Bernstein's theory of pedagogic discourse: linguistics, educational policy and practice in the UK English/literacy classroom

Urszula I. Clark

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

In “The English Patient: English Grammar and teaching in the Twentieth Century”, Hudson and Walmsley (2005) contens that the decline of grammar in schools was linked to a similar decline in English universities, where no serious research or teaching on English grammar took place. This article argues that such a decline was due not only to a lack of research, but also because it suited educational policies of the time. It applies Bernstein’s theory of pedagogic discourse (1990 & 1996) to the case study of the debate surrounding the introduction of a national curriculum in English in England in the late 1980s and the National Literacy Strategy in the 1990s, to demonstrate the links between academic theory and educational policy.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)32-47
Number of pages16
JournalEnglish Teaching
Volume4
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2005

Bibliographical note

Copyright of the University of Waikato. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

Keywords

  • grammar
  • English
  • pedagogic discourse
  • National Literacy
  • Strategy
  • educational policy

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