This article takes up questions about knowledge and the school curriculum with respect to literary studies within subject English. Its intention is to focus on literary studies in English from the context of current waves of curriculum reform, rather than as part of the conversations primarily within the field of English, to raise questions about…

Evidence from a recent study of English teaching in three London schools in the post-war era suggests that changes to curriculum and pedagogy, commonly attributed by historians to the 1960s, were well underway in the 1950s. Major changes associated with "New English" occurred when teachers began taking the lives and experiences of their…

In this essay I explore the constraints and opportunities confronting me as a newly qualified teacher and how these affect my pedagogy. I have reflected on my own development from beginning to newly qualified teacher and considered how such forces have shaped my identity as a teacher, my values and my approach to the job. As part of my exploration…

Describes the controversy over the role of literature in the school curriculum which followed the publication of "An Experience Curriculum in English" in 1935. (DD)

An attitude questionnaire completed by 60 British teachers of English and a media education survey completed by 20 of them indicated they do not agree that the national curriculum should be revised by returning to narrow prescriptions and dropping media education. Teachers support a broad-based approach including personal response and critical…

Argues that (1) even the most radical critics of departmental structures are committed to the perpetuation of English departments and, therefore, will adopt, regardless of potential contradictions, the professional discourse that validates them and (2) that this will be done even though the Babel of contemporary critical discourse makes a…

In response to George Levine's argument that the more things change the more they remain the same, the author considers three measures that would promote the value of literary study. (HOD)

Expresses concern over the possible exclusion of literature from the English curriculum in Australia, arguing that through literature, students are able to reason, imagine, and speculate about the tension between the needs of the individual and the needs of society. (HOD)

Argues for the development of new literary texts and for the development of new and appropriate literary theories to teach these texts. (HOD)

Argues against the bureaucratic, mechanical language currently used to discuss the teaching of English. Concludes that only through a renewed focus on literature will students learn to write clear, meaningful, and imaginative prose. (ARH)

Claims commonly held beliefs are 1) that English Education should reflect industrial needs, 2) that the role of literature should be diminished, and 3) that norm-referenced exams are an important evaluative measure. Warns that a national curriculum based on this current popular thought could be destructive to public education.(AH)

Examines the sociolinguistic and structuralist traditions of English teaching in Great Britain. Suggests a curriculum systhesizing elements from these two traditions and a progressive/arts tradition. (ARH)

Discusses changes in teaching English since the Dartmouth Conference. Discusses issues in education in the mid-l960s; the second international conference at York University in England; the third international conference at Sydney, Australia; and the l984 international seminar at East Lansing, Michigan. (EL)

To avoid the demise of adolescent literature, educators must revise their way of thinking to include a great many paperback media tie-in books in the English curriculum. Among the possible reasons many teachers have thus far neglected media tie-ins are their beliefs that the tie-ins are inferior literature or that they are just another gimmick.…