Louise Rosenblatt's transactional theory of reader response has been widely accepted as a means of resisting the hegemony of New Criticism. This article argues that Rosenblatt and the New Critics were pioneers of parallel, rather than opposing, pedagogical traditions, shaped by the shared influence of I. A. Richards and John Dewey. The article…

This article reviews Margaret Meek Spencer's body of work in relation to the various policies that she critiqued from the Bullock Report in 1974 to the National Literacy Strategy in 2004. She analysed increasingly conservative moves to promote a dominant, elitist version of school literacy. A Critical Realist perspective aligns with Margaret Meek…

By the late 70s the "growth through English" slogan, derived from John Dixon's account of the Dartmouth conference, had become popular around Australia. In 1980 the Sydney IFTE conference featured several Dartmouth veterans; but during that conference, Dartmouth-linked ideas from overseas mingled with lines of local influence, especially…

Literature for children and youth has long played a pivotal role in growing students' literacy lives in schools. Fine literature, whether self-selected by students as choice reading or paired with teachers' thoughtful instruction, can launch students into personally meaningful and intellectually stimulating opportunities to read, respond,…

Due to increased demand for reading achievement nationwide, middle school English/Language Arts (ELA) teachers need instructional practices to promote literacy. Student reading practice (SRP) is supported by research as such an instructional reading practice. The purpose of this holistic multiple case study was to explain how and why middle school…

In the British "zone" of the English education world, which Australia largely inhabited throughout the 20th century, the key book that came out of Dartmouth was John Dixon's "Growth through English." Some in the British "zone" may not even be aware of the equivalent American book, Herbert Muller's "The Uses of…

This is discussion of one of Leo Tolstoy's fictional dramatisations of aggressive but dull-witted pedagogy. In "Anna Karenina," two adults badger a lively, deep-souled, active-minded boy, Anna's son Seryozha, to learn his rote-lessons.

Since its publication in 1921, "The Teaching of English in England," otherwise known as the Newbolt Report, has informed both the shape of English as a school subject and the discourse about the teaching of English in England. The 1960s saw the report as promoting a cultural heritage rooted in outdated social values; the 1970s explored…

With 1 in 59 children being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), odds are that students on the spectrum will be in many classrooms across every subject area. "Seeing the Spectrum" argues that secondary English teachers are uniquely equipped to prepare students with autism for future success, both in school and in life. Writing…

My article argues that the concept of "aesthetic learning" can be helpful for English teachers on two levels. First, it can be a useful identity for English teachers and students to adopt, based upon my own experiences as a secondary English teacher, creative writer and PhD student. Second, I argue that "aesthetic learning" is…

In addition to being one of the authors of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), David Coleman has become the Standards' "most visible advocate" (Smith, Appleman, & Wilhelm, 2014, p. 10) and one of their "most prominent and articulate promoters" (Rabinowitz & Bancroft, 2014, p. 4). In a talk titled "Bringing the…

This article presents research exploring the knowledge pupils bring to texts introduced to them for literary study, how they share knowledge through talk, and how it is elicited by the teacher in the course of an English lesson. It sets classroom discussion in a context where new examination requirements diminish the relevance of social, cultural…

Garth Boomer's thinking influenced many of those working in school English during the time he was alive. The ripple effects of his legacy continue to be felt. For the author, it is Boomer's interests in metaphor and meaning that resonate most. The use of tropes and figure is a distinctive feature of his writing and offers a rich…

This study explores the pedagogical approaches to internationalizing World Literature and English Composition courses at Albany State University, a small HBCU in Albany, Georgia. This attempt to internationalize the World Literature curriculum introduces, adds, and (re)positions strategically multimedia texts, such as "My Mother the Crazy…

Reacting to incoherent English teaching in the 1930s, Percival Gurrey probed the psychological processes involved in literary appreciation. He sought ways of teaching poetry that avoided lifeless tasks such as labelling "poetic devices." Later, in the 1950s, he wrote about the processes involved in learning to write. At a time when…