Presents a selective list of recent research studies in the teaching of English. States that most appeared during the six-month period preceding the compilation of the bibliography (July through December 1996). Contains 57 items divided into sections on bilingual education, cultural studies, literacy studies, literature, professional development,…

Observes how nine members of the Pine View High School English Department interpreted and implemented Kentucky's state requirement for portfolio assessment of secondary school students. Suggests that the faculty saw the assessment as a test of their competence and felt great pressure to produce good portfolios but little incentive to explore ways…

Investigates how teaching and the teacher's role in elementary and secondary school writing classes have been conceptualized by leading workshop advocates. Uses M. Bakhtin's writing on F. Dostoevsky to develop a metaphor of the writing teacher as novelist. Argues that workshop visions of teaching and the teacher's role mystify meaning-making and…

Narrates effects of a 10-week literacy project, a collaboration between Latino English-as-a-Second-Language students and at-risk Anglo counterparts in a rural high school in the upper midwest. Highlights "treasures" of their experience as they gather to read Spanish- and English-language literature, to write stories and poems, and to…

Examines influences of text language and structure and text-picture relationships on 33 preschoolers' emergent readings of three picture books and teacher-led shared readings that preceded them. Indicates findings on emergent readings support a transactional model of emergent reading and highlight the importance of considering the influence of…

Addresses problems and possibilities in development of practitioner research stemming from a semester-long master's level research course. Presents course context; outlines the four classroom studies that examined journal writing; explores commonalities among studies; shares conversations among researchers on issues of systematic inquiry,…

Studies five preschoolers' response to four genres of picture books: fantasy, realistic, poetic, and information. Finds (1) distinct patterns of response for each genre; and (2) personal associations to the characters, events, images, and topics seemed to form the basis for interpretation. (NH)

Argues that the marginality of English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL) expatriate teachers exemplifies the postmodern condition affecting society at the end of the millennium. Uses the image of the paladin and its juxtaposition with the conceptual framework of postmodernity to generate new ways of thinking about issues in ESL/EFL…

Argues that recognition of the reader's role in the production of meanings in literary works has major consequences for the theory, research, and teaching of literature. Discusses the need to include the reader's role when writing the history of literature; develop new language for the description of the meanings of works; and develop new models…

Examines how two different writing tasks of writing from sources influence students' thinking in reading and writing. Finds that students interpreted the two tasks differently but showed no differences in the proportion of prior knowledge included, nor in learning. (SR)

Tests the supposition that male and female writing styles differ, using 88 college students as subjects. Finds that the writing of men and women is far more similar than different. Finds that differences resulting from mode of discourse were more widespread than differences resulting from gender. (MG)

Examines the history of research on the teaching and learning of English as reflected in the 20-year history of the Promising Researcher Award. Focuses upon changes over time in the kinds of questions asked, topics addressed, conceptual frameworks employed, and methodologies used in the studies. Reveals a strong but shifting influence of…

Examines how students interact during peer response groups, a key instructional activity designed specifically to encourage talk about writing. Finds that the frequency of response groups relative to other kinds of groups varied across classrooms, as did the relative amount of response that occurred in the group context. (MG)

Offers a selected, annotated bibliography of research in the teaching of English, with 78 items (published from July to December 1992) organized into 6 categories: curriculum, language, literature, researcher education, teacher education, and writing. (SR)

Reports the results of a survey of 110 British teachers of English. Investigates teacher attitudes concerning career preparation, self-perception, influences, and their views of the present and future state of education. (HB)