Secondary English across the UK: The aims, role and construction of a 21st-century curriculum subject
Written by: Rebecca Morris and Wendy Ramku
8 min read
REBECCA MORRIS AND WENDY RAMKU, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, UK
Background
Every child across the UK is expected to study English until the age of 16. The subject is a foundational element of pupils’ curriculum entitlement across their school lives, and success in English is a key determinant for influencing individuals’ future educational, career and life trajectories, and for impacting wider economic and social outcomes at a societal level. Despite this, it remains a highly contested area of the curriculum. Since its formal inception as a curriculum subject, English has always been a subject with a broad range of aims, including those relating to functional skills, such as communication, through to goals concerned with personal growth, culture and heritage or social and civic values.
Debates around these aims continue today, but English as a subject also now exists in a context where notions of (English) language, nationality and identity are being further debated and expanded,
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