Shakespeare Valued: Education Policy and Pedagogy 1989-2009

172 Pages·2015·4.115 MB·English

by  Sarah Olive

Shakespeare Valued
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Shakespeare Valued
Education Policy and Pedagogy 1989–2009
Sarah Olive
intellect Bristol, UK / Chicago, USA
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First published in the UK in 2015 by
Intellect, The Mill, Parnall Road, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 3JG, UK
First published in the USA in 2015 by
Intellect, The University of Chicago Press, 1427 E. 60th Street,
Chicago, IL 60637, USA
Copyright © 2015 Intellect Ltd
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without written permission.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the
British Library.
Copy-editor: MPS Technologies
Cover designer: Shine Chuah
Production manager: Jessica Mitchell
Typesetting: Contentra Technologies
Print ISBN: 978-1-78320-438-0
ePDF ISBN: 978-1-78320-439-7
ePub ISBN: 978-1-78320-440-3
Printed and bound by TJ International.
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For my family
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Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction 1
Meaning by Shakespeares 5
Tracing a Cultural Politics of Shakespeare 5
Contextualising Shakespeare in Education 8
Problematising Shakespeare Valued 10
Previewing Shakespeare Valued 13
Chapter 1: Shakespeare in Policy: Agendas for Standards, Skills and Inclusion 15
The Victorian Standards 17
Twentieth-Century English Education Policy 19
The 1989 National Curriculum 21
Why Shakespeare? 23
Why Still Shakespeare? 25
Shakespeare for Skills 28
Shakespeare for Standards 33
Shakespeare for Inclusion 41
Naturalising Shakespeare’s Curriculum Presence 48
Chapter 2: S hakespeare in English Pedagogy: Values,
Influence and Criticism 51
Drama in the Curriculum 54
ICT, Media and Creative Writing 57
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Shakespeare Valued
Literary Critical Approaches 58
Active Methods 63
Contextual Approaches 74
Pedagogies for Trainee Teachers 80
Common Influences on Pedagogies 85
Pedagogies Globally 88
Chapter 3: Shakespeare in Theatre and Heritage: Three Education Departments 91
RSC, SBT and Globe Education 96
Physical Proximity at the SBT 98
Play and Community at the Globe 102
Ensemble Plus at the RSC 106
The RSC as ‘Cultural Chemist’ 110
Afterword 121
Shakespeare Under the Coalition: An End to Shakespeare for All? 124
Works Cited 135
Index 149
viii
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Acknowledgements
In writing this book, I have been enabled by the help and support of many people. First and
foremost, my thanks go to my family old and new. Elaine, Michael, John, Lisa, Amelia and
Ruth Olive must be writ large, along with grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and in-laws.
My husband, John, and step-children, David and Hannah, came into my life as this research
started. This item seems too small a return for their enduring love.
Kate McLuskie led the AHRC ‘Interrogating Cultural Value project’ at The Shakespeare
Institute, University of Birmingham, to which my work belongs, and through which I was
supported financially. Kate Rumbold and Emily Linnemann, also members of the project,
offered unstinting encouragement. I welcomed the input of the project’s advisory board
members, especially Diana Owen, Sharon O’Dair and Paul Yachnin.
I have been fortunate to gain feedback on some of this work through conferences,
publication and subsequent discussion. A version of the section ‘The Royal Shakespeare
Company as “cultural chemist”’ appeared in Shakespeare Survey (64).
Eleanor Collins, Cait Fannin Peel, Lisa Houghton-Reed, the Rev’d Stuart Langshaw, Jami
Rogers, James Stredder and Alison Stewart all contributed ideas or items specifically towards
this book. Catherine Alexander, Karen Ashton, Chelsea Avard, Cat Clifford, Christine
Knight, Heather Kerr, Lizz Ketterer, Michelle Morton, Beccy Roberts, Elizabeth Sharrett,
Erin Sullivan, Vanita Sundaram and Yolana Wassersug are among those who frequently
asked after my writing and never got a short answer. Jessica Mitchell and Megan Jones at
Intellect are models of approachable, efficient publishers.
This work could not have been sustained without the friendships and collegiality that
abound at the Shakespeare Institute and Department of Education, University of York.
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