The current version of the draft National Curriculum (1.0.1) remains a document which dis-integrates the subject through its three strands and fails to conceptualise a relationship between these strands. Drawing on curriculum history, I argue that this stands in strong contrast to a curriculum such as the 1971 NSW Syllabus for Years 7-10, which…

Garth Boomer had been a seminal influence on this author's practice and thinking as a young English teacher in the 1980s. When asked to present the Garth Boomer Memorial address in 2009, the author realised that he would be speaking on his fiftieth birthday, thus the desire to take the opportunity to reflect on his teaching life was overwhelming.…

Suggests that while teachers may wish to guide students in their reading of literature--to give them only "good" literature and to help them see the "right" interpretations of it--such guidance leaves students' understanding to chance, and does not help them choose to think and construct values of their own. (JC)

Presents findings from two studies, one concerning the home backgrounds of high volume and low volume readers, and the other a collection of case studies of three generations from several families examining how scholars are produced from relatively uneducated backgrounds. (JC)

Presents a study of students in Australia, Canada, and England and examines grade nine students' written responses to writing over a two year period and their opinions of the books they read. Suggests that for students of that age, creative written responses to writing are the most imaginative. (JC)

Discusses ways that schools and English teachers should respond to the social and technological changes. (FL)

Discusses the demands that information technology places on education. Considers the educational applications of computers and calls into question the current concept of "school." (FL)

Looks at the possible influences of word processors, text editors, and microcomputers on writing instruction. (FL)

Offers a personal perspective on the use of computers in English instruction. (FL)

Analyzes different approaches to English teaching in light of recent sociological accounts of the role in the reproduction of culture and society. Draws upon the work of Gramsci, Bourdieu, Passeron, and Bernstein to examine the class location of English and English teachers. (FL)

Considers current research into television viewing and its possible influence on student behavior; analyzes international developments in mass media and the cultural influences they may impose in the future; and suggests ways English teachers might face and oppose this new culture through language. (FL)

Argues that observations and an analysis of 245 letters written by elementary school students support the idea that writers and learners do know how to promote their own self-development. (JL)

Argues that English teachers should write and reflect on their own writing process and allow their students to know that they are doing so. (HOD)

Summarizes the discussions and findings of a working party within the Australian Commission on Language Development, which focused on ways of promoting children's language development. (HOD)