Thinking differently about powerful knowledge in English Education

• Nicole S Dingwall
  Key Question: What do teachers understand by cultural capital and how does this limit opportunities to expand their identities and those of their students?
  
  Background: This paper draws on data from my doctoral research that explored the identity of English teachers and the interplay of these within the cultural identity of their English departments. The study sought to understand the experiences of teachers within three differing secondary schools (11-18yrs) in the South of England. The profile of all three schools differed.
  
  Purpose and research questions: To understand the factors shaping English teachers’ identity and the extent to which these teachers’ identities could be agentic in navigating their schools’ English curriculum. The teachers’ belief in their role as English teachers segued unexpectedly to discussions about providing students with cultural capital.
  
  Theoretical framework/perspectives: The research engaged with Bourdieu’s (1970) concept of cultural capital and cultural literacy as presented by Hirsch (1988). Further Elliott’s (2021) exploration of knowledge in English frames the discussion around powerful knowledge and this intersects with the work of Bleiman (2020).
  
  
  Methodology:
  This paper presents data from 13 teachers, in three schools across the south of England. The case studies involved semi-structured interviews with three teachers and their Head of Department in each school. The interviews were conducted across a calendar year and across two UK academic years. Within this period, the teachers were interviewed three times.
  
  
  Findings:
  The English teachers’ views and perceptions of cultural capital were homogenous and correlated with long standing white notions of the value of powerful knowledge. The personal perspective of Heads of Department shaped the curriculum thus embedding the values of white affluent communities.
  
  
  Keywords: cultural capital, powerful knowledge, cultural literacy.
  
  Bleiman, B. (2020) What Matters in English Teaching Collected Blogs and Other Writing London: English and Media Centre
  
  Bourdieu, P. (1977) Outline of a Theory of Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 
  
  Elliott, V. (2021) Knowledge in English Cannon Curriculum and Cultural Literacy Routledge Abingdon
  
  Hirsch, E.D. (1998) Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know New York Vintage.
• Paul Riser
  English teachers play a critical role as agents of change, especially during times of societal upheaval; this is because they are often the purveyors of the human condition. This presentation focuses on the concept of acceptance as a crucial form of 'powerful knowledge’. Two dimensions are examined: self-acceptance (through an ethical, reflexive lens) and the acceptance of others (through a constructed, empathic lens). In society today, marked by technological advances and social division, acceptance serves as a key factor in enhancing teaching methods and classroom relationship. The presentation also incorporates semiotics to prime the classroom environment, highlighting the dynamics at play in shaping meaningful learning experiences. Drawing on Positioning Theory and Intersectionality as theoretical foundations, we argue that acceptance challenges restrictive educational policies. Methodologically, we employ case studies of critical incidents across varied socio-cultural contexts to demonstrate how acceptance fosters inclusivity and support. The role of acceptance within the English curriculum is examined, particularly its ability to navigate difficult classroom dialogues. By analysing conversation and choices in English literature syllabi, we reveal how narratives encouraging self-acceptance and empathy can challenge traditional educational models. Emphasising the importance of teachers embodying these virtues, we outline pedagogical implications, notably the expectation for students to develop empathic concern. Finally, we address how this understanding of 'powerful knowledge' intersects with constructivist and epistemological foundations of English teaching, underlining its significance for tackling broader issues like sustainability, equity, and social justice.
• Victoria Elliott
  The Lit in Colour report (Elliott et al., 2021) concluded that along with diversification of the texts taught in school, it was important to incorporate race and empire into the teaching of canonical literature texts, many of which were composed in the heyday of the British Empire, and convey deeply racist attitudes, in substance or in passing. These texts are dominant in the current assessment regime in England, in which all students must study a 19th century novel at 14-16, as well as a Shakespeare play and ‘representative Romantic poetry’. Drawing on data collected in a survey of secondary English teachers in England (volunteer sample n = 254) in 2020-21, following the Black Lives Matter protests, this paper explores teachers’ responses about their teaching of ‘canonical’ texts, including Shakespeare and 19th century novels, with reference to race, empire, or post-colonial approaches. Some texts are frequently named as rich with relevant context of race and empire: some of those texts are also named by other teachers as having no connection to issues of race and empire. A Christmas Carol, Jekyll and Hyde and Great Expectations are named by various teachers as having much relevant material and as having none. Using this data as a springboard, I will then consider the ways in which the contextual knowledge of race and empire might be a more significant element of ‘powerful knowledge’ than the study of the novel which it accompanies, in particular for students who are marginalised because of their ethnicity. Among other ideas I will draw on the idea of racial literacy (Skerrett, 2011), and arguments made by Sanghera (2021) and Akala (2019) about the lack of knowledge on the part of white Britons of the long-standing history of a Black and Asian British population.
  
  Keywords: race, empire, canon, literature, powerful knowledge
  
  Akala (2019). Natives: race and class in the ruins of empire (London: Two Roads). ·
  Elliott, V., Nelson-Addy, L., Chantiluke, R. & Courtney, M. (2021) Lit in Colour Diversity in Literature in English Schools. London: Penguin & Runnymede Trust. The report is available from: https://t.co/WWfypBBuTj?amp=1
  Sanghera, S. (2021). Empireland: How imperialism has shaped modern Britain. Penguin..
  Skerrett (2011) English teachers’ racial literacy knowledge and practice, Race Ethnicity and Education, 14:3, 313-330, DOI: 10.1080/13613324.2010.543391