Terminologically Speaking, the Reading Wars

Abstract

Shared understanding of what words mean is critical for understanding and having meaningful discussion within professional circles and between the profession and the public. For over six decades, the term reading wars has been used in scholarship and popular media to describe debates about how to teach reading. In this article, the authors report findings from a terminological study of the term, including the first recorded use of the term, changing debates to which the term has referred over time, and ways the term has been used in a variety of media. The authors situate the term outside of the literacy field and urge literacy professionals to exercise caution when using the term.

Acknowledgments

We thank Tim Shanahan and Rob Tierney for their thoughtful feedback during the preparation of this manuscript.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).