This paper reports on a desktop review study of undergraduate and postgraduate English studies (both English literature and English language) module offerings (n = 48) of 24 English departments at 17 South African higher education institutions (HEIs) conducted in 2017. The review focused on the presence and purpose of the term, decolonisation, in…

Value-added (VA) measures are currently the predominant approach used to compare the effectiveness of schools. Recent educational effectiveness research, however, has developed alternative approaches including the regression discontinuity (RD) design, which also allows estimation of absolute school effects. Initial research suggests RD is a viable…

Factors leading to successful professional learning communities (PLCs) have been widely discussed in the West, but little is known about how/whether teachers' beliefs contribute to PLCs in the Chinese context. This qualitative case study aimed to investigate teachers' beliefs about teacher learning in PLCs and their influence on collegial learning…

This article explores the question of where literary study happens through reflection on two case studies. The article examines projects within two UK English departments, which were designed to allow students of literature to engage with local communities as part of their studies. The implications of this work are considered for curriculum…

Despite many ELT experts' opinions that while teaching a foreign language one should not use the mother tongue in the classroom, new researches show that sparing use of the mother tongue can be effective for the L2 learners. It is true that the 6- year compulsory English education of the school graduates of Saudi Arabia is not quite up to the…

This paper describes an instance of continuing professional development and explores the contribution it might make to the ongoing international dialogue of professional development. It reviews the way features of the current debate on effective teaching, teacher learning and continuing professional development overlap and feed into each other and…

To help students meet the demands of society, the University of Houston is using the framework of learning communities and constructivism to create a cross-disciplinary approach to teaching to provide media-rich thematically linked courses to engage a diverse student population. A case study investigated three semesters of thematically linked…

Examines early impact upon secondary English departments of the primary National Literacy Strategy (NLS). Examines shifts over time in departmental policy and practice across the primary/secondary transfer that may relate to the impact of the primary NLS. Reports findings from interviews in four secondary English departments. (BT)

Expresses concern with the trend in K-12 education to subsume oral communication programs under the rubric of language arts in English departments. Uses California as a case study to examine whether English teachers are integrating speech communication into the English classroom. Finds that little direct instruction in communication principles and…

Describes a survey of the teaching faculty at the Citadel that examined how the English faculty compared to other faculty in their perceptions and use of library instruction. It is concluded that the findings may be used to support an integrated, across-the-curriculum approach to library instruction. The questionnaire used is appended. (12…

A survey of science and English teachers in 10 Scottish secondary schools indicated a complex relationship between a teacher's identity as a subject expert, subject department boundaries, and authority relationships. Teachers felt they had little influence on general school policies. (f=fiche numbers). (CP)