This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from Explore Bristol Research, http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk Author: Smith, Lorna A Title: Conversations in Creativity Interpreting secondary English curriculum policy in England past and present General rights Access to the thesis is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International Public License. A copy of this may be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode This license sets out your rights and the restrictions that apply to your access to the thesis so it is important you read this before proceeding. Take down policy Some pages of this thesis may have been removed for copyright restrictions prior to having it been deposited in Explore Bristol Research. However, if you have discovered material within the thesis that you consider to be unlawful e.g. breaches of copyright (either yours or that of a third party) or any other law, including but not limited to those relating to patent, trademark, confidentiality, data protection, obscenity, defamation, libel, then please contact [email protected] and include the following information in your message: •Your contact details •Bibliographic details for the item, including a URL •An outline nature of the complaint Your claim will be investigated and, where appropriate, the item in question will be removed from public view as soon as possible. This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from Explore Bristol Research, http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk Author: Smith, Lorna A Title: Conversations in Creativity General rights Access to the thesis is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International Public License. A copy of this may be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode This license sets out your rights and the restrictions that apply to your access to the thesis so it is important you read this before proceeding. Take down policy Some pages of this thesis may have been removed for copyright restrictions prior to having it been deposited in Explore Bristol Research. However, if you have discovered material within the thesis that you consider to be unlawful e.g. breaches of copyright (either yours or that of a third party) or any other law, including but not limited to those relating to patent, trademark, confidentiality, data protection, obscenity, defamation, libel, then please contact [email protected] and include the following information in your message: •Your contact details •Bibliographic details for the item, including a URL •An outline nature of the complaint Your claim will be investigated and, where appropriate, the item in question will be removed from public view as soon as possible. Conversations in creativity: Interpreting secondary English curriculum policy in England past and present Lorna Ann Smith A dissertation submitted to the University of Bristol in accordance with the requirements for award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law, School of Education. November, 2020 85,225 words 1 2 Abstract This thesis is a response to the expurgation of the term ‘creativity’ from the revised National Curriculum for English (DfE, 2014), inspired by my view – borne of 30 years’ experience - that English and creativity are intimately connected. The research aims to understand the deep relationship between English policy and creativity, and the response of subject experts to the current Curriculum in this light; and hence make recommendations towards the next Curriculum, promote the agency of English teachers, and emphasise the importance of maintaining a community of practice. I draw on the substantial existing literature on creativity in education and its (sometimes disputed) importance to English, using an interpretive hermeneutic approach influenced by Gadamer (1975/2004), to appreciate: i) how creativity appears throughout English education policy, through analysis from the first ‘Blue Book’ (BoE, 1905/1912) to the present Curriculum (DfE, 2014); ii) how expert English teaching professionals (or ‘colloquists’) conceive contemporary policy, through a series of semi-structured interviews. There are four key findings. First, that policy from 1905 to the first Curriculum (Cox, 1989) establishes a tradition of creative English grounded in humanism; second, that subsequent Curricula (from DfE/WO, 1995) increasingly decouple creativity and English, such that the absence of ‘creativity’ from the current Curriculum is not as great a departure it might appear; third, that the colloquists align themselves with the tradition of creative English; fourth, that they remain committed to creative practice despite suggestions (Biesta, 2015; Erss, 2018) that today’s Curriculum disempowers and demotivates teachers. I argue that preserving the tradition of creative English in both policy and practice is vital: creativity is a fundamentally humanising force, necessary to help young people cope with local, national and global challenges. Harnessing the collective memory of expert professionals provides an important counter-perspective to the current Curriculum until the policy is reviewed. 3 Acknowledgements and dedication I would like first to acknowledge the contribution to this thesis of my original supervisor, Dr Malcolm Reed, for some inspiring conversations that launched me on my way. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my subsequent supervisors, Professor Keri Facer and Dr Janet Orchard, whose kindness, reassurance, expertise and erudition supported me immeasurably and enabled me to complete my research journey: thank you. To the colloquists who gave so generously of their time and ideas: thank you for your inspirational testimony, and thank you for all that you have done, and still do, for secondary English. To all those I have taught, both as a secondary English teacher and teacher educator, and to all colleagues I have ever had the privilege of working alongside: thank you. I have learnt everything from you. To my dear father, John, thank you for your constant interest in my work and for being the most generous and exacting of proof-readers; and to my beloved late mother, Ann, thank you for your quiet guiding wisdom: I hope that you would have been proud to see this project reach fruition. To my sons, Will and Alex, thank you for your continuous smiling encouragement. To my husband, Paul, whose very presence has sustained me throughout: thank you for your understanding, patience and unconditional love. --------------------------------------------- I would like to dedicate this work to all the teachers of the past who were instrumental in establishing and growing subject English, often against the odds; to all who are teaching English now, continuing to enthuse and delight their students despite the multiple challenges faced; and to the English teachers of the future: be yours to hold the torch of English high. 4 Author’s declaration I declare that the work in this dissertation was carried out in accordance with the requirements of the University's Regulations and Code of Practice for Research Degree Programmes and that it has not been submitted for any other academic award. Except where indicated by specific reference in the text, the work is my own. Work done in collaboration with, or with the assistance of, others, is indicated as such. Any views expressed in the dissertation are those of the author. SIGNED: DATE: 3rd November 2020 5 Contents Chapter 1 Introduction: ‘nothing without the make-believe of a beginning’ 1.0 The starting point…………………………………………………………………………………14 1.1 Connecting the personal with the policy………………………………………………15 1.2 The aims of this thesis………………………………………………………………………….20 1.3 A note on my positionality and hermeneutics………………………………………22 1.4 An overview of the thesis structure………………………………………………….....23 Chapter 2 The challenge of defining creativity and its controversial place in curriculum policy 2.0 Introduction and overview…………………………………………………………………..24 2.1 The contested notion of creativity……………………………………………………….25 2.1.1 Big C Creativity: from Gods and geniuses to the hard graft of the great artists…………………………………………………………………………….25 2.1.2 The interdependence of creativity and culture…………………….26 2.1.3 Democratising creativity: making it personal………………………..28 2.1.4 Community and collaboration………………..…………………………….30 2.1.5 Considering the ethics of creativity….…………………………………..32 2.1.6 Towards ‘creativities’...............................................................33 2.2 ‘Creativities’ in education policy..............................................................34 2.2.1 The 1960s – Creativity (re) discovered: from Pestalozzi to Plowden............................................................................................35 2.2.2 The 1990s – Flexible skills for 21st century employers.............38 2.2.3 The 2000s – The chimera of creativity.....................................42 2.3 Creativity and the English teacher...........................................................45 2.3.1 The decline of creativity...........................................................45 2.3.2 The diminishing role of the creative teacher...........................47 2.4 Implications of the literature for this study.............................................49 2.4.1 Towards Research Aim 1..........................................................50 2.4.2 Towards Research