Teacher agency in the selection of literary texts

Annabel Watson, Lucy Kelly, Joan Foley, Judith Kneen, Susan Chapman, Lorna Smith, Helena Thomas

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)
67 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The nature of English as a school subject – and particularly English literature – is a longstanding issue of debate for practitioners and researchers internationally. One dimension of this concerns the forces that shape the diet of literary texts that students are fed. In this study, we draw on the ecological model of agency to interrogate the factors which influence how teachers choose literary texts for whole class teaching. Dimensions of agency are used as lenses to reveal the complex ways in which values and beliefs, structures of authority, material resources, and identities shape the selection of books, plays and poetry that are taught in English. By looking across these dimensions, we identify important questions which contribute to the debate: who should have agency to choose the texts taught; how does teacher agency influence students’ experiences of English literature; how far should we expect these experiences to be standardised?
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)340-356
Number of pages17
JournalEnglish in Education
Volume56
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 27 Jun 2022

Keywords

  • Literature
  • teacher agency
  • teaching literature
  • PROFESSIONAL AGENCY
  • ENGLISH
  • KNOWLEDGE
  • IDENTITY
  • READERS
  • TIME

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Teacher agency in the selection of literary texts'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this