Too pale and stale: prescribed texts used for teaching culturally diverse students in Australia and England

Abstract

How are English texts selected to teach students from culturally diverse backgrounds in Australia and England? The English curricula in both countries aim for students to read and interpret meanings through texts, while learning about their culture, and that of cultural others. However, the current list of prescribed texts in both curricula are dated and are not frequently changed, nor are new culturally diverse and contemporary texts easily added to reading lists. This makes some curriculum aims difficult to achieve if students are disengaged or do not relate to the content or themes in the prescribed texts. This article proposes that a post-colonial theoretical approach be considered when selecting texts to teach contemporary students from diverse cultural backgrounds. A post-colonial approach does not mean selecting post-colonial texts, or texts that address post-colonial themes, but is rather a method of selecting and comparing literature of any genre that engages with historical and contemporary issues, with particular focus on race, social class and gender. A post-colonial approach would mean that culturally diverse students may better engage with discussions of contemporary issues using a wider range of texts in classrooms.

“It Was a Real Eye-Opener”

“…It is noted that the texts that a teacher selects for use in the classroom are influenced by many things, including personal preference, curricular requirements, student-based factors, as well as consideration of the external environment, such as community reactions (Watkins & Ostenson, 2015). In Australian schools-as with schools in other jurisdictionstexts can be repeated for many years due to a strong focus on curriculum requirements and maximizing student outcomes, lack of time and information, budgetary constraints, curriculum, or institutional restrictions (Davies, 2019;Healy, 2010;Jogie, 2015bJogie, , 2017. However, even when new texts are introduced, new writing and formats are rarely included (Jogie, 2015a(Jogie, , 2015b(Jogie, , 2017Teese, 2013).…”

“…In Australian schools-as with schools in other jurisdictionstexts can be repeated for many years due to a strong focus on curriculum requirements and maximizing student outcomes, lack of time and information, budgetary constraints, curriculum, or institutional restrictions (Davies, 2019;Healy, 2010;Jogie, 2015bJogie, , 2017. However, even when new texts are introduced, new writing and formats are rarely included (Jogie, 2015a(Jogie, , 2015b(Jogie, , 2017Teese, 2013). If teachers have been designated as primarily responsible for text selection (Hateley, 2014), they need support from teacher-librarians to suggest and source well-written, contemporary young adult literature dealing with the issues around mental health as texts for the classroom.…”

“It Was a Real Eye-Opener”: Supporting Adolescent Mental Health Literacy Through Contemporary Young Adult Literature

“…In Australian schools, texts can be repeated for many years due to a lack of time and information, budgetary constraints; curriculum or institutional restrictions, and a strong focus on curriculum requirements and maximising student outcomes (Davies, 2019;Healy, 2010;Jogie, 2015bJogie, , 2017. Even when new texts are introduced, new writing and formats are infrequently included (Hartnett, 1997;Jogie, 2015aJogie, , 2015bTeese, 2013).…”

The Dialogic Possibilities for Interactive Fiction in the Secondary Academy English Classroom

“…Since half-term, we have been reading and studying Michael Morpurgo's novel, War Horse (2017). This text has enabled us to think about the impact of World War One, but it arguably privileges an Anglocentric, white, male perspective (Jogie 2015). I want to help my students put the novel in context and think about a more diverse range of World War One experiences.…”