Bridging the Gap Between Reading Science and English Language Arts Classrooms

Dear Colleagues,

Effectively teaching all children to read well remains a persistent and pressing global challenge. Despite decades of research and reform efforts, national and international assessment data continue to reveal troubling gaps in reading achievement, particularly among students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, multilingual learners, and students with disabilities. These challenges are often exacerbated by rising childhood poverty rates and systemic inequities in access to high-quality instruction.

The Science of Reading (SoR) represents a robust and interdisciplinary body of research examining how individuals learn to read and which instructional practices most effectively support skilled reading development. Grounded in cognitive science, linguistics, neuroscience, and educational psychology, the Science of Reading asserts that with appropriate instruction, resources, and support, nearly all children can develop strong foundational reading skills and the capacity for meaningful text comprehension. Central to this research base are instructional components such as phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

While the Science of Reading has gained considerable attention in education policy, teacher preparation programs, and professional learning contexts, its implementation within English Language Arts (ELA) classrooms remains uneven. Many educators continue to grapple with how to translate research-based principles into daily instructional practice, particularly within literature-rich, culturally responsive, and linguistically diverse classroom environments.

This Special Issue of Education Sciences seeks manuscripts that illuminate how findings from the Science of Reading have informed, influenced, or challenged English Language Arts instruction across K–12 settings. Collectively, this issue aims to bridge the gap between what is known from reading science and what is enacted in ELA classrooms, highlighting both promising practices and persistent challenges. We invite contributions that examine the alignment or disconnect between research-based reading practices and classroom implementation, with particular attention to diverse student populations, including children living in poverty, multilingual learners, students with disabilities, and other historically marginalized groups.

• Science of Reading and Science of Learning frameworks in ELA instruction
• Translational research connecting reading science to classroom practice
• Foundational reading skills within literature-based ELA instruction
• Vocabulary, background knowledge, and reading comprehension development
• Writing instruction within a Science of Reading framework
• Culturally and linguistically responsive approaches aligned with SoR
• Reading instruction for multilingual learners and students with disabilities
• Teacher preparation, professional learning, and instructional coaching
• Curriculum design, assessment, and intervention in ELA contexts
• Education policy and systemic implementation of the Science of Reading

Through this Special Issue, we aim to advance scholarly dialogue and practical insight into how evidence-based reading research can meaningfully shape equitable and effective English Language Arts instruction. By bringing together scholars, teacher-educators, and practitioners, this issue seeks to foster productive dialogue across research, policy, and practice in support of improved literacy outcomes for all learners.

Dr. Lisa Hale
Dr. Sally Busby
Dr. Laura Watkins
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the Special Issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.