RESEARCH ON THE GREAT DEBATE - CODE-ORIENTED VERSUS WHOLE LANGUAGE APPROACHES TO READING-INSTRUCTION

The ''Great Debate'' over code emphasis versus meaning emphasis in beg inning reading instruction is reviewed and relevant research is presen ted. That research clearly favors explicit instruction in alphabetic c oding that concludes that the incidental instruction provided by the w riting activities of whole language do not guarantee alphabetic unders tanding. The lack of acceptance and dissemination of these findings am ong whole language educators is contextualized within the conflicting paradigms of cognitive psychology and whole language beliefs derived f rom aspects of constructivism, hermeneutic phenomenology, and critical theory. Rather than abandon the debate to conflicting paradigms, an a ttempt is made to (a) disassociate instruction in alphabetic coding fr om the whole language criticism of teacher-directed drill-oriented typ e of instruction and nonauthentic assessment, and (b) challenge whole language educators to renew empirically based inquiry into the best me thods for helping children learn to read.