Rewriting subject English: teacher pedagogy and agency in the ‘knowledge-rich curriculum’ era

Carr, A (2025) Rewriting subject English: teacher pedagogy and agency in the ‘knowledge-rich curriculum’ era. PhD thesis, University of Bristol.

Abstract

This thesis explores the relationship between subject English teachers’ pedagogy and agency during the ‘knowledge-rich curriculum’ era, introduced by the Conservative-led Department for Education (DfE) of 2010-2024. It examines how national policy decisions affect English teachers’ agency, to the detriment of subject specific pedagogical decision-making.   I argue that the DfE sought to rewrite English and enforce experiences and aims on English teachers that would limit their agency. The thesis employs teacher agency theory (Priestley et al., 2015) to consider how English teachers’ experiences and goals affect pedagogical choices. Existing literature on pedagogy contrasts subject specialists’ signature pedagogies of English with the DfE’s promotion of scientific knowledge. While theories of core (Hirsch, 1992) and powerful (Young, 2013a) knowledge are used by the DfE to justify their conception of knowledge, these lack full alignment. Moreover, the 2014 National Curriculum for English shows limited intensification of references to knowledge, despite policy-maker rhetoric. Using a case study methodology, with ethnographic intent, this thesis draws on empirical research with ten practitioners through online interviews and reviews of institutional documents. Their stories demonstrate how external actors have tried to control their agency by rewriting subject English pedagogy in four key respects: promoting centralised planning and resources; demoting talk that engages with text; prioritising scaffolded writing; and re-defining disciplinary perspectives of English. Teachers with experience prior to the ‘knowledge-rich curriculum’ era demonstrated greater independence in their practice, despite political intervention. While ‘knowledge-rich’ policies sought to impose formalistic conceptions of pedagogy across all subjects, practitioners have mediated these differently, leading to different versions of how to ‘do’ English. Such attempts to control English teachers’ achievement of agency, by rewriting the curriculum and signature pedagogies of English, risks the future of subject English. This thesis demonstrates the value of a theorised approach to teacher agency for understanding the influence of curriculum reforms on subject identities.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Note:	The thesis can be read at the link above.
Divisions:	School of Education
Date Deposited:	10 Apr 2026 16:49
Last Modified:	10 Apr 2026 16:50
URN:	https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/17684

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