The Science of Reading – A Handbook, 2e

Provides an overview of state-of-the-art research on the science of reading, revised and updated throughout

The Science of Reading presents the most recent advances in the study of reading and related skills. Bringing together contributions from a multidisciplinary team of experts, this comprehensive volume reviews theoretical approaches, stage models of reading, cross-linguistic studies of reading, reading instruction, the neurobiology of reading, and more. Divided into six parts, the book explores word recognition processes in skilled reading, learning to read and spell, reading comprehension and its development, reading and writing in different languages, developmental and acquired reading disorders, and the social, biological, and environmental factors of literacy.

The second edition of The Science of Reading is extensively revised to reflect contemporary theoretical insights and methodological advances. Two entirely new chapters on co-occurrence and complexity are accompanied by reviews of recent findings and discussion of future trends and research directions. Updated chapters cover the development of reading and language in preschools, the social correlates of reading, experimental research on sentence processing, learning to read in alphabetic orthographies, comorbidities that occur frequently with dyslexia, and other central topics.

• Demonstrates how different knowledge sources underpin reading processes using a wide range of methodologies
• Presents critical appraisals of theoretical and computational models of word recognition and evidence-based research on reading intervention
• Reviews evidence on skilled visual word recognition, the role of phonology, methods for identifying dyslexia, and the molecular genetics of reading and language
• Highlights the importance of language as a foundation for literacy and as a risk factor for developmental dyslexia and other reading disorders
• Discusses learning to read in different types of writing systems, with a language impairment, and in variations of the home literacy environment
• Describes the role of contemporary analytical tools such as dominance analysis and quantile regression in modelling the development of reading and comprehension

Part of the acclaimed Wiley Blackwell Handbooks of Developmental Psychology series, the second edition of The Science of Reading: A Handbook remains an invaluable resource for advanced students, researchers, and specialist educators looking for an up-to-date overview of the field.

Margaret J. Snowling is Professor of Psychology and President of St. John’s College, University of Oxford. She is Fellow of the British Academy, Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. She is Past President of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading and served on Sir Jim Rose’s Expert Advisory Group on provision for Dyslexia. She was appointed CBE for services to science and the understanding of dyslexia in 2016.

Charles Hulme is Professor of Psychology and William Golding Senior Research Fellow at Brasenose College, University of Oxford. He is a fellow of the British Academy, the Academy of Social Sciences, and Academia Europea. He recieved the Marion Welchman International Award for Contributions to the study of Dyslexia from the British Dyslexia Association in 2019. 

Kate Nation is Professor of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of St. John's College. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. Her research concerned with language processing has been recognized by the British Psychological Society and the Experimental Psychology Society. She received the Celebrating Impact Prize from the Economic and Social Research Council in 2020.