English in Education: The first fifty years

Abstract

On the fiftieth anniversary of the first publication of English in Education, this article reviews the journal's contribution to research and practice in the teaching of English. A thematic analysis based on close study of a sample of volumes is arranged chronologically (to show the development of ideas and practices) and thematically in terms of language mode (speaking; writing; reading, including new technologies). The article argues that the journal archive can shed light on the educational past in ways that can effectively inform the educational present and help to set agenda for the future.

Digital ensemble: the ENaCT design‐based research framework for technology‐enhanced embodied assessment in English education

“…Against the backdrop of innovation in English education, the development of digital fluency and the landscape of educational change, the importance of this research topic lies within the shift from systems of rote learning and standardised assessment practices to collaborative and creative schooling of the future (Boyd 2008b;Hodgson and Wilkin 2014;Ohler 2008;Sahlberg 2009;Mitra 2005 and Mitra et al;. The latest data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) concerning the potential of technologies for learning were published in September 2015 in the report entitled: 'Students, Computers and Learning: Making the Connection' (OECD 2015).…”

‘We’re Not Building Worker Bees.’ What Has Happened to Creative Practice in England Since the Dartmouth Conference of 1966?

“…Creativity holds an ambiguous place in English education, with commentators 'unable to decide whether it is a good or bad thing' (Marshall, 2001 in Blamires and Peterson, 2014:148). Some detractors see 'creativity' as the antonym to 'accuracy' (Hodgson and Wilkin, 2014); others accuse creativity of preventing action, the opposite of 'performativity' (Elliot, 1998:7), possibly because the prime incentive to undertake creative work is not always financial. Perhaps this explains why the term 'creativity' (and any word containing the 'create' root) has been expurgated from the revised national curriculum (sic) in England (DfE, 2014), replaced by a focus on knowledge and accuracy, the result of erstwhile Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove's belief that students suffer from a 'knowledge deficit' (Hirsch, 2006).…”