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The invisible plan: how English teachers develop their expertise and the special place of adapting the skills of lesson planning. Abstract:This paper analyses how English teachers learn to become expert designers of learning and why sharing that expertise is increasingly vital. Its conceptual framework is the widely recognised, empirically tested, five-stage developmental Dreyfus model of skill acquisition, exemplifying the development of teacher expertisesee Goodwyn (2017a), constituted by the 'milestone' [m] and 'transitory' [t] phases connecting with the five (5) stages of: Novice [m], Advanced Beginner [t], Competent [m], Proficient [t] and Expert [m]. Teacher planning is analysed as one key tacit or non-tangible component of developing expertise. Focusing specifically on English teachers as key participants in this pioneer teacher cognition study, the defining characteristics of milestone stages of expertise development are explored with specific attention to the remarkably under-researched area of planning. We introduce three new categories, defining modes of planning, (i) visible practical planning, (ii) external reflective planning and (iii) internal reflective planning demonstrating their role in teacher development through the Dreyfus five (5) stages. Implications for practice include an explicit understanding of how teachers' planning moves through the three phases. Further research is needed to explore how English teachers in particular can share planning expertise between the three phases to improve teachers' skills and student learning. Introduction:A considerable body of research in education concludes that teaching is remarkably complex (Sinnema et al. Hall and Smith, 2006). This article explores our current understanding of the nature of its inherent complexities in relation to teacher development over time and especially in relation to English teachers and their modes of planning. The complexities of teaching are also infused with the globally acknowledged intricacies of English as a subject (Matthewman, 2014;Exley and Chan, 2014;Goodwyn, 2011;Colarusso, 2010;Gibbons, 2009;Sperling and DiPardo, 2008).Currently there are many commendable 'Handbook' style guides to planning for English teachers, especially novices. However, apart from Goodwyn's research (2011) based on book length examination of the development of novice English teachers and the work of their specialist mentors (Goodwyn, 1997), there is little actual research about how English teachers describe their planning processes. As a result, much of the research literature discussed here, and the underpinning Dreyfus schema, is necessarily generic and our argument and findings should be of interest beyond English teaching. However, we are careful to underline that our evidence here comes exclusively from English teachers and is analysed through a subject specialist lens and a recognition of the rapid policy changes that impact the subject, almost certainly more than any other . As this article seeks to establish a new conceptual approach t...

This article reports the findings of four separately commissioned evaluations of alternative provision (AP) undertaken in three local authorities in the UK. The evaluations were specifically predicated on the principles of children's rights and used a combination of qualitative research methods and documentary analysis to elicit the experiences of young people in conjunction with the viewpoints of key stakeholders. Data from each evaluation was gathered over a total period of 6 years. The sites and time scales for each evaluation varied from 6-month authority-wide strategic reviews to a 3-year evaluation of an AP free school and an evaluation of pupil referrals in a large school partnership. The evaluations involved 200 participant children and young people, 30 managers and stakeholders, 8 parents of non-attending pupils and local authority officers and school governors. The evaluations report the complexity of needs amongst children and young people; the continuing problem of unsuccessful transitions between key phases/stages of education and the profound consequences of this for young people; assumptions around mainstream reintegration and managed moves; and the curriculum challenges of vocationalism and academic emphasis. While the research data confirms the positive value of multi-agency approaches in AP, it also shows a more recent troubling increase in the number of young people now being referred to AP as a consequence of their exposure to performative school cultures.