DESCRIPTORS

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the status of literature in contemporary English K-12 curriculum in a national agenda that values skills, outcomes and benchmarking. This paper is divided into two parts. The first part argues that the role of literature in the primary classroom should not be underestimated, and that educators should keep a sense of balance of the relationship between the reader, the read, and the practice of reading. In the past two decades, children's literature has pushed its boundaries into new sub genres and through experimental texts has contributed to the body of postmodern literature. How does this relate to the current primary English curriculum? The second part looks at the place of literature in secondary English curriculum in New South Wales, which is undergoing a substantial paradigm shift. While primary syllabi (1994 and 1998) have committed themselves to a particular view of language and have remained largely silent on the issue of literature, secondary syllabus revision has opted for a theoretical pluralism. Is this eclecticism really