ENGLISH AS A DISCIPLINARY FIELD: CONVENTIONS AND CONTROVERSIES PAPER CODE 380

This paper will examine issues surrounding the English Curriculum in Secondary Schools, with a focus on syllabus development and implementation in NSW Australia as an example. Contention over text selection and a continuing political focus on literacy have resulted in changes to the way we perceive and approach the subject ‘English’. What constitutes a ‘valuable ’ text? How do we balance the need for authentic assessment with the demand for measurable increases in literacy scores? What actually defines the subject English anyway? Along with these questions, this paper will also examine the public consequences of curriculum change. Changes to text prescriptions, specifically the inclusion of film and multi media, have lead to a backlash against ‘new wave ’ materials and an endless repetition of the familiar Shakespeare-vs-Spielberg debate. Changes to the technical language of the syllabus, such as the use of terms like composing and responding have increased public fear that postmodernism (‘relativism’) is destroying traditional (‘proper’) learning. The status enjoyed by the subject ‘English ’ in many countries cannot be allowed to mask the complexities of this disciplinary field. This paper will investigate the ways in which a diverse pool of theoretical perspectives and public perceptions of the subject intersect to make English a highly contentious field. The capacity for political, media and parental influence on the nature of pedagogy in the field will also be discussed