June Russell Gilstad
June Russell Gilstad | |
|---|---|
| Died | June 28, 2025 |
| Residence | Kokomo, IN, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | History of education reforms, General Interest |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Reading education, Educational research methodology |
June Russell Gilstad (born c. 1928 – died June 28, 2025) was an American educational researcher and reading-education scholar based in Kokomo, Indiana. Her work focused on the history and methodology of research into reading instruction, and she is remembered for critical analyses of the assumptions and methods underlying reading-instruction studies.
Biography
Gilstad lived for many years in Kokomo, Indiana, and had roots in Minnesota, where she was interred. She completed doctoral study in education, examining competing theories of reading instruction, and pursued a career as an educational researcher, writer, and consultant. She died on June 28, 2025, at the age of 97.
Work
Gilstad's scholarship examined how reading instruction has been studied and reformed over time, giving particular attention to the logic, principles, and criteria that ought to govern historical and empirical research in the field. Her 1974 doctoral dissertation, Two theories of reading instruction and their significance for reading research, contrasted differing theoretical frameworks and their implications for how reading is investigated.
In subsequent articles she applied a critical, methodological lens to the reading-research literature. A 1979 paper offered a critical examination of a published study on teachers' ability to discriminate among phonic generalizations, questioning its research methodology and reasoning. Her 1981 article "Methodology of historical research of reading instruction: Principles and criteria" set out grounds for evaluating historical studies of reading instruction. In 1985 she published a biographical essay on William S. Gray (1885–1960), the first president of the International Reading Association, in Reading Research Quarterly.
Selected publications
- Gilstad, June R. (1974). Two theories of reading instruction and their significance for reading research (doctoral dissertation).
- Gilstad, June R. (1979). "A critical examination of Fusaro's study of teachers' ability to discriminate among phonic generalizations of varying degrees of utility." Reading World.
- Gilstad, June R. (1981). "Methodology of historical research of reading instruction: Principles and criteria." Reading World.
- Gilstad, June R. (1985). "William S. Gray, 1885–1960: First IRA President." Reading Research Quarterly.