Science of Reading Policies: International Impacts and Impressions - Why are you rushing this minister? Imposing an Aotearoa New Zealand strain of the science of reading

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dawugda

Publicised claims of young people’s low literacy rates in international assessments raise concern among parents, teachers, and policymakers in Aotearoa New Zealand. When crisis narratives dominate, policymakers often import solutions from other contexts. Using an illustrative case study, the article traces how diffusion of international literacy policies informed by the science of reading has become a specific policy strain: structured literacy. It combines Foucauldian discourse analysis with rhetorical tools to examine framing and potential effects across government statements, grey literature, and media articles.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages26

Reading Time1 h 6 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Keywords

Main Article Focus

Policy diffusion and structured literacy

Discourse and rhetorical analysis

Science of Reading Policies: International Impacts and Impressions education policy analysis archives A peer-reviewed, independent, open access, multilingual journal Arizona State University | Volume 33 Number 77 | November 11, 2025 | ISSN 1068-2341 | | --- | --- | --- | “Why are you rushing this minister?” Imposing an Aotearoa New Zealand Strain of the Science of Reading Susan Sandretto Ōtāko Whakaihu Waka/University of Otago Aotearoa/New Zealand & Rebecca Jesson Waipapa Taumata Rau/University of Auckland Aotearoa/New Zealand Citation: Sandretto, S., & Jesson, R. (2025) .“Why are you rushing this minister?” Imposing an Aotearoa New Zealand strain of the science of reading. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 33(77). [https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.33.8710](https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.33.8710) This article is part of the special issue Science of Reading Policies: International Impacts and Impressions, guest edited by Danielle Dennis and Rachael Gabriel. Abstract: Publicised claims of young people’s low literacy rates on international assessments concern parents, teachers, and policymakers in Aotearoa New Zealand (ANZ). Policymakers often turn to policy solutions from elsewhere when faced with crisis narratives. In this illustrative case study, we have captured a particular moment in ANZ as the diffusion of international literacy policies informed by the science of reading (SOR) has morphed into a particular policy strain: structured literacy. Policy diffusion captures the movement of policy across borders, grounded in assumptions that ‘best practices’ transfer equally from one context to another. Drawing on discourses from the SOR movement, intermediary associations in ANZ wield grey literature in public media spaces to persuade politicians, teachers, and the public to take up imposed policy. In this article, we combined a Foucauldian-informed view of discourse with the classic rhetorical tools of persuasion (ethos, pathos, logos, and kairos) to analyse a sample of government literacy policy statements, grey literature, and media articles to critically consider how the contest was framed for the public and teachers and its potential effects. Keywords: science of reading; discourse analysis; rhetorical analysis; policy diffusion; Aotearoa/New Zealand “¿Por qué se apresura con esto, ministro?” Imposición de una variante neozelandesa de la ciencia de la lectura Resumen: Las afirmaciones difundidas sobre los bajos niveles de alfabetización de los jóvenes en evaluaciones internacionales preocupan a padres, docentes y responsables de políticas en Aotearoa Nueva Zelanda (ANZ) . Frente a narrativas de crisis, los responsables políticos suelen recurrir a soluciones adoptadas en otros países. En este estudio de casoilustrativo, capturamos un momento particular en ANZ en el que la difusión de políticas internacionales de alfabetización, informadas por la Ciencia de la Lectura (SOR, por sus siglas en inglés) , ha evolucionado hacia una variante específica de política: la alfabetizaciónestructurada. La difusión de políticas se refiere al movimiento de políticas a través de fronteras, basado en suposiciones de que las “mejores prácticas” pueden transferirse de un contexto a otro por igual. A partir de los discursos del movimiento de la ciencia de lalectura, asociaciones intermediarias en ANZ utilizan literatura gris en medios de comunicación públicos para persuadir a políticos, docentes y a la sociedad en general deadoptar una política impuesta. En este artículo, combinamos una visión del discurso inspirada en Foucault con herramientas retóricas clásicas de persuasión (ethos, pathos, logos y kairos) para analizar una muestra de declaraciones gubernamentales sobre políticas de alfabetización , literatura gris y artículos de prensa, a fin de reflexionar críticamente sobre cómo se enmarcó el debate ante la opinión pública y los docentes, y sus posiblesefectos. Palabras clave: ciencia de la lectura; anális

FAQs

What policy shift does the article examine in Aotearoa New Zealand?

It examines how international science-of-reading–informed literacy policies diffused into a particular policy strain: structured literacy.

Why do policymakers in the case study context often look abroad for solutions?

They often turn to policy solutions from elsewhere when faced with crisis narratives about literacy.

How do the authors analyze government and media materials in the study?

They combine a Foucauldian-informed view of discourse with classical rhetorical persuasion tools (ethos, pathos, logos, kairos) to analyze government statements, grey literature, and media articles.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dawugda