This article examines the transformation of Australian EAL/D (English as an additional language/dialect) classrooms, transitioning from a monolingual focus on Standard Australian English (SAE) to embracing plurilingual and intercultural approaches in English language and literacy teaching and learning. Employing hermeneutic phenomenological and…

The power of the coloniser within colonial Australia is clear when we consider how central to the teaching and learning and schooling in Australia is the privileging of Standard Australian English. Prior to 1788, the peoples and the lands of this country were abound with languages. That was until the coloniser exerted their power and insisted on a…

Australia has recently moved from having curricula developed within individual states to national curricula, including in English. This move in Australia has coincided with debate over Michael Young's call for 'bringing knowledge back in'. English has historically been epistemologically unstable with an ever-contestable knowledge base, and this is…

As part of the "Bridging the Language Gap" project undertaken with 86 State and Catholic schools across Queensland, the language competencies of Indigenous students have been found to be "invisible" in several key and self-reinforcing ways in school system data. A proliferation of inaccurate, illogical and incomplete data…

Both James Britton and James Moffett were keynote speakers at the Sydney International Federation for the Teaching of English conference in 1980--a fact reflective of the wide recognition and acceptance of their work and influence throughout Australia by that time. In Victoria, Moffett's writings became known initially through teacher education,…

This essay focuses on the recent introduction by the Australian Federal Government of standardised literacy testing in all states across Australia (that is, the National Assessment Program--Literacy and Numeracy, or NAPLAN), and explores the way this reform is mediating the work of English literacy educators in primary and secondary schools. We…

Linguistics is a subject that has remained largely confined to the academy, rather than being integrated into school curricula. This is unfortunate but not surprising, as although some teacher education programs include courses on linguistics, it is not comprehensively integrated into teacher education, so it is largely absent from the curriculum.…

One of the key requirements of the Common Core State Standards for Reading is that all students must be able to comprehend texts of steadily increasing complexity as they progress through school. By the time they complete the core, students must be able to read and comprehend independently and proficiently the kinds of complex texts commonly found…

Presents a series of conversations with distinguished educator Brian Cambourne, recipient of the National Council of Teachers of English's Outstanding Educator award. Discusses learning to read, Cambourne's doctoral dissertation, why the conditions of learning are important, three categories of beliefs about "literacy," the politics of…

Elementary school teachers know that classroom experiences do not just happen, but reflect a teaching and learning program that synthesizes a host of contemporary, and sometimes competing, concerns. To be coherent a program is something of an art form. This book elaborates some programming approaches developed by expert practitioners around…

This book offers 19 articles, published between 1992 and 2002 by the Australian Literacy Educators' Association, that present diverse viewpoints related to literacy assessment and reporting practices. Following an Introduction, articles in the book are: "Understanding the Influences on Teachers' Judgments in the Process of Assessing and…

This compilation of one new article and 11 previously published articles from the Australian Literacy Educators' Association offers diverse perspectives on critical literacy. The articles explain the principles of critical literacy from a theoretical perspective, illustrate the comparative changes between theories of literacy development, detail…

The clamor to integrate computer-based technologies into curriculum generally, and language and literacy education specifically, is a hallmark of current education policy in many countries. A perceived need for education to keep pace and in "sync" with labor market needs is obviously an important part of the story. Technology and…

The book offers practical information for classroom teachers and teacher educators on effectively incorporating computer technology in the classroom. The book focuses on the change associated with the growing presence in educational institutions of the new communication and information processing technologies, which is most significant for…

The Australian term "fair dinkum" (meaning genuine, true, or real) in the title emphasizes the book's intention of providing thoughts and reflections on how to enhance the art and science of English teaching. Focusing on literacy, the book deals with action research or teaching theories that may suggest other strategies and further field…