1. The Rise of English From the 19 th Century to the 2011 National Curriculum rewrite

2. Aims To reflect on key moments in the development of subject English Objectives Know some of the key factors that have influenced the current secondary English curriculum

3. The value of knowing the history of education ‘can do much to help us understand how the present education system has come about….it can also show how and why educational theories and practices developed. It enables educationalists to use former practices to evaluate newer, emerging ones’ Cohen L., Manion L., and Morrison, K (2007) Research Methods in Education. ‘things have not always been as they are and need not remain so’ Simon, B (1991) Education and the Social Order

4. The Rise of English The Nineteenth Century : Arnoldian View; English as a civilising agent Utilitarian approach – educating, to an extent, a workforce A form of social control? (see Eagleton, Literary Theory: An Introduction)

5. The Rise of English Early Twentieth Century: Becomes a required school subject (1904) ‘Civilising agent’ as seen in Circular 753 (1910): ‘Literature supplies the enlarged vocabulary which is the mechanism of enlarged thought and for want of which people fall back helplessly on slang, the base coin of language. Pure English is not merely an accomplishment, but an index to a formative influence over character.’ Literature, essentially, didn’t include novels in this definition.

6. The Rise of English The Teaching of English in England (1921) (The Newbolt Report) ‘Progressive Ideas’: student centred teaching Class discussions, drama work Peer marking/criticism Value of oral work Critical of over emphasis on spelling, punctuation and grammar All teachers are teachers of English

7. The Newbolt Report Traditional Views: ‘The great difficulty of teachers in many districts is that they have to fight against the evil habits of speech contracted in home and street. The teacher’s struggle is thus not with ignorance, but with a perverted power.’ On the working class’ attitude to literature: ‘agnostic to, and contemptuous of literature…. A subject to be despised by really virile men….to be classed by a large number of thinking working men with antimacassars, fish-knives and other unintelligible and futile trivialities of ‘middle-class culture’

8. The Rise of English The 1930s The Spens Report (1938) Continuing view of English as civilising; a legacy to hand on Spoken English ‘slovenly, ungrammatical and often incomprehensible to a stranger’ ‘Teachers….struggle against the popularisation of the accents of Hollywood. The pervading influences of the hoarding, the cinema and a large section of the public press are subtly corrupting the taste and habits of the rising generation’

9. The Rise of English The Influence of Leavis The rise of practical criticism Different practice – similar philosophy (the Great Tradition), similar view on popular culture

10. The Rise of English Emerging Themes Establishment of a canon of works that embody timeless values Such works have a humanising effect Students should appreciate, not criticise, great literature Working class language is ‘corrupt’ Exposure to fine writing will enable students to use standard English Popular culture is a ‘corrupting’ influence ‘The Cambridge School’

11. The Rise of English Post-War English The rise of the ‘London School’ (London Day Training College/Institute of Education, London Association for the Teaching of English) Associated with bigger educational shifts – the rise of comprehensives, mixed ability teaching, raising of school leaving age, CSE, coursework assessments, multi-cultural education, anti-racist, anti-sexist agenda Looking at English in use; valuing individual’s dialects; seeing language as core to personality, personal growth and development. Key moment the 1966 Dartmouth Conference, and John Dixon’s Publication from this Growth Through English A focus on links between language and thought, leading to James Britton’s influential text Language and Learning, the ‘discovery’ of Vygotsky Valuing diversity Key figures: James Britton, Douglas Barnes, Harold Rosen, Nancy Martin. Characterised as ‘progressive’, ‘slack on standards’, ‘neglecting basics’, etc… one of the targets of the ‘Black Papers’, which led to the Bullock Report.

12. The Rise of English A Language for Life (1975) The Bullock Report Saw complexities of English/language teaching Reinforces language and literature Condemns decontextualised study of grammar Promotes talking and writing Raises ideas about language across the curriculum Reaffirms the idea that all teachers are teachers of language

13. The Rise of English – The Age of Centralisation 1980s, 1990s, 2000s – The Rise of the National Curriculum and the Key Stage 3 Framework Kingman Report (1988) – ‘to recommend a model of the English language …..which would serve as the basis of how teachers are trained to understand how the language works’ Failed to recommend ‘formal’ grammar teaching Foreshadowed the LINC (Language in the National Curriculum) project English in the National Curriculum 5 – 16 (The Cox Report) (1989) English in the National Curriculum 5 – 16: Revised Orders (1993) English in the National Curriculum (1994) National Curriculum for English (1999) National Curriculum for English (2008) The National Literacy Strategy (Key Stages 1 and 2) (1997) The Key Stage 3 English Framework (2000) A range of reports from OFSTED (notably on Boys and English), and Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) on Boys, and on Grammar Teaching English 21 Revised National Curriculum Orders (implemented from September 2013)

14. The Rise of English Essential Features of the Cox Curriculum (1989) Lengthy rationale, discussion of place/status of Standard English, range of reading including multi-cultural texts, media texts. Established place for drama. Five ‘views’ of English teaching: –Personal growth – focusing on relationship between language/learning and role of literature in developing the imagination –‘Cross-curricular’ – emphasis on the fact that all teachers are teachers of language –‘adult needs’ – English as preparation for the working world and life beyond the school –‘Cultural heritage’ – responsibility to introduce students to finest works of literature –‘Cultural Analysis’ – the role of English in helping students towards a critical understanding of the world in which they live

15. More Key Features of the Cox Curriculum Division of English into three Attainment Targets: AT1 Speaking and Listening, AT2 Reading and AT3 Writing A programme of study for each attainment detailing range and breadth of experience 10 Level scale for each AT showing continuity/progression Used the ‘Key Stages’ – –Key Stage 1 – Year 1-2; (5-7) –Key Stage 2 Year 3-6; (7-11) –Key Stage 3 – Year 7-9; (11-14) –Key Stage 4 Years 10-11 (14-16) Fundamental in bringing a degree of standardisation to Departmental schemes of work Content not pedagogy (what, not how, to teach) Almost immediately called to be reviewed, deemed to be weak on Standard English, phonics, ‘suitable literature’, and SPaG (spelling, punctuation and grammar)

16. ‘….right wing Conservatives ….wanted a return to the traditional teaching of Latinate grammar, and the report came out firmly against this. Many politicians and journalists were ignorant about the problems in the teaching of grammar and about the status of Standard English, and simply desired to reinstate the disciplines of study typical of schoolrooms in the 1930s’ –Brian Cox, on the Kingman Report (forerunner to the NC) in Cox (1991) Cox on Cox: An English Curriculum for the 1990s

17. If you allow standards to slip to the point where good English is no better than bad English, where people can turn up filthy and nobody takes any notice of them at school - all those things tend to cause people to have no standards at all, and once you lose your standards there’s no imperative to stay out of crime »Norman Tebbit, Today Programme, Radio 4

18. The Rise of English Essential Features of the 1994 Curriculum Used defunct 1993 curriculum as basis Retains three attainment targets but ‘slimmed down’ Each AT divided into Range, Key Skills and Standard English and Language Study Listed authors for pre-19th century reading 10 level scale replaced by 8 levels, each level consisting of a description of a typical student at that level (‘best-fit’ model)

19. The Rise of English Essential Features of the 1999 Curriculum AT1, 2 and 3 renamed En1, En2, and En3. Each programme of study subdivided into two sections: Knowledge, Skills and Understanding and Breadth of Study 1900 watershed moved to 1914 Higher profile for media texts (particularly moving image texts)

20. The Key Stage 3 Framework To build on NLS at Primary Word, sentence and text level objectives for each of Years 7,8 and 9 Heavy emphasis on ‘basic skills’ and ‘genre based’ approach to writing Non-statutory Accompanied by huge investment in training material and consultant support

21. The Rise of English The 2008 revised National Curriculum Key Stage 3 and 4 separated Restructured into 4 key concepts: Competence, Creativity, Cultural Understanding, Critical Understanding Key Processes - Speaking and listening, reading, writing Range and content Curriculum Opportunities

22. English since 2010 ‘We need to reform English. The great tradition of our literature - Dryden, Pope, Swift, Byron, Keats, Shelley, Austen, Dickens and Hardy - should be at the heart of school life. Our literature is the best in the world – it is every child’s birthright and we should be proud to teach it in every school. And, more than that, it is every child’s right to be taught how to communicate clearly. Thousands of children – including some of our very brightest – leave school unable to compose a proper sentence, ignorant of basic grammar, incapable of writing a clear and accurate letter. And it’s not surprising when the last Government explicitly removed the requirement to award a set number of marks for correct spelling, punctuation and grammar in examinations. The basic building blocks of English were demolished by those who should have been giving our children a solid foundation in learning. Well – let me be clear. Under this Government we will insist that our exams, once more, take proper account of the need to spell, punctuate and write a grammatical sentence.’ »Michael Gove, Speech to Conservative Party Conference, Oct 2010

23. The New National Curriculum In Autumn 2010 Michael Gove announced a full review of NC An ‘expert group’ was appointed to consider previous versions of the curriculum, consult the profession and make international comparison The ‘core knowledge’ Hirsch curriculum was an early favourite of the expert panel Their report contained notable chapters on assessment/levels and on oracy across the curriculum

24. The National Curriculum for English Very detailed primary orders, focused on systematic synthetic phonics in KS1 and spelling/punctuation/grammar in KS2 Very brief KS3 and KS4 orders, focused predominantly on canonical literature Author study in Key Stage 3 Little attention to spoken English Little or no space for drama as pedagogy, ICT, moving image texts, ICT

25. The Purpose of English? English has a pre-eminent place in education and in society. A high-quality education in English will teach pupils to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others and through their reading and listening, others can communicate with them. Through reading in particular, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Literature, especially, plays a key role in such development. Reading also enables pupils both to acquire knowledge and to build on what they already know. All the skills of language are essential to participating fully as a member of society; pupils, therefore, who do not learn to speak, read and write fluently and confidently are effectively disenfranchised.