The recent inclusion of texts by a range of Black British writers in GCSE English Literature syllabuses seems an attempt to rectify historical racial inequities in English curricula. In this paper, I argue that curricular change must move beyond diversity and inclusion initiatives towards anti-racist approaches where we "tell it how it…

In this paper, we report data from the first national survey of secondary Shakespeare teaching in the UK, conducted online in 2017-18 with a sample of 211 teachers distributed throughout Wales, England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. In this article, we outline the pedagogical practices which are dominant. Specifically, we examine the group of…

Teacher-researcher, Katherine Macro spent six weeks observing an eleventh-grade Advanced Placement and Composition class at Sunnybrooke Central High School to examine the teacher's use of creative drama to teach Shakespeare. In this article, Macro describes ways the instructor used theater-based instructional strategies, especially a staged…

After watching his fifth-grade son perform in "The Taming of the Shrew," Ben Lathrop realized that having learned the play through performance, his son found the experience enjoyable. Moreover, his acting decisions (movements, gestures, vocal inflections) demonstrated that he had at least some understanding of his lines, suggesting that…

In this paper, we report data from the first national survey of secondary Shakespeare teaching in the UK, conducted online in 2017-18 with a sample of 211 teachers distributed through England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. We report on what is taught and why. Our survey shows that the most popular play in the UK is "Macbeth,"…

This article presents the work of two female students in a rural school who were assigned to respond to a Shakespearean text with a Digital Video (DV) project. The study shows how the teacher provided students appropriate time, mediation, and space in allowing them to bring their out-of-school literacies and interests within an academic context.…

How can comedy be used as an effective tool and truly help innovate the learning experience? This paper outlines how aspects of comedy have been creatively integrated into primary and secondary academic curricula such as English Language Arts, social studies, drama, as well as in areas of mental health and wellness. The essay demonstrates, for…

This article provides guidelines for student investigation that address teaching and learning objectives for both the social studies and language arts. Building on historical inquiry methods, the authors advocate for Discipline-Based Art Education (DBAE) as a vehicle for this learning. Because the curricula in secondary English/language arts and…

"Playing With Dragons: Using Role-playing Games to Support Academic Objectives" explores how table role-playing games might positively impact the attainment of classroom learning objectives. This paper begins with an exploration of what a table role-playing game is, and compares it to educational theatre techniques, primarily process…

This article presents the reflections of a research team from the ZAPP-IKS project. ZAPP (the South African Poetry Project) undertook a three-year NRF-funded research project titled "Reconceptualising Poetry Education for South African Classrooms through Infusing Indigenous Poetry Texts and Practices". The research on which we report…

Drawing upon my own experiences as a high school English Language Arts teacher, I seek a satisfying response to offer students when they ask, "Why are we reading this?" Such a query often leads teachers and students to consider broader questions of the purposes of literature. This paper presents a hermeneutic exploration of the practice…

This essay explores the way that the social interactions of the classroom play a role in shaping sign production. It examines the talk of one second year Advanced Level English literature class in North London during their study of John Webster's "The Duchess of Malfi" through the lens of Volosinov's theories of language. It seeks to…

This case study examines the effects of collaborative, drama-focused activities on the cognitive understanding, social inclusion and empowerment of eight Year 8 students whilst studying "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Each student chose a leadership responsibility throughout their five project-based research lessons, and the majority of…

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to provide a detailed account of pre-service teachers' viewpoints on the use of tableaux as pedagogy to analyse short stories in secondary schools based on their exposure to the use of tableaux and their active participation in the process of tableau creation. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopted a…

The substitution, augmentation, modification, redefinition (SAMR) model offers a framework by which schools and teachers can implement digital tools through curricular design that encourages participatory learning. 21st Century students should be producing content and making meaning in educational settings with high levels of engagement and by the…