ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the main features of the reading component of the new English Curriculum and judges how far these will influence teaching and children learning to read. The nature of evidence on how children learn to read is explored. It is argued that research paradigms too often determine the research questions about reading rather than the reverse which should be the case. This situation causes problems in the English Curriculum when coupled with vested interests pulling in different directions. Much work remains to be done to hold the ground between the different tensions and avoid a wilful disregard for theories of learning and their reality in the classroom.
