How to teach reading is a question that's not as straightforward to answer as it might seem.

Debate around literacy teaching techniques has raged for years, mainly focusing on the merits of phonics. But literacy is not confined to phonics and vast amounts of research has been conducted into all its aspects. So to mark World Book Day, we've rounded up some of the key pieces of research on literacy over the last decade.

Parents need to get involved early in children's literacy

The University of Florida found that the earlier parents become involved in their children's literacy pr... and the longer lasting the effects.

Ofsted inspector advocates phonics

Jim Rose, Ofsted's former director of inspection, led an independent review of early years reading in 2006. The Rose Review was an influential piece of research in that one of its key recommendations was for phonics to be taught "discretely" as th...to read and write.

Australian government backs phonics

In 2005, the Australian government conducted a review of literacy research and found phonics to be essential for teaching reading. "Systematic instruction in phonics makes significantly greater contributions to children's initial and subsequent growth in reading, writing, spelling and comprehension, than alternative approaches involving unsystematic or no phonics instruction."

Reading for pleasure is given the limelight

Largely in response to the Rose Review, the National Literacy Trust commissioned a body of research into reading for pleasure. Researchers Christina Clark and Kate Rumbold reviewed the literature and found a rise in research that emphasises the importance of reading for pl.... The paper highlights that while the trend towards phonics is very important, reading for pleasure is also crucial to literacy.

Literacy as a predictor of employment

In 2006 The National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy found that literacy (and numeracy) skills play an important part in terms of e.... Researchers John Bynner and Samatha Parsons found that men and women with poor literacy had the lowest levels of full-time employment at the age of 30. Nearly three quarters (70%) of men with poor literacy and/or numeracy were in manual jobs, compared with 50% of those who were competent in both.

Children need reading role models

The National Literacy Trust looked into the importance role models play in literacy in 2008. The research found that role models are associated with psychological wellbeing, and educat.... It also highlighted the importance of parents as role models for children's reading development: "Children who come from richer home literacy environments where parents and other family members model reading activities show higher levels of reading knowledge and skills at the start of nursery and throughout primary school."

Literacy as a route out of child poverty

Research from Harvard in 2011 found that family involvement in school work made the most impact of children ....