ABSTRACT
This chapter examines Newbolt's enduring legacy in conceptualisations of subject English in schools in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It considers the ideologies and assumptions that connect the Report with a century of English curriculum in NSW. In charting the philosophical and discursive continuities between Newbolt and institutionalised versions of subject English in NSW, it sheds light on the trans-national and trans-temporal ideas, values and beliefs underpinning the identity of the subject in an Australian context. The chapter considers the extent to which the humanist discourse of Newbolt and its largely uncontested reproduction in NSW English curriculum documents has enabled or constrained the responsiveness of the subject paradigm to the shifting challenges and possibilities of English teaching and learning. The chapter concludes by addressing the implications of the enduring Newbolt legacy on current and future conceptualisations of subject English in schools.
