ABSTRACT The Science of Reading is a broad and evolving body of empirical research about reading processes, components, instruction, and assessment. Yet, the field of reading research is characterized by complexity and contention, encompassing diverse methodologies, emerging and shifting definitions, and questions regarding optimal approaches toward reading instruction. Adding to this complexity is the question of the extent to which reading science centers equitable instruction and asset‐based pedagogies—a question that is at the heart of this special collection. Building on previous special issues in Reading Research Quarterly from 2020 and 2021, authors of the seven included articles contribute to the reading research field in three ways. First, they forward instructional supports and novel frameworks for how instruction can be equitably enacted. Second, they consider limitations of contemporary conceptualizations of equity and reading. Third, they call for research that more explicitly centers students' unique cultures, languages, backgrounds, and contexts. This introductory article includes an overview of the special collection, along with a call for researchers to (a) explicitly name their epistemological and ontological perspectives to improve transparency, (b) closely scrutinize how reading science is mobilized within education policy, and (c) examine how the Science of Reading is interpreted, operationalized, and mobilized across international contexts to advance a more globally relevant understanding of reading development and instruction.
Hattan et al. (Thu,) studied this question.