Literature in the Secondary School: Studies of Curriculum and Instruction in the United States
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 357 370 CS 213 825 AUTHOR Applebee, Arthur N. TITLE Literature in the Secondary School: Studiesof Curriculum and Instruction in the UnitedStates. INSTITUTION National Council of Teachers of English,Urbana, Ill. REPORT NO ISBN-0-8141-3007-0; ISSN-0085-3739; NCTE-RR-25 PUB DATE 93 NOTE 310p.; For the full reportson which this document is based, see ED 309 453, ED 315 753, and ED 333 467-468. AVAILABLE FROMNational Council of Teachers of English, 1111W. Kenyon Rd., Urbana, IL 61801-1096 (StockNo. 30070-3050: $14.95 members, $19.95 nonmembers). PUB TYPE Reports Research/Technical (143) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC13 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Classroom Research; *English Instruction; *Literature Appreciation; MiddleSchools; Private Schools; Public Schools; Secondary Education; *Teacher Behavior; Teaching Load;Teaching Methods IDENTIFIERS English Teachers; *Response to Literature;Writing Contexts ABSTRACT Presenting findings froma wide-ranging study, this book considers the present state ofliterature teaching in American middle and secondary schools. Probing bothcontext and the instructional approaches, the book showsa discipline staffed by teachers better educated than theirpredecessors but carrying heavy class loads and isolated from current thinkingin literary cri,:icism and pedagogy. The book is basedon a series of four interrelated studies:(1) a series of case studies ofEnglish programs with locel reputations for excellence; (2)a study of book-length works thatare required reading for high school studentsas well as the book-length texts required in public schools, grades7-12, and in Catholic and independent schools, grades 9-12; (3)a survey of content and approaches in nationally representativesamples of English programs in public, Catholic, and independentschools, plus schools whose students consistently win National Councilof Teachers of English (NCTE) Achievement Awards in Writing;and (4) analyses of the selections and teaching suggestionsoffered in widely used anthologies. Chapters of the bookare: Introduction; Studying the Teaching of Literature; Conditions forthe Teaching of Literature; The Curriculum as a Whole; SelectionsChosen for Study; Selections Available in Literature Anthologies;Classroom Literature Instruction; Instructional Materials inLiterature Anthologies; Writing and Literature; The School Libraryand Students' Reading; and Conclusion. A description of methodsand procedures for the four studies, and a list of the most frequentlyanthologized selections by genre are attached. (Contains 87 references and 90tables/figures.) (RS) LITE TURF in the SECOND RY SCHOOL sr STUDIES of CURRICULUM a-:d INSTRUCTION in the UNITED STATES "M p BESTCOPY AVAILABLE' ARTHUR N. APPLEBEE "eTtiMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS U $ DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as (TYlaytt received from the person or orgamtation Originating it C' Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction Quality TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Points of view or opinions stated in this docu merit do not necessarily represent official INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)" 2 OERI position or policy Literature in the Secondary School 4 NCIE Standing Committee on Research George Hillocks, Jr., Chair, University of Chicago Jo Beth Allen, University of Georgia James A. Berlin, Purdue University Annie R. Calkins, Alaska Department of Education Russel K. Durst, University of Cincinnati Lisa Ede, Oregon State University Linda Flower, Carnegie-Mellon University Robert Gundlach, Northwestern University Susan Hynds, Syracuse University James D. Marshall, University of Iowa Luis C. Moll, University of Arizona Ina V.S. Mullis, Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey Sandra Murphy, San Francisco State University Donald L. Rubin, University of Georgia Helen J. Schwartz, Indiana University at Indianapolis William L. Smith, University of Pittsburgh Melanie Sperling, Stanford University Janice Porterfield Stewart, Rutgers University C. Jan Swearingen, University of Texas at Arlington Sarah Freedman, ex officio, Center for the Study of Writing, University of California at Berkeley Sandra Stotsky, ex officio, Harvard Graduate School of Education Jerome Harste, Indiana University, Liaison to National Conference on Re- search in English Shirley Haley-James, Executive Committee Liaison, Georgia State Univer- sity Charles Suhor, NCTE Staff Liaison 4 NCTE Research Report No. 25 Literature in the Secondary School Studies of Curriculum and Instruction in the United States Arthur N. Applebee National Research Center on Lierature Teaching and Learning University at Albany, State University of New York National Council of Teachers of English 1111 W. Kenyon Road, Urbana, Illinois 61801-1096 NCTE Editorial Board: Keith Gilyard, Ronald Jobe, Joyce Kinkead, Louise Wetherbee Phelps, Gladys V. Veidemanis, Charles Suhor, Chair, ex officio, Michael Spooner, ex officio Manuscript Editor: Hilary Taylor Holbrook Production Editor: Michelle Sanden Joh las Cover Design: Susan Huelsing Interior Design: Tom Kovacs for TGK Design NCTE Stock Number: 30070-3050 © 1993 by the National Council of Teachers of English. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. It is the policy of NCTE in its journals and other publications to provide a forum for the open discussion of ideas concerning the content and the teaching of English and the language arts. Publicity accorded to any particular point of view does not imply endorsement by the Executive Committee, the Board of Directors, or the membership at large, except in announcements of policy, where such endorsement is clearly specified. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Applebee, Arthur N. Literature in the secondary school : studies of curriculum and instruction in the United States / Arthur N. Applebee. p.cm. (NCTE) research report, ISSN 0085-3739 ; no. 25) Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-8141-3007-0 1. LiteratureStudy and teaching (Secondary)United States. I. Ti- tle.II. Series. PE1011.N295 no. 25 [PN70] 820'.71'273--dc20 93-18426 CIP G / Contents List of Tables vii List of Figures xi Acknowledgments 1. Introduction 1 2. Studying the Teaching of Literature 8 3. Conditions for the Teaching of Literature 14 4. The Curriculum as a Whole 32 5. Selections Chosen for Study 58 6. Selections Available in Literature Anthologies 85 7. Classroom Literature Instruction 116 8. Instructional Materials in Literature Anthologies 139 9. Writing and Literature 155 10. The School Library and Students' Reading 172 11. Conclusion 192 References 205 Appendix 1: Methods and Procedures, Studies One through Four 211 Appendix 2: Most Frequently Anthologized Selections, by Genre 233 Index 243 Author 249 v List of Tables 3.1 Characteristics of Students and Communities for Schools in the National Survey 15 3.2 Education and Experience of Teachers in the National Survey 18 3.3 Education and Experience, by Selected Student and Community Variables: Public Schools 19 3.4 Teaching Loads Reported by Teachers in the National Survey 23 3.5 Relationships among Teaching Load, Type of Community, and Proportion of Minority Students: Public Schools 24 3.6 Special Programs Affecting the Teaching of Literature 26 4.1 Time Allocated to Different Components of English in a Representative Class, Grades 9-12 35 4.2 Attention to Literature in a Representative Class, Grades 9-12 38 4.3 Percent of Literature-Related Class Time Focused on Particular Genres During the Preceding Five Days in a Representative Class, Grades 9-12 40 4.4 Use of Literature Anthologies in a Representative Class 44 4.5 Most Frequent Emphases in the Literature Curriculum, by Grade 46 4.6 Curriculum Sequence, Grades 10-12 47 4.7 Major Influences in Determining the Literature Curriculum 52 4.8 Support Provided to the Department Chair for Coordinating Departmental Activities 54 5.1 Characteristics of Authors of Required Book-Length Works 60 vii viii List of Tables 5.2 Characteristics of Authors and Selections, Public Schools by Grade and Track 62 5.3 Changes Since 1963 in Characteristics of Required Book-Length Works 63 5.4 Most Popular Titles of Book-Length Works, Grades 9-12 65 5.5 Ten Most Frequently Required Authors of Book-Length Works, Grades 9-12 66 5.6 Three Most Popular Titles of Book-Length Works, by Grade 68 5.7 Most Popular Titles of Book-Length Works, Grades 9-12 by Track 70 5.8 Titles of Book-Length Works Required in 30 Percent or More of the Schools: Public Schools, Grades 7-12 71 5.9 Characteristics of Selections Used in the Preceding Five Days, by Genre 74 5.10Authors Most Frequently Taught in the Preceding Five Days 75 5.11Teachers' Freedom to Select the Literature They Teach 76 5.12Public School Teachers' Freedom to Select the Literature They Teach, by School Size 78 5.13Factor Analysis of Influences on Book Selection Policies for a Representative Class 78 5.14Influences on Book Selection Policies for a Representative Class, Grades 9-12 80 6.1 Number of Pages in Popular Literature Anthologies, by Grade and Series 86 6.2 Types of Subdivisions Used to Organize Individual Anthology Selections, by Major Divisions in Volume 87 6.3 Anthology Contents by Type of Literature 89 6.4 Number and Percent of Anthology Selections of Literature of Various Types, by Grade 90 6.5 Characteristics of Anthologized Authors, by Grade 94 6.6 Characteristics of Anthologized Authors and Selections, by Type and Period 96 6.7 Between-Series