English in education: Special edition (vol. 58, issue 1): Race, language and (in)equality
(2024)
Journal Article
All Outputs (16)
What happened to knowledge about language? (2023)
Journal Article
Recently, preparing a report for the Committee for Linguistics in Education, I made a content analysis of the linguistic terms used in the Ofsted (Citation2022) Curriculum Research Review for English. The most surprising result of my analysis was the... Read More about What happened to knowledge about language?.
Under which king, Bezonian? (2022)
Journal Article
Reading the recent Ofsted Curriculum Research Review of English shortly after the accession of a new monarch to the UK throne brings to mind Pistol’s reply to Justice Shallow when he tries to claim authority under the king: “Under which king, Bezonia... Read More about Under which king, Bezonian?.
The genealogy of 'cultural literacy' (2022)
Journal Article
The British government's current educational policy for England draws on E.D. Hirsch's writings on 'cultural literacy'. This paper aims to uncover the roots of Hirsch’s influential views through a genealogical critique. Hirsch admired the Scottish En... Read More about The genealogy of 'cultural literacy'.
Literary criticism, culture and the subject of “English”: F.R.Leavis and T.S. Eliot (2022)
Journal Article
Keith Davidson: Linguistics and English education (2021)
Journal Article
A tribute to Keith Davidson, who died in April 2021. Keith combined a deep and passionate knowledge of linguistics with an equally deep and passionate understanding of the teaching and assessment of English. His insight and engagement with key iss... Read More about Keith Davidson: Linguistics and English education.
Make grammar great again? (2021)
Journal Article
The teaching of grammar has been strongly debated for decades, often with reference to an alleged decline in the 1960s. This article takes a historical perspective on grammar, or knowledge about language, within English Education. In the eighteenth c... Read More about Make grammar great again?.
Reading in the reception classroom (2018)
Journal Article
Ofated’s 2017 review of the Reception year curriculum asserts that reading is the core purpose of the Re-ception year, and advocates “systematic systematic phonics” as the teaching method. This precept disre-gards research into the nature of reading... Read More about Reading in the reception classroom.
Phonics instruction and early reading: Professional views from the classroom (2018)
Other
Debates about the most effective ways of teaching early readers have raged for more than half a century. In recent years, government in the UK and in some other English-speaking countries has promoted the teaching of “synthetic phonics” as the key to... Read More about Phonics instruction and early reading: Professional views from the classroom.
Editorial: Bound to Necessity? (2017)
Journal Article
What is the purpose of research into the teaching of English? Knowledge and understanding are required to work effectively with learners of any age, but these principles include both what is traditionally known as techne – the skill or craft requir... Read More about Editorial: Bound to Necessity?.
Affronted adverbials: The debate on grammar (2017)
Journal Article
John Hodgson gives a personal account of NATE’s part in language and grammar study over the last fifty years - from Chomsky to SPaG, via Language in Use, LINC, and Grammar for Writing.
The work of the course: Validity and reliability in assessing English Literature (2017)
Journal Article
© 2017 National Association for the Teaching of English This article reflects on the values and practices of a revolutionary UK A level (senior secondary) course that achieved a high degree of validity and reliability in assessing the study of Englis... Read More about The work of the course: Validity and reliability in assessing English Literature.
Renewing acquaintance with James Britton (2016)
Journal Article
John Hodgson reports on LATE’s celebration of the work of one of NATE’s founding figures, James Britton, and explains the crucial importance of his work for contemporary English teaching.
The Experience of Joint Honours Students of English in UK Higher Education (2011)
Report
This report is about the experience of Joint Honours students studying English. Based on a series of focus groups conducted with students in 2010/2011, it provides evidence of the how they come to embark on joint honours study, the benefits they gain... Read More about The Experience of Joint Honours Students of English in UK Higher Education.
The experience of studying English in UK higher education. English subject centre report series no. 20, February 2010 (2010)
Report
This focus group study was commissioned by the English Subject Centre of the Higher Education Academy. Its purpose was to enrich both the Subject Centre’s and the discipline community’s understanding of the ways in which students are currently experi... Read More about The experience of studying English in UK higher education. English subject centre report series no. 20, February 2010.
text : message: The future of A level English (2004)
Book
This book argues that A level English does not provide an appropriate curriculum for its students. Although specifications in English Language and English Language and Literature are available, many institutions still offer only English Literature.... Read More about text : message: The future of A level English.