Textual space and its importance to school ethos and cultural pedagogy

Barnard, Mathew

Abstract

This paper theoretically demonstrates the potential of textual space in making an important contribution to school ethos and cultural pedagogy. It demonstrates how culturally-inclusive (representational) textual space can be expanded throughout the school and could contribute to social justice and decolonisation efforts beyond the English Literature classroom. This is increasingly important in an age of culturally and politically securitised schooling, where government control exercised at the macro-level (colonial/neoliberal education policy) and micro-level (teaching and learning; the enactment of the formal curriculum) reproduces cultural inequality. This paper therefore argues for textual space in the English Literature classroom to be appropriated as a representational, dialogical, historical and connected space (in opposition to neoliberalism’s decontextualising and atomising agenda) for real-world political action and the democratisation of cultural production within the wider school environment.

Citation

Barnard, M. (2023). Textual space and its importance to school ethos and cultural pedagogy. English in Education, 57(3), 202-218. https://doi.org/10.1080/04250494.2023.2208163

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 25, 2023
• Online Publication Date: May 13, 2023
• Publication Date: Jul 3, 2023
• Deposit Date: May 30, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: May 30, 2023
• Journal: English in Education
• Print ISSN: 0425-0494
• Electronic ISSN: 1754-8845
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 57
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 202-218
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/04250494.2023.2208163
• Keywords: Literature and Literary Theory, Linguistics and Language, Language and Linguistics, Education
• Additional Information: Peer Review Statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope.; Aim & Scope: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=reie20; Received: 2023-01-13; Accepted: 2023-04-25; Published: 2023-05-13