Academic research and public debates: A media analysis of the proposed Australian Phonics Check

Abstract

This chapter engages with current public and political debates that advocate for one best method of teaching literacy. Such debates often surface in media coverage and give rise to negative public perceptions of literacy learning in schools. We use moves to introduce a Phonics Check into the early years of school in Australia as an example to think about whose voices are heard and come to matter in policy debates, and the impact of contemporary communications methods on policy debates. The policy suggestion has been billed as working toward the provision of important information about young children to their teachers, but has been critiqued for presenting nonsense words to young readers, and for ignoring the professional capacity of early years’ teachers in assessing and knowing what children can do and need, without the need for standardized tests. We examine this policy, which is part of a suite of policy initiatives that imbalance professionalism and prescription in schools in current times, through contemporary print and social media.