Science of Reading Discourse: Taking Action to Resist Limiting Effects

• In Event: Friday Roundtable Session 7:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Exploring the Discursive Intersections of Pedagogy, Policy, and Power (Table 39)

Abstract

The authors consider how science of reading discourse limits the emancipatory powers of literacy in elementary classrooms. Grounded in an analysis of relevant literature and based on lived experiences, we are deeply concerned that policies believed to align with SOR are codifying test-centric literacy practices in intractable ways through the use of prescribed curricula. We call for a two-part agenda wherein critical literacy scholars and educators adopt an expansive view of literacy beyond what is proclaimed in SOR discourse through the purposeful use of language in conversations, research publications, and classrooms; while simultaneously restoring trust in teachers so that they may be responsive to the array of literate practices their students enact.

Authors

• Emily Yerkes, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Stefanie Santella, Adams 12 Five Star Schools