Literacy is an essential component of any elementary-school classroom. To address shifting understandings of literacy and how to teach it, Alberta has developed a new language-arts curriculum. This curriculum, however, was developed in a context where schools have a long history of not serving Indigenous children well, including not meeting their…

As the demographics of the Australian population changes, it is essential for the public education system to not only cater for the needs of the new community groups that form but also to help ensure that education is used as a vehicle to facilitate social harmony, understanding and equality. The link between disadvantaged and marginalised…

Suzanne M. Kauer believes we must honor all voices in the discussion of what books students should read; she refuses to simplify the issue of censorship by dismissing the multifaceted concerns parents have for saying no to certain books. Kauer advocates doing more listening--asking parents questions to better understand their perspectives--and…

Aims to conceptualize issues of text selection and censorship in different terms from those in which it has been constructed by Australian media. Asks how texts get used in classrooms and about the nature of classrooms as sites for negotiating issues of meaning and value. Argues for a culturally inclusive curriculum that is responsive to students'…

Four very general questions concerning the objections that have been lodged against specific pieces of literature and the place of controversial material in textbooks for secondary students were responded to by 15 Tennessee teachers. (JC)

The English curriculums of the 10 Canadian provinces reflect in differing degrees contemporary language concepts and scholarship. One of the most enlightened curriculums lauds the thinking that the teaching of English should move closer to the realities of modern living. Indeed, the English programs are under revision in all provinces, and among…

Summarizes a study involving three high school English teachers' efforts to integrate multicultural literature into the curriculum. The analysis, highlighting teachers' concerns and decisional influences, argues that teachers must not only select multicultural texts, but they must change their notions of what counts as a text and how they…

Considers what happens to teachers and the curriculum when the philosophical and theoretical bases of subjects to which they are committed undergo significant change. Explores patterns of text choice for 9 teachers across 3 years. Finds all teachers were challenged into rethinking their views of literature. (SC)

The background of the Kanawha County, language arts textbook controversy is described, and several factors are examined as possible precipitating elements in the controversy. The major actions, reactions, and occurrences in Kanawha County from April 1974 to April 1975 are reported, and various sources are used to document positions taken by…

Presents opposing views concerning the effects of the publishing industry on the English curriculum. (JL)

Outlines selection principles that should govern the selection of textbooks for the English classroom. (HOD)

Examines the recent call for English departments to recognize literature that falls outside the British and American tradition. Suggests that we recognize English as a world language and choose books to teach accordingly. (JC)

Argues that a critical area in the advancement of literacy is the production of textbooks that reflect recent insights on language and discourse. Examines procedures by which textbooks are reviewed and produced and suggests guidelines for the establishment of rational criteria for textbook production. (FL)

Budget cuts and textbook availability problems precipitate an English department chairperson's remembrance of the English curriculum as it was in the past. (RL)