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…

This paper investigates the language of the 2009 NSW Stage 6 English Syllabus. I argue that the language of the syllabus aims to create two distinct subjects: Subject English, that is, what students learn; and the subject position of its students, that is, what students are expected to become. Analysis reveals themes of personal development and…

Learning community (LC) programs continue to proliferate across college campuses as a strategy to engage and retain students. Although evidence exists to suggest increased levels of social engagement among LC participants, there is an ongoing debate about the impact on student academic engagement and intellectual development. This article…

Wolterstorff's argument for art as a form of action that enables us to anticipate shalom and Ricoeur's concept of the narrative intelligence developed in the reader of stories are tested out in a freshman non-specialist English class where the interpretation of literature, covered by the power of prayer, fosters both intellectual and moral…

What disturbs teachers most is not students' ignorance about our culture and history, but their unwillingness or inability to think critically about subjects that ostensibly interest them. Teachers often exacerbate this problem by oversimplifying complex issues, using "defensive" or controlling teaching strategies, and squelching debate.…

Author, who is Professor of English at Chicago University, discusses some educational movements currently of controversy in England. (DR)

The purpose of this qualitative research was to understand the perceptions of Taiwanese teachers of the effects of a study group on their professional growth in the workplace. This case study employed the following data collection techniques: (1) informal observations and interviews, (2) focus group interview, (3) semi-structured individual…

The work of English specialists is taking place in a changing context, exemplified in a fusion of elements from new technology, personal growth, and critical theory. Rather than replacing the old with the new, English specialists are incorporating the best of the past with the most interesting and productive pedagogical implications of the…

Literature can play a prominent part in revitalizing the teaching of English because it can provide students with both immediate and future rewards. As an immediate reward, literature allows students to imaginatively experience situations which they have not yet encountered. It thus acts acts as a liberating force for young people from the…

This textbook of English Grammar presupposes a certain amount of previous training in the theory and practice of English, and its specific place in the curriculum is to be found in the advanced grammar grades of public schools, though the book is also suited to the wants of high schools and academies. The author would state in a single sentence…

CIVILIZED MAN'S HISTORY BEGAN WITH THE PROCESS OF GATHERING KNOWLEDGE AND, WHEN NEW KNOWLEDGE BEGAN TO CONFLICT WITH OLD KNOWLEDGE, THE DEVELOPING OF A CRITICAL AND QUESTIONING ATTITUDE. SINCE THE RENAISSANCE AND THE ENLIGHTENMENT THERE HAS BEEN A CONTINUOUS EROSION OF THE IDEA THAT EDUCATION AND THE POWER IT FURNISHES OVER SOCIETY ARE THE…

The 1966 National Council of Teachers of English Humanities Conference considered the place of the humanities in elementary and secondary education and the possible focus, content, and methods for presenting humanities programs. In this collection of papers given at the conference, leaders in various disciplines suggest the scope and magnitude of…

With the growing belief that any style of speaking and writing is as good as any other, English teachers must, on the one hand, admit the connection of so-called "correct" English with snob appeal, and, on the other, defend the intellectual and aesthetic superiority of clear, well-written English and learn to express contempt for circular…

Descriptions of suggested teaching procedures are given for each item in the "Reading Skills" sequence of the "Junior High School English Course of Study" (Los Angeles City Schools publication X-66). This information includes suggested diagnostic procedures such as standardized tests, observation of pupils, oral reading surveys, and silent reading…

The purpose of this publication is to help teachers identify the levels which children have attained in their thinking as they express their attitudes, values, and behaviors through oral language. Provided are (1) sample questions applicable to various maturity levels to enable teachers to gauge the level of difficulty of their classroom…