Open research questions in Reading and Literacy Development
2,801 gap statements mined from Reading and Literacy Development papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 19,500 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.
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What the literature leaves open
The role of parafoveal processing in Chinese developmental dyslexia remains underexplored. There is a lack of understanding of how parafoveal orthographic, phonological, and semantic information contributes to Chinese sentence reading.
Parafoveal processing in non-phonetic Chinese reading: evidence from children with and without developmental dyslexia · 2026 · DOIThe study highlights the challenge of instructing spelling patterns in L2 contexts, including the need for learners to extract patterns and apply them to novel words. The study acknowledges the challenge of promoting cognitive processes crucial for L2 orthographic development, including active generation, error correction, transfer-appropriate processing, and desirable difficulties.
Retrieval practice with feedback facilitates the acquisition of English spelling rules and etymological knowledge in EFL learners · 2026 · DOIThe study aims to address this gap by examining the effectiveness of retrieval practice with feedback for learning English spelling rules and etymological knowledge.
Retrieval practice with feedback facilitates the acquisition of English spelling rules and etymological knowledge in EFL learners · 2026 · DOIThe study addresses the gap in understanding the association and dissociation of reading and spelling difficulties in Hungarian primary school children. The research explores the language-based abilities that explain the dissociation between reading and spelling. The study investigates the distinct relations of language-related cognitive predictors with reading versus spelling.
Associations and dissociations of reading and spelling in hungarian primary school children · 2026 · DOIMany innovations fail to reach the sustainability phase despite being initially effective. There is a lack of evidence-based practices in reading instruction. Prior studies have reported that teachers initially feel confident in adopting evidence-based practices but do not put them into practice more often.
How evidence-based innovations in reading instruction can be implemented sustainably—Mid- and long-term effects of a multiplier-based professional development programme · 2026 · DOIFuture research could investigate the specific training mechanisms of narrative interpretation. Future research could examine the long-term effects of the intervention.
Effects of a cognitive-poetics-based narrative intervention using British and American coming-of-age novels on children's executive function and psychological adjustment: a randomized controlled study · 2026 · DOICognitive-poetics-informed interventions have rarely been tested with rigorous longitudinal designs. The effects of narrative interventions on executive function and psychological adjustment in children are not well understood.
Effects of a cognitive-poetics-based narrative intervention using British and American coming-of-age novels on children's executive function and psychological adjustment: a randomized controlled study · 2026 · DOIMorphemes in Tagalog often lack a consistent surface form, making it challenging to track stable orthographic forms. The study had to create stimuli that are unambiguously nonwords, given the complex morphology of Tagalog.
Morphological analysis when morphemes are hard to detect: Evidence from infixation and reduplication · 2026 · DOIThe study highlights the need to investigate the general self-evaluation of reading skills among adults with low reading comprehension.
The Subjective Experience of Reading: State Anxiety Measured After a Reading Task, General Self-Evaluation of Reading Skills and Reading Skill Measurement · 2026 · DOICritical thinking has not been an explicit part of the educational curriculum in India. There is a lack of research on the role of critical thinking in reading comprehension. The study aims to fill this gap by investigating the potential contribution of critical thinking to reading comprehension.
Future studies could examine the effect of font and spacing on reading speed and comprehension in different age groups or populations. Future studies could investigate the impact of other formatting features, such as color or illustrations, on reading outcomes. Future research could explore the use of technology to provide personalized formatting for individual students.
There are few studies in the African context that consider linguistic interdependence. There is a lack of studies on the bidirectional influences of literacy skills in multilingual contexts.
An Investigation of the Cross-Language Transfer of Reading Skills: Evidence from a Study in Nigerian Government Primary Schools · 2024 · DOIThere is a lack of research on reading comprehension in children with SLD, especially in languages other than English. The study aims to fill this gap by investigating reading comprehension in Greek-speaking children with SLD.
Reading Comprehension and Linguistic Abilities of Children with and without Specific Learning Difficulties: Theoretical and Educational Implications · 2024 · DOITeachers reported that stopping current practices and providing intensive instruction would be challenging. Teachers identified lack of professional development support and resources as challenges to implementation. Teachers noted that initial teacher education programs need to do more to prepare teacher candidates.
The problem of reading comprehension at the university level has not been sufficiently explored in the field of education research, particularly considering affective variables. Research has been conducted from a cognitive perspective, without considering affective variables such as reading motivation and its relationship with linguistic and psychological variables.
Impact of Affective and Cognitive Variables on University Student Reading Comprehension · 2024 · DOIThe study notes that the design of the study may have limited the ability to detect significant effects for the form aspect of affix knowledge. The study highlights the challenge of measuring the indirect effects of affix knowledge via vocabulary breadth. The study notes the challenge of generalizing the findings to other populations and contexts.
Direct and Indirect Contributions of Three Aspects of Morphological Knowledge to Second Language Reading Comprehension · 2024 · DOIThe study did not investigate cross-linguistic influence. The study did not include word reading (a variable that may mediate form’s effect). The lack of information to compute reliability coefficients is not available from either test in the context of this study.
Direct and Indirect Contributions of Three Aspects of Morphological Knowledge to Second Language Reading Comprehension · 2024 · DOIThe study faced the challenge of establishing thresholds of vocabulary that need to be recognized for comprehension. The research had to address the complexity of features predicting word recognition, such as word length and age of acquisition. The study encountered the challenge of verifying the qualitative coding of lexical categories and morphological family membership.
The Presence and Progression of Rare Vocabulary in Texts Across Elementary Grades and Between Genres · 2024 · DOIThe current model of vocabulary selection in American reading education provides little support to educators on how to treat rare words in texts. There is a lack of research on the topic of thresholds of vocabulary required for automaticity and comprehension.
The Presence and Progression of Rare Vocabulary in Texts Across Elementary Grades and Between Genres · 2024 · DOIThe study aims to address the lack of research on the impact of Hebrew on the production of numerically-quantified phrases in Russian. The paper discusses the implications of the findings for the understanding of bilingual grammars and the factors that influence their development.
One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Once I Caught a Fish Alive: Numerical Phrases in Child and Adult Heritage Russian · 2024 · DOIInvestigate the effects of phonetic scaffolds on parafoveal processing in Chinese children. Examine the development of parafoveal processing in children with and without DD. Explore the relationship between parafoveal processing and reading fluency in Chinese.
Parafoveal processing in non-phonetic Chinese reading: evidence from children with and without developmental dyslexia · 2026 · DOINative Arabic speakers who had been studying in the USA for less than eight months were excluded from the study. No formal written tests of English proficiency were completed. The sample size was limited to 20 participants. The study only included young adult speakers of two languages, Arabic and English.
Comparing Measuring Methods for Speech Timing During Rapid Automatic Naming Tasks Using Arabic and English Bilingual Adults · 2024 · DOIInvestigating the relationship between reading and spelling in other languages, - Examining the predictive power of RAN and phonological awareness on reading and spelling in different age groups, - Developing interventions to improve reading and spelling skills based on the findings…
Associations and dissociations of reading and spelling in hungarian primary school children · 2026 · DOIThe study identifies the challenge of creating a more engaging and accessible learning environment for young readers. The researchers note the challenge of widening reading achievement gaps for children, particularly for minority children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Investigating the impact of implementing the recommendations on student reading outcomes, - Examining the effectiveness of different professional development opportunities for teachers, - Studying the role of school culture and school board priorities in supporting teacher…
Most-cited papers in Reading and Literacy Development
- Reciprocal Teaching of Comprehension-Fostering and Comprehension-Monitoring Activities · Cognition and Instruction · 1984 · 2,877 citations
- Decoding, Reading, and Reading Disability · Remedial and Special Education · 1986 · 2,877 citations
- A theory of reading: From eye fixations to comprehension. · Psychological Review · 1980 · 2,873 citations
- Toward a theory of automatic information processing in reading · Cognitive Psychology · 1974 · 2,327 citations
- Reading Acquisition, Developmental Dyslexia, and Skilled Reading Across Languages: A Psycholinguistic Grain Size Theory. · Psychological Bulletin · 2005 · 2,135 citations
- The simple view of reading · Reading and Writing · 1990 · 2,106 citations
- Specific reading disability (dyslexia): what have we learned in the past four decades? · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · 2004 · 1,871 citations
- Foundation literacy acquisition in European orthographies · British Journal of Psychology · 2003 · 1,861 citations
- Phonological recoding and self-teaching: sine qua non of reading acquisition · Cognition · 1995 · 1,732 citations
- Child Development and Emergent Literacy · Child Development · 1998 · 1,704 citations
Most recent work
- What children get overlooked? The distribution of teachers’ attention in early childhood education: a mobile eye-tracking study · Early Childhood Research Quarterly · 2026
- Dyslexia with and without developmental language disorder: Profile analysis · Annals of Dyslexia · 2026
- Effects and moderators of dialogic reading on children’s reading literacy: A three-level meta-analysis on studies from 2000 to 2025 · International Journal of Educational Research · 2026
- Resolving the mystery of Chinese developmental dyslexia: in search of predictors and early markers · Brain and Language · 2026
- Peer Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS-UK) Increases Reading Attainment, Oral Fluency and Comprehension: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial · Scientific Studies of Reading · 2026
- The effects of AI-based visual instruction on the reading comprehension of students with dyslexia in Saudi Arabia: a single-case experimental study · Frontiers in Education · 2026
- More than words: Effects of grammaticality and lexical surprisal in self-paced reading · Cognition · 2026
- Diglossia and Orthographic Complexity as Multiplicative but not Additive Challenges in Arabic: A Critical Review · Journal of Psycholinguistic Research · 2026
- The influence of text complexity on the relationship between syntactic awareness and reading comprehension · Learning and Individual Differences · 2026
- Unique longitudinal contributions of sulcal interruptions to reading acquisition in children · bioRxiv · 2026
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