SACE Year 12 English Literary Studies can be passed by reading one novel and one play
STUDENTS can pass the toughest Year 12 English course by reading one novel and one play, sparking calls that it must be made more rigorous by requiring study of more long-form fiction.
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STUDENTS can pass the toughest Year 12 English course reading one novel and one play, sparking calls that it must be made more rigorous by requiring study of more long-form fiction.
Teachers say the new SACE English Literary Studies course, a revamp of the former English Studies subject, has reduced the number of major “texts” students have to study from seven to five. Up to two of those can be movies, and a selection of poetry counts as another.
The SA English Teachers Association backs the changes, saying they allow for more in-depth study of each text with “far greater academic rigour”.
But university experts warn the curriculum is not comprehensive enough, especially when young people read far less of their own volition compared to previous generations.
Adelaide University Associate Professor in English and Creative Writing, Mandy Treagus, said the course was “not asking a lot of them in terms of reading”.
“If it is seen as academic preparation for university, they (students) are going to be in a bit of trouble, she said.
“If we see the novel as the defining genre of literary studies, we are selling them a bit short doing one. Yes have film, but have more novels.
“It also seems a bit dull. They do those (few) texts to death.”
English Studies has traditionally been viewed as the most academic of SACE English subjects. In addition to the major texts, the revamped version also requires study of “short texts” that can include some with “graphic or visual elements” as well as “prose fiction and non-fiction” and poetry.
Students must also complete creative assignments that can include producing a podcast, a “performance”, a “toast” or an “imaginative hypertext”.
Flinders University deputy dean of the School of Humanities and Creative Arts, Associate Professor Robert Phiddian, said ideally the number of major texts would double to “at least two of each kind”.
“(That way) you see different literary forms and different ranges of human experience, different ways of telling stories,” he said.
SA English Teachers Association president Alison Robertson said: “There’s far fewer texts than in the ‘80s and ‘90s, it’s true — that’s part of a (national) trend.
“But we do them in much more detail. There’s far greater academic rigour.”
Ms Robertson said some changes to the course were needed to comply with the Australian Curriculum.
The SACE Board said it worked with school teachers and university experts to produce the new subject content, which was further refined after public consultation.
“While the reading requirements are similar, the new subject asks for higher-order thinking that better prepares students for life in our complex world,” chief executive Neil McGoran said.