Simon Gibbons is the director of teacher education at King’s College London.

‘If you want to know about English teaching in the last fifty years this is the book to read. Simon Gibbons takes you from the landmark Dartmouth Conference, in 1966, in the States, to the present day in a comprehensive but ever readable way. Inevitably he highlights key moments, such as the strike against the SATs in the early nineties but he layers the fifty years of history with interviews with some of the key players and this makes it all the more interesting and offers a unique perspective.’ - Dr Bethan Marshall, Senior Lecturer in English in Education, King’s College London 'This is a bold, clear and comprehensive description of the principal schools of thought, professional developments, political struggles and key events in English teaching in England over 50 years. It will be a standard read for anyone interested in what English has been, is now and could be in the future.' - John Richmond, English advisor, part of the National Writing Project, Language in the National Curriculum Project and schools television.

• Acknowledgements 1. Introduction Part 1: The Age of Invention 2. A New Progressivism: English from the 1960s into the 1970s 3. The Calm Before the Storm? English in the 1970s and 1980s Part 2: The Age of Intervention 4. Standardisation? The National Curriculum and National Assessment 5. New Labour, New Policies: The Focus on Literacy 6. The Coalition and Beyond: Back to the Future? Part 3: Abroad and Beyond 7. An English Subject Abroad 8. Conclusion – The Futures of English?

Simon Gibbons is the director of teacher education at King’s College London.

‘If you want to know about English teaching in the last fifty years this is the book to read. Simon Gibbons takes you from the landmark Dartmouth Conference, in 1966, in the States, to the present day in a comprehensive but ever readable way. Inevitably he highlights key moments, such as the strike against the SATs in the early nineties but he layers the fifty years of history with interviews with some of the key players and this makes it all the more interesting and offers a unique perspective.’ - Dr Bethan Marshall, Senior Lecturer in English in Education, King’s College London 'This is a bold, clear and comprehensive description of the principal schools of thought, professional developments, political struggles and key events in English teaching in England over 50 years. It will be a standard read for anyone interested in what English has been, is now and could be in the future.' - John Richmond, English advisor, part of the National Writing Project, Language in the National Curriculum Project and schools television.

• Acknowledgements 1. Introduction Part 1: The Age of Invention 2. A New Progressivism: English from the 1960s into the 1970s 3. The Calm Before the Storm? English in the 1970s and 1980s Part 2: The Age of Intervention 4. Standardisation? The National Curriculum and National Assessment 5. New Labour, New Policies: The Focus on Literacy 6. The Coalition and Beyond: Back to the Future? Part 3: Abroad and Beyond 7. An English Subject Abroad 8. Conclusion – The Futures of English?