This paper considers the research evidence-base informing teaching practice and policy in subject English in schools. We explore the "Australian Journal of English Education," the flagship research publication from the Australian Association of Teachers of English, at a time when an evidence-base is in high demand. Our aim is to…

Conflicting ways to understand the nature of paragraphs, including their purpose and structure, have been central to composition theory for many decades. Yet English teachers across countries are experiencing ongoing pressures to mandate a specific paragraph template. This article traces the contentious, binary history of paragraph theory and…

Secondary school English is shaped not only by complex institutional and discursive forces but also by the mundane reality of available resources. Among the resources used by teachers are commercial textbooks. Classroom textbooks can play a significant role in determining what gets taught in English lessons. They can also influence assumptions…

In this paper, we examine the ways in which the conceptualisation of literature and literary study encoded in the inaugural secondary school English syllabus in New South Wales (NSW), Australia can be seen to anticipate the conceptualisation so fervently enunciated in "The Teaching of English in England" -- the Newbolt Report of 1921.…

This note reports the results of a Delphi panel priority setting exercise for English education research. An initial item-generating survey of 75 English education academics and teachers worldwide was conducted; a thematic analysis of responses generated 31 potential priorities for future research. An adapted Delphi panel consisting of 44 English…

Drawn from an ethnographic study of spoken word poetry in Australia, this article offers case studies of two youth poets and follows their journeys with spoken word over three years as they performed in community-based slams, engaged with the New South Wales English Extension 2 curriculum, and served as mentor poets in culturally and…

Globally teachers are experiencing reductions to their autonomy and constraints on their professional practice through legislative impositions of limiting standards, external testing and narrowing curricula. This study explores the ways English educators find a balance between these external expectations, contemporary pressures, professional…

A comparative analysis of English in the primary curricula of England and Australia reveals markedly different policy perspectives of the functions and purposes of language, literacy and literature in these two Anglophone countries. Whilst the Australian curriculum incorporates 'the basics' with broader socio-linguistic views of language in an…

This article uses complexity theory's concept of 'shadow systems' to explore innovative ways of teaching Shakespeare, particularly "The Merchant of Venice." Using data drawn from observations at a secondary school in Sydney, Australia, and interviews with two secondary teachers, this article aims to consider how embracing ideas which…

The global neoliberal context and the emergence of new forms of 'governance by numbers' is now recognized as a ubiquitous educational phenomenon. In this context, large-scale assessments such as are used to justify marketised ideals of education that rely on comparison by numbers. In Australia, one of the key arguments for large scale standardised…

As well as maintaining the central role of literature, the new Australian Curriculum: English emphasises the multimodal nature of literacy and requires students in primary and secondary schools to develop explicit knowledge about visual and verbal grammar as a resource for text interpretation and text creation. This study investigated the use of…

Shows how the Genre Teaching Methods from Australia can be adapted to literature study in secondary English classrooms. Finds that the genres of Narrating, Describing, Explaining, and Arguing can be used to analyze specific features of literature analysis--plot, character, setting, theme, and style. Finds that modeling texts and providing…

Reports on a small research project in which nine teachers were interviewed about their experiences of teaching texts in senior English and literature classrooms in Australia. Finds that teachers stressed detailed knowledge of texts, the centrality of individual experiences as a reader, and the need for a rich and diverse range of classroom…

Identifies and examines the range of approaches to writing assessment that are influential in Australian classrooms. Highlights the emergence of critical literacy as an assessment project in the state of Queensland, discussing what is involved when writing assessment moves away from personal voice and individual growth concerns to a socially…

Presents current thinking and practices in Queensland, Australia, about how to do critical assessment in the English classroom. Proposes and discusses a framework that brings together interest in text analysis and social practices. Applies the framework showing how it can be used to generate writing tasks and assessment criteria that are…