| Abstract: | Reactions to the position paper (M. L. Simner; see record 1994-03519-001) approved by the Canadian Psychological Association on beginning reading instruction were received from 8 ministries (departments) of education. Despite widespread media and public support for the Association's claim that the level of phonics instruction in whole language is insufficient to meet the needs of many beginning readers, the majority of the ministries took issue with this claim. The present article clarifies the Association's stand by drawing attention to the differences between the phonics exercises that research shows should be employed in beginning reading instruction and the phonics exercises that teachers are being encouraged to employ as a result of the ministries' endorsement of whole language. Four additional measures are provided that the Association now asks the ministries to adopt to avoid having more children suffer the consequences of improper beginning reading instruction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
