Childrens Reading Problems: Psychology and Education

A surprisingly large number of otherwise ′normal′ children have problems learning to read, and these difficulties can produce disastrous consequences. Can we isolate the causes of reading problems? How can we best help backward readers? Peter Bryant and Lynette Bradley, in a trenchant and convincingly argued critique, show that many of the existing psychological explanations of reading problems are based on flawed research and on entirely inadequate evidence.

Preface. 1. What is the Problem?. 2. Getting the Evidence Right. 3. Is there a Deficit?. 4. Awareness of Sounds and Reading. 5. Does the Way Backward Readers Read and Spell Reflect the Way they Think?. 6. Dyslexia, Dyslexia′s. 7. Two Ways of Teaching Backwards Readers. 8. The Two Methods in Practice. Epilogue. References. Index.

Peter Bryant is Watts Professor of Psychology at the University of Oxford, and author of Perception and Understanding in Young Children . Lynette Bradley is Senior Research Officer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Oxford, and author of Assessing Reading Difficulties.

‘Every now and again, a book is published which radically redefines an important field. Less often, such a book is well written, easily read and therefore accessible to a wide range of interested readers. Just such a volume is Peter Bryant and Lynette Bradley’s Children’s Reading Problems …[It] illustrates the power of collaboration between psychology and education when theory is tested in the classroom and results challenge and shape the theory. The book will have a strong impact both on the quality of research and the practice of teaching reading – all this in less than 170 pages. I cannot recommend it too highly?’ – William Yule , Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry ‘This is a heartening and illuminating book. The authors, from the Department of Psychology in Oxford, write in a direct and good–humoured style and are aiming to reach parents and other professionals in addition to teachers and psychologists.’ – R. M. Harvey , Education <!––end––>