ABSTRACT
In Chapter 4, we examined the philosophical stance of the case study teachers using the Cox models as a point of reference. They all espoused a personal growth model as a way of developing each individual student, and this was visibly borne out in their lessons; they also valued cultural analysis as a powerful means of developing students’ critical understanding in a complex, media-dominated society. They acknowledged the importance of adult needs and cultural heritage, although both were seen as too narrowly defi ned by the then curriculum strictures. The ‘Language across the Curriculum’ model was also valued but seen as a whole-school issue with a place in English but not a model that any English department should be saddled with. At that time the literacy strategy was having its fi rst impact on secondary schools, and they had mixed views about its proposed benefi ts (see below). Fifteen years of research (for example, Goodwyn 1992a, 2008) has suggested that these broadly conceptualised models of English do persist, and neither the literacy strategy nor the Framework for English have fundamentally changed their importance or their usefulness to teachers in thinking about teaching and learning in English.
