instance that print conveys meaning and that we read with left to right directional movement, there will be a different starting point.
The Structured Literacy devotees will be quick to point out the impressive progress children are making with this approach. Of course.
In educational parlance, it’s known as “the halo effect”. If teachers believe in a programme and implement it rigorously, overall, learners will show growth. Back in the day when we believed in it, I recall Reading Recovery students who made phenomenal progress.
And also a few children who didn’t. Research reveals that in any literacy approach, for a complex variety of reasons there will always be a proportion of learners who do not respond well.
Becoming literate begins long before children enter formal education, and progresses in ways and at a rate that is influenced by individual factors. These, in combination with the pedagogical understanding and professional expertise of the teachers, should be the basis for any literacy approach.
There are parts of the world where those who wield political power mandate what must be rejected and what, when, how, and for how long teachers will teach various subjects. Here in New Zealand, we used to pride ourselves on having an education system that was free from such political interference.
It’s time to declare peace and resource the professionals to get on with developing instructional approaches appropriate for the needs of the children in front of them.
Patricia Fenton is a writer and educator who lives in Whangarei. She began her career in New Zealand with teaching, Reading Recovery and administrative roles before venturing into international education, working in schools around the globe as a teacher, literacy specialist and administrator. Subsequently she was appointed to the International Baccalaureate Organisation with responsibility for curriculum publications, professional development workshops and school evaluation processes.
