Discusses studies that examine literature instruction in U.S. secondary schools. Examines studies of required book-length works, titles recently taught, the importance of book-length texts, sources of literary materials, and selections included in popular anthologies. Concludes that the curriculum as a whole remains relatively traditional in its…

This digest discusses the highlights of a study which surveyed (in 1988) the book-length works taught in high school English programs in public, parochial, and independent schools and then compared the survey results with results of a similar survey in 1963. The digest reports that the 10 titles most frequently taught in public, Catholic, and…

Describes the contradictory impulses embedded in the secondary English curriculum. Considers changing notions of the curriculum and recent trends in curriculum design and theory. Outlines the prominent features of successful curricula based on the concept of engendering coherent conversational domains. (HB)

Describes the lessons that can be learned from the recent history of assessment in the English language arts. Considers the possible future uses to which assessment might be put in the near future. Explores the assessment activities of the National Assessment of Educational Progress over the past several years. (HB)

Offers a 30-year retrospective on the evolution of a researcher and of the field of English teaching. Discusses the tradition of scholarship that seeks to ground its approaches to teaching and learning in the best of their understandings of language use and language learning, drawing broadly on rhetoric, linguistics, sociology, literary criticism,…

The typical approach to curriculum in the English language arts fits well with the traditional, content-centered approach to instruction. Such an approach to curriculum, however, is appropriate to a pedagogy that construes knowledge as fixed and transmittable but inappropriate to a pedagogy that views learning as constructed by the learner rather…

Considers how to keep students engaged in the disciplines of English--literature, composition, and language study--in an era of MTV, video games, and the Internet. Discusses ways of ensuring the cohesiveness of the curriculum and instruction. Suggests using diverse perspectives to deepen discussion and enhance learning. (SG)

Discusses the standards controversy as it relates to school curriculum. Discusses studying curriculum in action. Characterizes curriculum as a domain for conversation. Outlines four general principles for curriculum evaluation: quality of contributions to the conversation; quantity of material to be dealt with; relatedness of the contributions to…

In 1977, to determine current conditions in the teaching of English, a questionnaire was distributed from the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) headquarters to a selected sample of secondary schools. Four populations were chosen for study: schools that had participated in a 1968 study, schools that had consistently produced winners in…

A national survey was conducted to determine what book-length works are currently being taught in public, parochial, and independent secondary schools (grades 7-12). Department chairs were asked to list the works which all students, in any English class, study. Although the rank ordering differed somewhat in the three samples, the top 10 titles…

A study was designed to provide an initial context for framing the most pressing questions in the teaching of literature. To do this, the teaching of English in the high school classrooms of teachers whose departments were considered excellent by other professionals in education was examined. The issues that emerged in the programs with…