Knowledge, making and English teachers

Abstract

This chapter outlines the key questions regarding literature, knowledge and the making of English teachers that will be addressed through the book. It discusses the enduring challenges of investigating knowledge in the context of English teaching and teachers’ practice and makes the case that such an investigation is necessary, particularly in light of imperatives to articulate what constitutes powerful knowledge in school subjects. The chapter identifies previous research concerning the making and formation of English teachers and offers an overview of the Australian Research Council Project which has served as the impetus for the book. We discuss the national and global neoliberal education context in which the early career English teachers in the study were operating, and explain the way the book’s structure reflects the prioritising of participants’ voices and a multivocal approach to research.