In light of an increased focus on the importance of soft skills to academic achievement and success later in life, educators are looking towards social-emotional learning (SEL) as a means for addressing the diverse needs of students. This qualitative study was aimed at understanding how secondary English Language Arts (ELA) teachers use literary…

Reacting directly to the fact that even the best syllabus is worthless to the student who does not read it, this essay draws inspiration from research of the past decade, especially from the learning-focused syllabus concept that was introduced by three researchers at the University of Virginia, and uses a questionnaire to gauge our community…

This paper explores the continued cultural consecration of narrow forms of knowledge and literate practice in senior Australian English curricula. Despite the prevalence of Personal Growth approaches to English throughout Australia in the latter decades of the Twentieth century, the analysis of curricula reveals a contradiction between stated…

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…

A national study of English teacher preparation in U.S. colleges and universities revealed that faculty address changes in content and context salient to English education, particularly curricular, demographic, political, and technological changes, through initiatives at both the program and methods course levels. Programs require many hours of…

This article begins by discussing the Australian Curriculum: English and its remit to contribute to this nation's reconciliation agenda. Ever cognisant of our individual identities as non-Indigenous teachers and teacher educators and our relations to this topic, we hone in on one Content Description from Year 10, and analyse one stimulus text, an…

Poetry, as a textual form for critical study and composition, continues to occupy a significant place in Australian senior secondary English syllabus documents and classrooms (cf. Carter, 2012). Indeed, within the senior secondary English syllabus in New South Wales (NSW), poetry remains one of the core mandatory types of texts for study by the…

"Am I a girl?" This question from a long-ago English class (quoted by Kennedy, 1983) illustrates what was once considered suitable practice for language learners. Over the decades, ideas for the content of a language lesson have reflected developing theories of second language learning and teaching. This essay draws on materials,…

This paper examines the King's Oxfordshire Assessment Project, which took place in the UK and explored the use of coursework as a means of terminal assessment. In particular, it considers the findings of the six English teachers who were involved. In a standards-based curriculum all six teachers supported 100% coursework. The paper looks at how,…

Virginia's "College and Career Ready English Performance Expectations" grade 12 capstone course contains high-interest contextualized content designed to give certain students an additional boost for competent and successful entry into college and careers. The course will add to students' preparation for critical reading, college and…

As is known, writing is an indispensable part of language education. As far as English Language Teaching Departments are concerned, writing courses, especially Advanced Writing Skills, are taken as a course of higher importance. However, forming a syllabus for Advanced Writing Course for English Language Teaching Departments is not an easy matter.…

Thirty-nine short courses in English are described by their originators. (JH)

Variations on Black Themes, an introductory course in the study of black literature, permits students to make cursory examination of representative works of many black writers for the purpose of identifying major writers and recurring themes. The course content includes: introduction to some works of major Black American authors; identification of…

This curriculum guide for the teaching of English at the eighth, ninth, and tenth grade levels is presented in two sections. The first section, "Junior Secondary English Language," includes: "General Statement"; "Specific Suggestions"; "Relation of Language and Literature"; "Outline of Courses--English…