Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- The Changing Picture of School English
- From A-Level to HE: Working Towards a Shared Future?
- English Outreach: Academics in the Classroom
- From Provider to Stager: The Future of Teaching English in HE
- Pedagogic Criticism: An Introduction
- Exquisite Tensions – Narrating the BAME ECA Experience
- Postgraduate Futures: Voices and Views
- Shared Futures: Early Career Academics in English Studies
- Some Reflections on the Funding of English Departments
- English: The Future of Publishing
- Digital Futures
- A View from the United States: The Crisis in the Humanities; the Liberal Arts; and English in the Military Academy
- The Future of Borders
- ‘Between and Across Languages’: Writing in Scotland and Wales
- Exploring Intersections between Creative and Critical Writing: An Interview with Elleke Boehmer
- Integrating English
- Employability in English Studies
- Creative Living: How Creative Writing Courses Help to Prepare for Life-long Careers
- Practice at Large: How Creative Writing can Enhance University Research Environments
- ‘And who can turn away?’ Witnessing a Shared Dystopia
- English and the Public Good
- ‘Can Wisdom be put in a silver rod? / Or Love in a golden bowl?’ On Not Defending the Humanities
- ‘Something Real to Carry Home When Day Is Done’: The Reader in Future
- Afterword
- Index
English Outreach: Academics in the Classroom
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 October 2019
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- The Changing Picture of School English
- From A-Level to HE: Working Towards a Shared Future?
- English Outreach: Academics in the Classroom
- From Provider to Stager: The Future of Teaching English in HE
- Pedagogic Criticism: An Introduction
- Exquisite Tensions – Narrating the BAME ECA Experience
- Postgraduate Futures: Voices and Views
- Shared Futures: Early Career Academics in English Studies
- Some Reflections on the Funding of English Departments
- English: The Future of Publishing
- Digital Futures
- A View from the United States: The Crisis in the Humanities; the Liberal Arts; and English in the Military Academy
- The Future of Borders
- ‘Between and Across Languages’: Writing in Scotland and Wales
- Exploring Intersections between Creative and Critical Writing: An Interview with Elleke Boehmer
- Integrating English
- Employability in English Studies
- Creative Living: How Creative Writing Courses Help to Prepare for Life-long Careers
- Practice at Large: How Creative Writing can Enhance University Research Environments
- ‘And who can turn away?’ Witnessing a Shared Dystopia
- English and the Public Good
- ‘Can Wisdom be put in a silver rod? / Or Love in a golden bowl?’ On Not Defending the Humanities
- ‘Something Real to Carry Home When Day Is Done’: The Reader in Future
- Afterword
- Index
Summary
English in Crisis: Can Outreach Help?
In the summer of 2017, as teachers, academics and other members of the wider English community met at the ‘Shared Futures’ conference, Year 11s across the country sat their examinations for the new reformed English GCSE. Graded with a numerical system of 9–1, the new course is designed to be more demanding and to stretch able students: coursework has been abolished, all examinations are closed-book, and there is an increased emphasis on the ‘classics’ of British literature. At the same time, the introduction of the new linear A-Level requires Key Stage 5 students to sit all of their examinations at the end of a two-year course, rather than in the stages facilitated by the previous AS system, and sees a reduction in coursework. Creative Writing did not survive the A-Level reforms. Critics of these changes have argued that they risk placing English studies in crisis and, indeed, there is already evidence to suggest that some students are being put off pursuing higher-level qualifications in English. A recent study conducted by John Gordon at the University of East Anglia's School of Education revealed that many pupils find the new literature GCSE off-putting and confusing, preventing them from having the kinds of discussions that allow them to enjoy the texts they are required to study. This may well have a knock-on effect on the number of students choosing to study English at A-Level, with entries in 2017 already having dropped by 11.1% for English Language and Literature, 10.2% for English Language, and 4.7% for English Literature. Bill Watkin, chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, fears that the ‘love of the subject’ that inspires students to continue English to A-Level is in ‘danger of being overshadowed’ by the more rigid standards now expected. Against this backdrop of educational reform, we also face an increased governmentbacked emphasis on the supposed superiority of STEM subjects and the accompanying perception that the study of English is only useful if it is skills-based and relevant to ‘real life’.
As many English departments in universities across the UK encounter a corresponding decline in applications, an increasing number of academics are considering how we can connect with younger students by offering educational outreach.
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- Information
- English: Shared Futures , pp. 25 - 32Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2018