Beyond phonemic awareness: What educational role for other phonological processes?

Abstract

A great deal of recent interest in finding ways of enhancing literacy outcomes across educational systems has been fuelled by demands for increasing accountability. Techniques and programs are being investigated intensively, both by governments through expert committees and through the research community. The findings of the National Reading Panel have resonated strongly and the intervention foci recommended have enjoyed unprecedented emphasis in reading program development. The strong emphasis on phonemic awareness as a precursor to the alphabetic principle appears to have been accepted as a fundamental element in beginning reading programs. There are other phonological processes that have been less stringently explored, such as rapid naming and working memory. They, too, may have educational implications, and their potential is explored in this paper.