| Summary: | This thesis explores the position of English in ten secondary school located in ex-industrial communities of the East Midlands of England. The research is situated in a context of national education reforms, seen by some to promote a problematic version of English based on inappropriate epistemological foundations, lacking the subject’s wider potential as a socially just discipline; since the introduction of the reforms, English has become increasingly unpopular in schools. This thesis challenges system-level policies by exploring how influential teachers position English in the contexts of their schools.
Qualitative data was gathered using semi-structured interviews with the Heads of English during the summer of 2019. Reflexive Thematic Analysis techniques were utilised to construct five themes: accountability, purpose, policies, curriculum and context. Ball et al.’s policy enactment work (2012), and Lefebvre’s theory of spatial practice (1991) were employed to help analyse the data in response to three questions: What is the place of English? What are the purposes of English for the schools and pupils? What factors influence the production of the subject?
The main contributions of this thesis include showing how English has a central position in the schools because of its impact on their institutional reputations; for the pupils, however, English can go beyond a qualification to extend cultural horizons. This thesis also shows how Heads of Department can use their limited agency to position English as a more socially just subject than the version suggested by English education policy.
This thesis suggests how the content, assessment and organisation of English can be reformed to develop a more socially just and engaging curriculum.
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