Borrowing the title of Raymond Williams' famous study, the following reflections--sometimes collective and sometimes individual--are based on a series of "Keywords", specifically: "fear", "community" and "creativity". By reflecting on the meanings these words have for us today, we attempt to capture their dialogical character, posing them as sites…

Presents five autobiographical narratives, written by English Method student teachers at Monash University, which explain why they have chosen to become English teachers. Narratives are: "Unpaused" (Silvia Ercole); "Just Add Water" (Janet McCutcheon); "No Second Chances" (Kathleen Noone); "Inspiration" (Elise Pannan); and "Starting Points:…

Discusses implications of the issues of continuity and discontinuity, commonality and difference, congruity and paradox as they engage the research team, the industry partners, and the teachers around Australia who constitute the STELLA (Standards for Teachers of English Language and Literacy in Australia) project. (RS)

Borrowing the title of Raymond Williams' famous study, the following reflections--sometimes collective and sometimes individual--are based on a series of "Keywords", specifically: "fear" "community" and "creativity". By reflecting on the meanings these words have for us today, we attempt to capture their…

In 1998, the Australian Research Council provided funding for a three year research project to develop professional standards and assessments for the English teaching profession. The project team is a consortium of researchers from three major universities together with the two national English teaching associations and representatives from state…

This paper looks at recent debates about text selection and censorship in Australia. Its aim is to point beyond the terms in which the censorship debate has been conducted in the mass media, and to prompt reflection on how texts are used in English classrooms. The paper raises questions of language and cultural identity in secondary English…

Presents six brief (about one page) narratives by primary and secondary teachers arising from STELLA (Standards for Teachers of English Language and Literacy in Australia) workshops and interpretive discussions. Notes that each narrative describes a moment of "good" English/literacy teaching. (SG)

Gives an account of Gail Reynolds's experience in administrating the DART (Developmental assessment resource for teachers) and AIM (Achievement improvement monitor) tests at her school. Reflects on how the test results compared with her own judgments of the literacy abilities of individual students in her class. Offers four case studies that draw…

This paper draws on research that has recently been conducted in Australia on the possibility of formulating professional standards for teachers of English in primary and secondary schools. English teachers around the country have played a vital role in the project, writing stories in an effort to capture "accomplished" English teaching,…