Presents a provisional framework for the STELLA (Standards for Teachers of English Language and Literacy in Australia), which identifies broad dimensions of teaching together with groupings of related attributes derived from teachers' narratives. (RS)

Comments on development of literacy "benchmarks" by the Commonwealth Government. Suggests that the benchmarks (1) will prove a highly productive discursive (and thus financial) context for some researchers, assessment organizations, and professional development teams; and (2) are a product of the melodrama of crisis, having no foundation…

Suggests that the big issues surrounding a project like STELLA (Standards for Teachers of English Language and Literacy in Australia) can be viewed in three dimensions: the doubt that literacy teaching can be reduced to a checklist; whether teaching is synonymous with "curriculum delivery"; and the best way to articulate the values of…

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)

Explores the issue of generic versus subject-specific standards in terms of their role in teachers' professional development. Suggests generic and subject-specific standards share a symbiotic relationship. Outlines a basis for a "third wave": some teachers may find at a particular stage in their career that generic standards are more…

Questions whether a framework such as STELLA (Standards for Teachers of English Language and Literacy in Australia) can capture the essence of what teachers do in the classroom. Addresses three animating passions which have informed and energized the author's work as a teacher: intensity, empathy, and gaiety. (RS)

Discusses an attempt by a group of Australian primary and secondary teachers to address the issue of school literacy practices during the transition years (Years 5-8). Suggests attempts to support student learning were both supported and circumscribed by the school context. Notes any notion of professional engagement to bring about lasting change…

Explores the professional and intellectual tensions in teaching English in recent times, focusing on Victoria, Australia. Argues that in the past few years all English teachers have been obliged to resist pressures toward reductive versions of literacy. Illustrates some specific literacy practices in secondary English classrooms which seek to…

Reviews "Constructing Critical Literacies" (1997), describing the various approaches of the main contributors to the book. Sets these selections against a critical literacy rubric which would equip children with literacy for active, autonomous, and democratic citizenship, and finds a qualified positive relationship. (NH)

Describes a teacher's use of videotape of a series of lessons to show that setting and negotiating assessment criteria with students was good practice. Discusses guidelines for enhancing standards of good teaching practice. Highlights this visual case model in the hope that colleagues will see its merits as a vehicle for articulating teaching…

Cautions that Year 3 and Year 5 Literacy Benchmarks, which set minimum literacy and numeracy standards for all Australian students, can measure but cannot transform student outcomes. Calls upon English professionals to put forth constructive suggestions for effective teaching methods that will enable students to reach the required goals. (NH)

Presents a selection of 21 brief (about two pages) narratives by primary and secondary teachers on STELLA (Standards for Teachers of English Language and Literacy in Australia) panels in Victoria and Queensland. Notes that each narrative describes a moment of "good" English/literacy teaching. (RS)

Discusses Margaret Gills's theory of two discourses operating in "the politics of literacy": (1) the discourse that stresses a broad ranging notion of literacy and warns against a narrow, functional definition; and (2) the discourse that argues that Australia is in the middle of a major literary crisis. Asks what problem the National…

Looks at what has been happening to the notion of being a "good" English teacher during a period when increasingly this has become a political and professional issue in England. Outlines the pattern of change for English teachers in England, including positive and negative outcomes of the last few years. Indicates what might be learned…

Presents brief essays by teachers of English in Australian primary and secondary schools in a bid to convey images of accomplished teaching. Introduction by Brenton Doecke, includes "Negotiating the Curriculum" (Lynne Collidge); "Year 7 Autobiographies" (Chris Melican); "Taking Ownership" (Cheryl Lawson);…