Big Ideas Are the reading wars really over?
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Sep 8, 2025 In this insightful discussion, Jenny Donovan, CEO of the Australian Education Research Organisation and a champion for evidence-based education, tackles the critical literacy crisis facing Australian schoolchildren. She emphasizes the shift towards explicit instruction methods and their potential to improve reading proficiency. Topics include the necessity of proper teacher training, educational inequality across socioeconomic regions, and the push for cohesive policies that support effective teaching. Donovan advocates for bridging the gap between research and classroom practice.
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Make Foundational Knowledge Nonnegotiable
- Prioritise a knowledge-rich curriculum with reading, writing and automatic maths facts as foundations.
- Build systems so teachers teach these foundations consistently and students progress to higher-order skills.
Rapid Policy Shift Across States
- Several states have shifted policy to mandate explicit teaching and provide resources and professional learning.
- Systems now produce materials, audits, and revised syllabuses to align practice with evidence.
Federal Levers: ITE And Funding
- The federal government can influence reform via initial teacher education and funding levers.
- Ministers agreed to revise ITE core content to include cognitive science and effective pedagogy.
