Creative Writing in English Education: An Historical Perspective

Abstract

This review considers the history of school-based creative writing in the light of today's professional perspective. Curricular documents in English education throughout the twentieth century indicate a growing pedagogical disjunction between advocates of the personal, expressive functions of writing and defenders of its utilitarian functions, though this trend included periods of reconciliation and retreat. The overview concludes that the merits of creative written expression must be cogently defended during the current back-to-basics movement because of its intrinsic therapeutic, functional, and purely intellectual benefits.

Using Socratic Questioning as an Instructional Tool to Help High School Students at Grade Twelve Improve Their Perceptions of the Writing Process

“…Writing instruction no longer consisted of merely drills and classical studies, but had personal and social communication functions (Brand, 1980).…”

“…Creativity in writing and organization was a means of identifying the truly talented students, while conformity in their writing was a means of identifying the weak writing students (Brand, 1980). Students began to examine prior experience, mediums of expression, imaginative themes, and social behavior (Murphy, 1990).…”

Dangerous desires: Feminist literary criticism in a high school writing class

“…School creative writing has traditionally been conceptualized as a form or means of personal therapy for minor difficulties and maladjustments that occur in everyday life. Indeed an emphasis on the therapeutic benefits of creative writing has ensured its place in school curriculum since the 1930s (Brand, 1980).…”