Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Rebecca Hibbin
October, 2013
Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Lancaster University, UK
DECLARATION
This thesis results entirely from my own work and has not been offered
Signature -
Acknowledgements
produce this research. Many thanks also to the school that generously hosted me,
like to thank Jo Warin, my supervisor, who has guided me through the academic
waters with skill and equanimity. Thanks also to my family who have supported me in
numerous ways throughout: to Solomon who was the inspiration for this work, to Ella
who will undoubtedly hear lots of oral stories, to Dave who has never failed to believe
in me and who’s love, care and humour has kept me going, to Leah who is creative
and generous in good measure, to Sarah who has journeyed beside me and kept me
sane, to my mum without whom I would never have gone back to education, and to
my dad who endlessly expresses his pride and love. Thanks also to Melanie whose
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Contents
Acknowledgements .........................................................................................................
1
Contents ..........................................................................................................................
2
List of
Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................
9
List of Figures and
Tables ..............................................................................................................................
11
Abstract ...........................................................................................................................
12
1 Introduction and
Background .....................................................................................................................
14
1.1 Ways with words, texts and creativity in the primary
classroom ............................................................................................................
14
1.2 Hard wired for
story.....................................................................................................................
16
1.2.1 Language and literacy as multidimensional
artefacts 19
1.2.2 Literacy acquisition as contested ideological
ground 22
1.2.3 The politics of reading and
writing 24
1.2.4 The revaluation and devaluation of speaking and
listening in
school 28
1.2.5 Hegemony, cultural capital and subject status: What
happens to knowledge in
school? 30
1.2.6 Creative Partnerships in the primary
classroom 33
2
1.2.7 A rationale for the examination of oral storytelling as
an arts-based
initiative 36
1.3 From looking out to turning
in .........................................................................................................................
37
1.3.1 Oral storytelling: Towards a working
definition 38
1.3.2 ‘Non-Instrumental’ speaking and
listening 42
1.3.3 Oral storytelling at Hollytree
School 44
1.3.4 Envisioning alternatives: Personal revelation as
reflexivity ........................................................................................
48
1.4 Summing
up.........................................................................................................................
50
2 A review of the
literature ..........................................................................................................................
51
2.1 Theoretical
Perspective ..........................................................................................................
52
2.1.1 Social
Constructivism 52
2.1.2 Critical Theory: Literacy as
hegemony 55
2.2 Oral storytelling as sociocultural
learning ...............................................................................................................
57
2.2.1 Social and emotional effects of oral
storytelling 59
2.2.2 Language based effects of oral
storytelling 64
2.2.3 Cognitive effects of oral
storytelling 68
3
2.3 Literacy acquisition in primary
education .............................................................................................................
71
2.3.1 Research into literacy acquisition: Too much, too
young? ........................................................................................
72
4
3.2.3 Participants as
people 106
3.3 Research
tools .....................................................................................................................
109
3.3.1
Interview 111
3.3.2 Interview
schedule 114
3.3.3
Observation 115
3.4 Analytic
approach ..............................................................................................................
117
3.4.1 Coding
procedures 119
3.4.2
Frequency 124
3.5 Research
rigor .....................................................................................................................
126
3.5.1 Triangulation and the audit
trail 127
3.5.2 Disconfirming evidence and thick
description 128
3.5.3 Researcher
reflexivity 130
3.6 Summing
up.........................................................................................................................
132
4. Effects and Benefits of Oral
Storytelling ......................................................................................................................
134
4.1 Socio-emotional effects and
benefits ................................................................................................................
134
4.1.1 Self-confidence through oral
storytelling 134
5
4.1.2 Self-expression, emotional literacy and identity: How
children understand and represent
themselves 140
4.1.3 Emotional literacy through intra-psychological
processes: How children come to understand
others 144
4.1.4 The listener, the audience and the group: Emotional
literacy through inter-psychological
processes 149
4.1.5 Teamwork and emotional
literacy 155
4.2 Effects upon communicative competence and
vocabulary ...........................................................................................................
157
4.2.1 Fluency and the scaffolding of spoken
language 157
4.2.2 Problems of oral
communication 165
4.3 Summing
up.........................................................................................................................
171
5. Speaking and Listening in the National
Curriculum ......................................................................................................................
173
5.1 The devaluation of speaking and listening in the
curriculum ...........................................................................................................
173
5.2 The devaluation of speaking and listening through Initial Teacher
Training ...............................................................................................................
183
5.3 A lack of storytelling process in the
curriculum ...........................................................................................................
188
5.4 The drive for written
outcomes .............................................................................................................
192
6
5.5 Summing
up.........................................................................................................................
208
6. CP and Artists in
School .............................................................................................................................
210
6.1 Co-delivery and creative teaching as disciplined
improvisation ......................................................................................................
210
6.2 Perceptual shifts afforded through the
arts .......................................................................................................................
220
6.3 Summing
up.........................................................................................................................
233
7. The Hegemony of
Literacy ...........................................................................................................................
235
7.1 The giving of greater
value ....................................................................................................................
235
7.2 The consequences of the prioritization of
literacy.................................................................................................................
248
7.3 The co-existence of speaking and
writing .................................................................................................................
261
7.4 The primacy of
orality ..................................................................................................................
272
7.5 Summing
up.........................................................................................................................
282
8.
Conclusion ......................................................................................................................
285
7
8.1 Contribution to
knowledge ...........................................................................................................
283
8.2 Revisiting the research questions: summarising participant
perceptions ..........................................................................................................
288
8.3 Combining participant perspectives with research-based
evidence ..............................................................................................................
290
8.4 Concluding comments and
recommendations ................................................................................................
307
References .......................................................................................................................
314
8
List of Abbreviations
CA Creative Agent
CP Creative Partnerships
CT Class Teacher
HT Head Teacher
NC National Curriculum
9
SEAL Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning
10
List of Figures and Tables
11
Abstract
The oral re-telling of traditional tales, modelled by a storyteller and taught to children
that emphasises oral language skills over the reading and writing of stories. It can also
school. While oral storytelling has significant benefits to children’s education and
This library and interview-based study explores participant perceptions of the benefits
of oral storytelling and the barriers to the utilization of such non-instrumental and
Theories of Learning with a critical standpoint in relation to literacy, orality and the
The findings suggest that speaking and listening skills are implicitly devalued as a
to assessment procedures and the standards agenda. Children with poor oral language
skills are disadvantaged in school as a result. In addition, the emphasis upon literacy
forms of teaching and learning that are available through the arts. Oral storytelling as
12
benefits for all children, most saliently “intrinsic benefits” that enhance children’s
“capacity to perceive, feel and interpret the world” (McCarthy, 2001; xvi). In
addition, its participatory nature through classroom practice that combines the skills
of artists and teachers has important implications for the development of pedagogy.
pedagogic tool and there is a lack of training for teachers and support within the
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1 Introduction and Background
1.1 Ways with words, texts and creativity in the primary classroom
This thesis examines the pedagogic use of oral storytelling, its effects and benefits, its
defining features, and its process and structure. Informing this examination are the
in school, and of creative collaboration between artists and teachers in the classroom.
literature in relation to oral storytelling, literacy, speaking and listening, and arts-
Storytelling as a speaking and listening (S&L) activity is part of the wider literacy
agenda. As such it is almost impossible to think about oral storytelling without taking
into consideration the literacy curriculum within which S&L resides. Therefore there
is also an explicit focus upon the balance of reading, writing, and S&L in school. The
idea that children’s attitudes towards reading and writing both inside and outside
school are strongly influenced by the qualitative nature of early teaching and learning
education that result from the nature of oral storytelling as a spoken word art-form.
The empirical hub of the research centres upon a creative collaboration facilitated by
14
Creative Partnerships (CP), an organisation that delivers arts education in school.
p.74) that frame the discussion on the status of S&L in the curriculum, in relation to
initiative. As a result of this variegated focus, the study moves through an inductive
to make more general claims about literacy, S&L, and the arts in education. The aims
of the study therefore, are to uncover the ways in which practice in S&L through oral
literacy curriculum, and what collaborative arts-based practice can offer to our
The original contribution to knowledge that this thesis makes is an exposition of the
balance of S&L and literacy-based practice in primary education through the lens of a
that is suggestive of the idea that perspectives addressing the status of talk in school
tend to focus on the devaluation of oral language rather than the way that orality is
frequently linked to written aims and outcomes. I suggest that there is no research that
This introductory chapter consists of 12 main sections. The first eight sections provide
15
historical trajectory of research-based educational policy and practice, the status of
spoken language in school since the inception of the National Curriculum (NC),
status, the ethos, structure and modus operandi of CP, an analysis of CP in relation to
the New Labour’s rhetoric of creativity, and a rationale for research into oral
storytelling.
The final four sections detail the premise behind this thesis and its research area,
‘non-instrumental’ S&L as it is being used in the study, how oral storytelling was
in oral storytelling.
Oral storytelling is unequivocally the oldest form of education used from time
traditions, and history to future generations” (Hamilton & Weiss, 1990; p.1). This was
the way cultural transmission took place before the advent of literacy allowed
intrinsic to the way we think – we are literally hard wired for story. Bruner (1990) has
exchanges within the social world. He suggests that there is an innate human
16
“….our capacity to render experience in narrative is… an instrument for
making meaning that dominates much of life in culture… Our sense of the normative
Bruner (1990) also suggests that children think in stories, and that they “produce and
comprehend stories …long before they are capable of handling the most fundamental
Piagetian logical propositions that can be put into linguistic form” (p.80). In addition
Egan (1988, 1990, 1991, 1992), one of the most ardent and consistent supporters of
storytelling in the classroom, contends that the imagination and emotion inherent in
asserts that “the tool we have for dealing with knowledge and emotions together is the
story” (Egan, 1992; p.70). In Egan’s view cognitive activity in the absence of
imagination and affect is desiccated and inadequate, and that the power of storytelling
resides in the idea that children are more readily stimulated by content that engages
“So the affective connection is also the story connection. Whenever our
emotions are involved, so too is a narrative, a story or story fragment, that sets the
context and the meaning. The role of the story is fundamental to our sense-making,
neglected.”
17
This coupling of cognition with emotional development is what positions oral
particularly the internalization of external dialogue that brings the powerful tool of
language to bear on the stream of thought. Man if you will, is shaped by the tools and
instruments that he comes to use, and neither the mind nor the hand alone can amount
to much…the tools and aids that do are the developing streams of internalized
language and conceptual thought that sometimes run parallel and sometime merge,
organized, specifically human psychological function” (p. 90). Through the use of
become central, where language-based interactions and dialogue with others in our
social worlds become internalized to constitute ‘verbal thought’ and “the social
structure of personality” (In Valsiner, 1987; p.67). Oral storytelling naturally resides
represents spoken language practice that explicitly underpins and reinforces Socio-
18
provide the psycho-social and cultural milieu whereby the inter-psychological
inherently social nature of oral storytelling that demands a listening audience to fulfil
its definitional requirements as well as the modelling of oral stories by a more skilful
pedagogical techniques that are used to scaffold children’s learning in their Zone of
Proximal Development as they learn to tell oral stories. The clearly language–based
nature of oral storytelling bolsters spoken language and ‘verbal thought’ while
minimising attempts to engage with written forms of narrative. Finally, the myths,
legends and stories that children go on to tell are in and of themselves cultural
artefacts. If, as suggested by Vygotsky, the higher mental functions are contingent
upon interaction with others and engagement with the unique tools of a given culture,
The artificial divides that are created between different aspects of language for
purposes of functionality in the classroom can have lasting impacts upon the way
reading, writing, and S&L are experienced by learners. Pedagogic choices can result
reading and writing occur together as visual representations of language and S&L
naturally coalesce on the aural plane. Certainly this is the way language skills have
traditionally been grouped within the classroom, with literacy-based skills relating
19
Alternatively, language divisions can be created that accord with the level of
creativity that inheres within each manifestation. In this conception speaking and
writing naturally fall together as productive forms of language, and reading and
listening as forms that are more receptive in nature. As suggested by the National
such formulations when grouping language skills if only to enable us to think about
afterthought speaking and listening? Would it not make more sense to think in terms
The artificiality of such divides results in pedagogic practice that frequently does not
resonate with learners’ experiences of language and literacy outside the classroom. In
the lived world language use involves a complex interplay of written, spoken, read,
and heard presentations that make any attempt at division appear arbitrary. However,
the presence of complex and interdependent ‘literacy events’ (Street, 1988) that
incorporate all forms of language are significantly less ubiquitous in the instructional
environment of the primary classroom than they are in everyday life. Generally it is
“an autonomous model of literacy that underpins the construction of school curricula,
and pervades teachers’ instructional and assessment practices” (Larson, 2006; p.320).
20
(Larson, 2006; p.320) due to its emphasis upon decontextualized drill and practice in
This autonomous model contrasts with conceptions of language and literacy as multi-
knowledge within school allows bridges between the environments of home, school
experience and the ‘funds of knowledge’ (Moll et al., 1992) they bring to the
(Heath, 1983; Ochs, 1988). Similarly, processes of identity formation – both in terms
strongly tied up with the ‘vernacular languages’ (Gee, 2004) and abilities that children
changes” (Larson, 2006; p.324), and the use of standardized measures of competency
defined as “multiple and complex practices in use” (Gatto, 2001; Vasquez, 2004; In
Larson, 2006; p.323) assessment becomes a formative tool rather than a summative
individualized and adaptive (Giebelhaus & Bowman, 2002) become the stock and
21
trade of ‘testing’. Formative assessment of this kind is strongly linked to
experiences and interests of the learner and involves students through the use of self-
assessment and feedback. This multifarious view of assessment moves testing away
perspectives that align with the stance of the New Literacies Studies (NLS). Within
this thesis oral storytelling is positioned as a S&L activity that promotes the tenets of
based aims and outcomes. This kind of non-instrumental language practice can be
The current educational climate in relation to school-based literacy has its origins in
the highly contested and ideological nature of the process of learning to read and
write. For decades debates have raged about the ‘best’ way to teach the skills of
literacy, with systematic and formulaic practice in alphabetic decoding being backed
relational position being taken by the advocates of a whole language approach. While
measurable gains in reading ability can be made using a phonics-based approach (Ehri
22
et al., 2001) studies have also observed that such gains often do not last, and can
come at the expense of comprehension and reading for meaning (Chall, 1976; Elley,
1992; Suggate, 2009; Suggate et al., 2012). In addition, the benefits of approaches
that emphasise decoding are undermined by studies that have found letter-sound
patterns being learned “better by children in whole language classroom than children
Theorists and practitioners have observed that “children’s learning, and in particular
result, the dichotomy that splits research, policy and practice into phonics versus
whole language approaches has been criticised in recent years as being unhelpful by
those who emphasise such complexity. Learning to read requires knowledge of the
alphabetic principle as an essential component, but it also requires all the elements of
a whole language approach. Generally the consensus within the research literature
tends to lean towards the idea that “there can be no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach”
(Lambirth, 2011; p.2) to the teaching of reading. This is most obviously because of
the irregularity of the English language that defies systematic attempts at teaching,
actual system” (Strauss & Altwerger, 2007; p.300). Despite the utility of a pragmatic
stance, debates ranging from “how much of children’s time should be spent on
all” (Goouch, 2010; p.80), still occupy a significant proportion of the theoretical
23
suggests that more balanced approaches are pivotal to children’s current and future
engagement with literacy and school (Goodman, 1986; Purcell-Gates & Dahl, 1991;
Morrow et al., 2011). It has been suggested that the popularity of approaches to the
teaching of reading that favour the systematic instruction of decoding skills may be
due to the fact that “insecure or inexperienced teachers find it one they can both
formulations of the NC (DfE, 2013). The implication therefore presents itself that the
contested ideological ground of literacy acquisition may be more a function of, and a
response to, politically oriented agendas and educational policy than it is a ‘debate’
Report (1975) that was commissioned by the Labour Government at that time to
consider all aspects of teaching English including reading, writing and speech. The
Report emphasised the importance of learning to read in context “in the daily
experiences of the classroom and the home” (p.520). In addition it strongly denounced
polarised arguments about the ‘best’ way to learn the skills of literacy:
24
The report came at a time of intense debate about the excesses of creativity in primary
education that were to a large degree the result of the child-centred recommendations
approaches to reading, writing, and S&L that would come to resonate with the whole
practice (Street, 1995). The two reports made similar recommendations in relation to
the need for situated forms of literacy practice designed “to fit the age, interest and
ability of individual pupils” so that teachers could “try all the methods available to
them and not to depend on only one” (Plowden, 1967; p.212). A significant difference
between them was that the Bullock Report placed additional emphasis upon the role
of research advocating the need for a strong and informed relationship between
empirical studies on teaching and learning, and the implementation of policy and
associated practice.
In terms of practice the mixture of analytic and synthetic phonics that was taught prior
to the publication of the two reports was abandoned in some state primary schools in
the 70’s, to be replaced by whole word recognition methods. However, the average
reading age of children fell during this time. This was most likely a result of an
approach to avoid any kind of skill instruction in literacy at all (Pearson, 2000). As a
result of increasing politicization of research into reading and the policy agenda, as
well as increasing pressure in relation to standards, accountability and the desire for
language approach became the predominant method of literacy instruction up until the
25
It was during the Labour Government’s time in office (1997-2012) that systematic
review into the research literature on the use of phonics in teaching reading and spelling
was commissioned by the Labour Government during this time. While the review did
find that systematic phonics instruction had a “statistically significant positive effect on
reading accuracy” (Torgerson et al., 2006; p.8) it was unable to identify a significant
difference between synthetic and analytic versions. At around the same time Sir Jim
Rose was asked by the Secretary of State to conduct an independent review into the
teaching of early reading. Unlike the previous review of phonics research, the Rose
Report (2006) strongly advocated the use of a synthetic version of phonics as the “prime
reading” and “for reasons that are unclear” (Hynd, 2007; p.267) have been squarely
levelled at the Rose Review since its inception. In particular, the impartial nature of the
review and its attempts to align itself with “consensus derived from research” (Wray,
“What has actually happened is that pressure groups with axes to grind (and,
usually, teaching programmes to sell) have caught the ear of politicians and the Rose
While the Rose Report has been described as an “accomplished piece of spin doctoring”
(Hynd, 2007; p.268) by its critics, its influence on the curriculum has been profound,
26
with a ‘phonics first and fast’ approach being firmly adopted within the National
political helm in 2010, changes to the NC for English have taken the teaching of
synthetic phonics instruction even further. The language of the NC is replete with
references to the need for a “rigorous and systematic phonics programme” for “pupils
whose decoding skills are poor” (DfE, 2014; pp.16-40) right up to the upper years of
Key Stage (KS) 2. It would seem that the ‘phonics first, fast and only’ mantra of New
Labour that has itself been subject to significant criticism (Wyse & Styles, 2007; Wyse
& Goswami, 2008) has reached a dogmatic level of prescription within the course of
Since the adoption of the Rose Report (2006) within educational policy, the child-
centred recommendations from both Plowden (1967) and Bullock (1975) appear to have
been forgotten in the most recent formulations of the NC for English. In addition
sufficient for children learning to read do not seem to have informed policy. Therefore
reading schemes that are easily measurable and implementable within the instructional
27
1.2.4 The revaluation and devaluation of speaking and listening in school
Arguably, S&L practice has become increasingly aligned with the holistic
perspectives emphasised by Plowden (1967) and Bullock (1975). In this sense the
false dichotomy between phonics and whole language approaches has implicated S&L
within the debate. As noted by Johnson (1995), during the mid-1980’s “the place of
spoken English in the curriculum was fairly clear...it was not often prominent in
English departments’ priorities for development, and it featured in very few GCE O-
level syllabuses” (p.17). However, this situation was to change as a direct result of Sir
Keith Joseph, the then Secretary of State for Education, who was committed to
improving the position of spoken language in the curriculum so that “the use of oral
work…might be encouraged in the teaching of all subjects” (Sir Keith Joseph, 1984:
S&L within the curriculum as an Attainment Target which was defined in two
Statutory Orders (DES, 1989 and 1990). The Cox Report (1989) that laid down the
fundamentals of the NC and outlined the various Attainment Targets heavily endorsed
Sir Keith Joseph’s views recommending that S&L should occupy one third of the
English Curriculum:
teaching and learning method, talk is also now widely recognised as promoting and
embodying a range of skills and competence - both transactional and social - that are
28
central to children's overall language development.”
The National Oracy Project (NOP) was a direct result of the increased emphasis upon
S&L in school at this time, and as noted by Johnson (1995), while there were
difficulties in implementing the Statutory Orders due to the lack of clear and explicit
to question, listen and explain...It was also more apparent that pupils of modest
However, the high status afforded to S&L in the curriculum was not destined to last.
The call for more ‘standard’ forms of English started to be made by quasi-educational
agencies aligned with Conservative ideology such as the Centre for Policy Studies
(Johnson, 1995). Such views made their way into the National Curriculum Council
(NCC) which in 1992 published advice to the Secretary of State officially calling for a
revision of the Statutory Orders in relation to S&L. It was suggested by the NCC that
there was not enough emphasis upon Standard English or attentive listening, and
advice was accepted and S&L was toppled from its short-lived position of parity with
29
‘standard’ grammatical forms more usually associated with written English became
devaluation has remained in place to the present day, and that the elevation of S&L
that was most notably characterised by the prominence of the NOP from 1987-1993
curriculum.
1.2.5 Hegemony, cultural capital and subject status: What happens to knowledge in
school?
The overall effect of this devaluation of S&L is one where literacy and its acquisition
becomes one of the central purposes, if not the central purpose, of schooling at the
primary level of education. This form of dominance on the subject level has been
aligned with cultural forms of hegemony by theoretical positions that take post-
educated discourse that all children have access to. However, in reality, and much like
the Matthew Effects (Stanovich, 1986) that have been observed in successful early
inherit more” (Lambirth, 2006; p.66). Clearly, children from more privileged
backgrounds with access to educated discourses, cultural capital and varied forms of
literacy practice will fare better in relation to literacy acquisition and school than
30
Hegemony in relation to subject status can be understood through the idea that “what
among many” (Lambirth, 2006; p.65). The arbitrary selection of certain forms of
knowledge over others in society is reinforced by the idea that such selections are
frequently legacies of the historical conditions that gave rise to their inclusion as high
status forms. As noted by Monaghan & Saul (1987), the continued priority given to
reading over writing in early childhood education in the US, was originally a result of
the needs of the early settlers and the view that learning to read the Bible was
considered essential. While this may no longer be the case the imbalance between
The idea that literacy should be privileged over other forms of language learning has
written as opposed to oral presentation” and “the extent to which [academic curricula]
are ‘at odds’ with daily life and common experience” (p.38), are key features of high
status knowledge. Young (1971) positions such features as “the organizing principles
underlying academic curricula” that are irreducible and resistant to change. However,
Paechter (1998) emphasises that “this has not always been the case” pointing to the
“burgeoning in the United Kingdom of legitimated knowledges that took other forms”
(p.164) during the 1980’s and early 1990’s. In particular she cites the increased
emphasis that was put onto oral language through the work of the NOP. Paechter
(1998) goes on to unravel the complexities that frame the differences between high
status, non-vocational and ‘uncommonsense’ forms of knowledge, and those that are
learning that enable students to access the power that is contained within them, and as
31
knowledge that allows for “effective individual and group action” (p.174) and the
dynamic use of learning. In addition, Paechter (1998) suggests that owned or non-
knowledge, but rather two extreme ends of a continuum. She goes on to ask:
sufficient legitimacy in the schooling system for ownership to continue within the
classroom? How can we cross the barrier between owned and school knowledge?”
Paechter (1998) suggests that it is children’s failure to grasp that “school knowledge
is different from home knowledge” that is “likely to lead to failure in school” (p.168).
High status knowledge is therefore only half the story and it is what happens to
knowledge once it has been subsumed into, sanctioned and legitimized by school that
is of issue. Clearly, what was positioned as the owned knowledge of yesterday often
becomes the school knowledge of tomorrow, and vice versa. Analysis of this
suggests that issues of power, intrinsic purpose and the ability of learners to have
control over their own learning are central to conceptions of both school and non-
“It seems likely that central to ownership of knowledge is having the power
contained within that which one knows…a simple inclusion of real-world aspects into
school life is insufficient; it remains possible for the school to take over such
knowledge, rendering it powerless and no longer owned, stripping it, in the process,
32
of its connection with its original context, so that ‘in school, nothing is “for real”, not
educated discourse, the arbitrary nature of subject status, and the disconnection
about literacy acquisition, the balance of S&L in the curriculum and the cultural
capital that literacy can be seen to represent, has been the primary focus. Next I shall
in an effort to improve outcomes and access to the arts for primary and secondary
pupils living in areas of social and cultural deprivation. CP was developed and
managed by the Arts Council England and sponsored by the Department for Culture,
Media & Sport (DCMS) and the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). The
the arts that utilise an emancipatory discourse, with Tony Blair proclaiming that “the
arts and creativity will set us free” (Blair in DCMS, 2001; p.3). While no longer
operative in its original capacity since it lost all of its funding in the coalition austerity
33
The modus operandi of CP at the time of the study (undertaken in the final year that
funding for CP projects was still available) involved strategic collaboration between
practice to meet the specific needs of each school. In order to secure funding for CP
projects schools had to submit bids, and funds were allocated “according to…the
extent to which the school’s ideas were aligned with their own vision of what Creative
Partnerships was trying to achieve” (NFER, Sharp et al., 2006; p.36). CP projects
offer three levels of creative collaboration, with: Enquiry School programmes that
work with schools over a period of a year “to explore how creative teaching and
learning can enhance their practice”; Change School programmes that work with
teaching and learning”; and Schools of Creativity that “are at the cutting edge of
The basis for CP was the publication of the National Advisory Committee on Creative
and Cultural Education’s (NACCCE) review of the NC in relation to the status of the
arts in education. The report that came out of the review, All Our Futures: Creativity,
Culture and Education (1999), made recommendations to promote and develop the
“partnerships between schools and outside agencies which are now essential to
provide the kinds of creative and cultural education that young people need and
deserve” (NACCCE, 1999; p.199). The rationale behind All Our Futures was very
much, as the title suggests, a future directed one, appealing to the idea that in order to
compete economically and to promote social cohesion and equity in the 21st century a
34
dramatic re-organization of the education system was required. The report argued that
“a national strategy for creative and cultural education” (NACCCE, 1999; p.5)
educational re-organisation.
All Our Futures adopted a multifaceted and democratic approach to creativity linking
it with both cultural and economic considerations as well as diverse accounts of the
creative process (Ward, 2010). This resulted in “significant shifts away from a view
empowerment in and beyond the classroom” (Craft, 2008; p.2). This has arguably
been translated into the classroom by CP through the focus on student participation in
the classroom. The philosophical basis of CP involves young people being seen as the
entails creative practitioners and teachers working together to challenge and transform
existing classroom learning and teaching (Jones & Thomson, 2008). Bragg et al.
(2009) suggest that the notion of students as co-producers of their own learning may
greater levels of partnership and dialogue between adults and students, and also
amongst students, which is likely to have the most fundamental and transformative
effect upon teaching and learning in school and “provide profound learning
35
1.2.7 A rationale for the examination of oral storytelling as an arts-based initiative
Despite admonitions against research that avoids findings that are outcome oriented,
initiatives that seek to “support the skills that underpin academic achievement” and
Wolf (2008) describes how the creative collaboration expanded the speaking and
writing abilities of children who were “not raised in the swirl of language that
focus on the practical value of the arts in education provides a rationale for the use of
oral storytelling in the classroom. Educational research that highlights such value for
academic attainment” (Wolf, 2008; p.100) therefore provides a rationale for the
S&L to levels within the classroom that are ordinarily denied it as a result of the
narrow constraints of the NC and the standards agenda. As observed by Harrett (2003)
when education centres upon measurable outcomes for purposes of accountability and
the fact that the benefits of something like oral storytelling are difficult to quantify,
and its value in terms of the effects upon literacy are not instantly visible. Storytelling
school. Targets and testing do not figure in children’s oral storytelling, and if testing
36
does take place it is formative and enables children to learn and improve on their oral
peformativity (Ward, 2010), oral storytelling offers a strong basis from which to
school.
The rationale for the study is therefore twofold. Firstly, an examination of oral
pedagogic act challenges the hegemonic discourses that constrain teaching and
learning in school.
Taking an outward looking stance is essential when trying to understand the “causes,
p.74) that frame socio-cultural phenomena as they are played out in educational
necessary to take a reflexive position to define concepts and position the researcher in
relation to that which is researched. The next three sections take such an inward
spoken word art-form more closely so as to secure a working definition of the kind of
practice that is of particular interest to the study. In addition I shall reflect upon how
and why oral storytelling presented itself to me as a useful line of inquiry to position
37
1.3.1 Oral storytelling: Towards a working definition
Oral storytelling has been defined by the National Council of Teachers of English
(NCTE) as “relating a tale to one or more listeners through voice and gesture” (1992;
online). This apparently simple definition takes into account the inherently social
requirements. It also tacitly invokes the oral nature of storytelling whereby the tale is
‘related’ and not ‘read’, and the emphasis upon ‘voice and gesture’ implicitly denies
Such a simple definition belies the complexity of oral storytelling, and certainly to get
a grasp on the type of oral storytelling that was employed in the course of the study a
to hand, in the scholarly literature or otherwise. The reason for this deficit is
considerably more defining than story reading. In comparison, story reading presents
position statement or definition for story reading in the way that it does for oral
In order to attain a definition I shall examine extracts from the Crick Crack Club
38
activities of the club include programming public performances of storytelling in
theatres and art centres nationally, touring artists and their work, providing training
and direction, mentoring and supporting new artists, and undertaking research and
advising on the use of storytelling in museums and educational settings. The CCC
defining features, process and structure of oral storytelling. In addition the CCC
provided a springboard for the ideas that went into shaping this thesis due to the fact
that it was one of the sources of information that I came across early in the research
process, and because its perspective on oral processes resonated with my own.
So far the NCTE (1992) definition states that oral storytelling involves “relating a tale
to one or more listeners through voice and gesture”. In order to build on this skeletal
definition it is necessary to ask if the story is related in more diverse ways than
through just voice and gesture. The CCC (2012) suggests that once the storyteller has
“grasped the basic line of the story, they are free to retell it in their own words and
own way” drawing “directly on their pre-existing oral culture such as their knowledge
of jokes, riddles, rap, playground games, their ability to chatter and gossip” (online).
(CCC, 2012), and this feature singles out oral storytelling as being improvised, in the
The next feature of oral storytelling in relation to the NCTE definition concerns the
“one or more listeners” (NCTE, 1992) to whom the tale is being related. Here it is
39
necessary to consider what type of listening is taking place. Once again the CCC
(2012) provides a clear conceptual path in the assertion that oral storytelling requires:
entire worlds from the suggestion of words and gesture; events need to be followed
(CCC, 2012)
As noted by the CCC (2012) the “spellbound” state of attentive listening that “very
young pupils and teenagers can be held in” for a surprisingly long time is related to
the imaginative capacities that are stimulated through the process of storytelling:
“Stories generate and inspire strong imaginative responses in the listener. The
language of the story and its delivery, stimulates [sic] a series of vivid images on the
(CCC, 2012)
(2012) “in the moment of retelling, they are selecting the language they use according
to the requirements of the story itself and according to the needs of the audience they
40
cues that may be picked up from the audience according to how well the story is being
The final element of the NCTE definition involves the use of “voice and gesture”
(NCTE, 1992), and here it is important to consider how these aspects are used. Once
more, the CCC (2012) provides clarity, suggesting that “good storytelling will display
the physical qualities of the spoken word rhythm, rhyme and repetition, accent, pitch,
inflection, tempo, etc... will model the vocabulary, syntax and grammar of speech at
sentence and word level” and “the non-verbal, corporeal speech of glance, gesture,
definition that captures the complexity of oral storytelling in relation to its social,
Oral storytelling involves relating a non-scripted story using the resources of the
imagination:
41
In a manner that is individual and owned in terms of the idiosyncratic stylistic
choices of the storyteller; and that is improvised, dynamic and in the moment
Through the physical qualities of the spoken word (rhythm, rhyme and
repetition, accent, pitch, inflection, tempo), using the vocabulary, syntax and
grammar of speech, and also the non-verbal language of the body (glance,
Therefore, the type of oral storytelling utilised in this study involved the use of pre-
existing traditional stories that were modelled by a more competent adult and retold
usually write down and pre-learn what we are going to say before we say it. If we are
to teach children how to communicate through speech, then we have to value and
celebrate the spoken word (narration, rhetoric and oration) as a creation, in the same
practice in S&L. This is a concept that is central to the theoretical and philosophical
basis of the inquiry, and it is a key term that permeates the study. In order to best
42
understand what I mean by ‘non-instrumentality’ in relation to S&L it is useful to
English usage actually means. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary (online) has this to
Within the pedagogic context it is the frequent and unproblematic linking of spoken
language to writing in process or outcome that is central. In many cases such linkage
instrumental way as a crucial means by which more important targets in reading and
writing can be met. So, for example, when children are asked to write a story that they
practice in S&L. Contrastingly, the oral retelling of pre-existing stories, first modelled
by a more competent adult before being retold by children, can be understood as non-
reproduce narrative in writing when learning the story is key. Instead, pedagogic
devices that are embedded in similarly oral practice are essential for children to
The distinction that I have made between non-instrumental and instrumental practice
in S&L is not intended to ascribe superiority to one form over another. Memorization
43
to literacy that have value in their own right. Rather the aim of making such
distinctions is to provide a language with which I can talk in more precise terms about
The kinds of oral storytelling and literacy practices that are of interest to this study
attempt to improve speaking and listening skills in line with the recommendations of
the school’s last Ofsted inspection. I will discuss the school, the participants and the
Change School Project in closer detail in the Methodology chapter of this thesis.
practices I was concerned with in order to equip the reader with a clearer picture of
the observations I carried out and which are further explained in the empirical section
of this thesis.
David Keele was the storyteller who was brought in to work with the children on oral
storytelling in a bid to improve their spoken language ability. A typical session would
start with David telling the children a number of oral stories, jokes and riddles which
the children very much enjoyed. They sat round on the floor at his feet and alternated
and also asking questions to clarify meanings. David handled this heckling with the
equanimity and style of both a seasoned storyteller and a disciplined teacher. Once
David had finished telling his stories he would invite the children to tell him a story of
44
their own, giving them some kind of a prompt such as asking them to tell a story from
their holidays, or asking them to choose an object in the room and to make up a story
about how that object saved their life. One or two or the more confident children
would offer to tell a story, but there was no pressure to do so, and certainly there was
only time to hear a couple of stories from the whole class. The point of this exercise
was more about getting the children thinking about storytelling and about how it
tell a story of their own in front of a group, and to provide some models of oral
After around forty minutes of this kind of ‘warming up’, David would round the
children up to start them working on the story they had chosen as a group in the first
session, again a story that he had first modelled. Importantly, the whole class would
work on the same story in pre-determined groups to enable levels of support and
learning that would be unavailable if children had chosen different stories to tell. The
rest of the session would be taken up with various small group exercises designed to
get the children familiar with the structure of their chosen story. This was a typical
session that followed essentially the same structural format on each occasion that I
visited the school to observe David teach oral storytelling to the two Year 4 classes,
varying only in terms of the pedagogical methods that the children and David chose to
Beanbag telling: a small group of children pass a beanbag between them and
the child holding the beanbag has to carry on the story from where the last
45
child had left off. This exercise enables children to practice the story from
Zipping in and out of character: David would choose a character from the
story and the children pretend to unzip a zipper running down that characters
back, step into it and then pretend to be that character whilst walking round
change the pitch of their voices whilst reciting the alphabet or by adding
The idea behind this is to help children to add colour and vibrancy to their
and then put the ‘meat on the bones of the story’ using pictures and writing
down parts of the narrative from the start (top of the skeleton’s head) to the
end (bottom of the skeletons feet) of the story. This was the most obviously
literacy-based exercise, but because children were only writing parts of the
manner. Also, it was a very artistically creative exercise aimed at engaging the
children in a way that writing down a story in a linear fashion would be more
likely to preclude.
Telling behind a screen: the children tell their story behind a screen to get the
46
aspects. In addition, for some of the less confident children this may have
Emotion graphs: drawing a graph that visually depicts the quality and quantity
of the emotions throughout the story e.g. excitement, fear, happiness, sadness
narrative.
Story boards: drawing pictures of the story in a linear fashion that storyboards
the most important parts. This method allows the children to become familiar
with the structure of the story without actually writing the narrative down as a
literacy-based exercise.
Jam loading: the children have to pair off and practice telling the story to each
element of competition that the children enjoy, and because they are working
Over the seven weeks that the storytelling initiative took place, the final goal
was a videoed performance at the end of term where the children would tell
videoing the performances, and David and I. Some groups were quite large
with four or five children working together, others were comparatively small
with only two or three children, and each child told different parts of the story
within their group. Some children who were confident with storytelling told
larger portions of the story while other less confident children had
47
comparatively smaller parts. Importantly though, everyone participated and no
children were unable to stand up and tell their part of the story – it was a
This thesis attempts to identify possible solutions to what is perceived as the implicit
educational outcomes.
School. It was whilst observing a typical Steiner maths lesson where the teacher was
using a story format about rabbits collecting carrots to teach the concept of multiples
that the power and utility of stories as a pedagogic strategy first presented itself to me
both an ingenious and yet obvious way to engage young minds. The question that
aren’t such methods used in every classroom? As I progressed through the study it
became increasingly clear to me that the use of story and oral methods generally, were
fundamental to the Steiner philosophy. Indeed, the formal teaching of literacy does
48
not even start in Steiner School until the age of seven after children have experienced
a solid grounding in a mental diet of stories, poems, recitations, songs and rhymes.
form of literacy that I took the storytelling theme further through an examination of
Vivian Paley’s Storytelling Curriculum. I came to realise the extent to which literacy
instruction in school was rooted in the ‘back to basics’ concept of getting children to
read and write as early as possible, principally through phonics instruction with
was here that the subordination of S&L in the primary classroom presented itself to
me in empirical terms. In addition, I came to understand more fully the frustration that
of many a primary school teacher in relation to prescribed policy within the literacy
curriculum: “If they can speak it, they can write it” was a mantra I became familiar
with during this time. This phrase resonated strongly with all of the teachers that I
interviewed in the course of my MA dissertation study, and yet this was not the
approach they were able to take due to the constraints of the NC and its associated
standards agenda.
This tied in with my personal experience of my own child’s struggle to engage within
school. His disaffection from reading and writing specifically, and school more
generally, resulted from what I came to perceive as too early and too hard a push for
literacy acquisition. His lack of interest in literacy was further reinforced by the
primarily grounded in synthetic phonics. This was despite his very high level of
verbal ability, and also in spite of the fact that he loved being read stories and looking
49
at books - he just didn’t feel the need to learn how to read himself at the age of five.
In particular, and what pushed me in the direction of oral storytelling, my son loved
stories that had been made-up. This was something that his Aunt, who is a very
proficient storyteller, would frequently indulge him in. My interest in oral storytelling
1.4 Summing up
This chapter has attempted to provide a basis, a rationale and something of a narrative
examination of the context behind the privileging of literacy in school, and hegemonic
have been uncovered. The next chapter will explore some of the research into oral
storytelling, literacy in the curriculum and the arts in education more closely, as well
50
2 A review of the literature
acquisition; the EYFS and NLS in relation to the relative weighting of literacy and
S&L in the curriculum; the use of assessment for accountability; and the history and
value of the arts in education, with an additional emphasis upon UK arts initiatives
through CP.
The literature search was carried out prior to data collection as part of the process of
familiarising myself with oral storytelling, as well as concurrently with the fieldwork
element of the study and data analysis, to follow the developing theoretical
The focus of both the literature review and the study as a whole is upon English forms
of oral storytelling rather than more international, multi-cultural traditions where oral
than multi-modal forms of communication that are of particular interest. While there
51
2.1 Theoretical Perspective
This thesis takes a multi-dimensional position examining the status and value of S&L
and the arts in education in relation to literacy, as well as seeking to better understand
notions of Hegemony, both providing the primary theoretical backdrop to the study.
This thesis relies on the concept of speech as “the tool of tools” (Luria, cited in Cole,
1996; p.108) for learning and development. The overarching theoretical perspective of
the study is therefore rooted in the socio-cultural theory of learning that is commonly
an inherently social and collaborative process with language as the “primary medium
(Lee & Smagorinsky, 2000; p.2). Oral storytelling as a language art utilizes some of
the key tenets of constructivist thought, including: collaborative forms of learning; the
social construction of meaning; and the use and cultural transmission of language-
based ‘artifacts’, i.e. the stories, myths and legends that the oral storyteller retells.
The first salient theme within Social Constructivism relates to Vygotsky’s well known
‘genetic law of development’ that emphasizes the primacy of social interaction with
peers and more knowledgeable others to both the individual and cultural development
52
of the child. Such interactions then become internalized to “constitute the social
becomes the intrapsychological, and over time and through processes of ‘guided
cognitive activities in their communities” (Rogoff, 1991; p.351). Related to this is the
The second theme, the concept of semiotic mediation, is central to the co-construction
of knowledge and the socio-cultural development of the individual. Through the use
was viewed by Vygotsky as being the most critical, we navigate our internal and
tools such as language children become enculturated into systems of meaning and the
individual. Vygotsky emphasised that “to force everybody into the same mould
represents the greatest of all the delusions of pedagogics” (Vygotsky, 1926; Chapter
each particular student” (Vygotsky, 1926; Chapter 17). Here the importance of non-
53
instrumental learning underscores this plurality of individual and developmental
“Complete freedom for the child’s creativity, the renunciation of all effort to
place it on a par with adult consciousness, the recognition of its originality and of its
learning are the focus of Situated Learning Theory (Lave & Wenger, 1991). In this
social, dynamic, and interdependent nature of learning from and with others. It is
suggested that artists working in school through CP initiatives such as oral storytelling
transpose arts-based expertise into the educational milieu of the classroom. In doing
teaching and learning into the educational context encouraging teachers to adopt new
pedagogic identities through participation in the artistic ways of knowing and doing in
school.
The genetic law of development and semiotic mediation are central to understanding
oral storytelling in terms of its socially situated nature and the way that the semiotic
54
tool of language is used to impart cultural artifacts based in story and myth. In
communities merge and they are bound together over time through the common goal
provide the overarching theoretical perspective for the study in terms of the
elucidation of the nature of learning and development, and the way oral storytelling in
the classroom and participatory arts-based practice through CP in school fits into such
Another important theoretical strand relates to the hegemonic practices that artists
useful in elucidating the social function of dominant discourses in society, which are
Critical Pedagogy (Freire, 1970) through engagement with practice that challenges
Literacy as a high status subject has historically occupied a large amount of space
within the primary curriculum along with other similarly high status subjects such as
writing. This subordination results in a schism of status within the curriculum for
English that is both difficult to reconcile and difficult to recognize as the perpetuation
55
of consented hegemonic ideals. Such difficulties are all the more salient when S&L is
relatively low position of the arts in comparison to more highly valued academic
subjects (Paechter, 2000, 2003) reflects the type of knowledge that is ‘desirable’
within school and wider society more generally. It is useful to invoke Gramsican
notions of Hegemony (1971, 1988) in elucidating how power relations within the
curriculum eclipse other aspects of learning and constitute “the hegemonic nature of
literacy” (Chege, 2009; p.228). This results in “an emphasis on written as opposed to
skills.
As pointed out by Crotty (2003), “applying Freire’s approach… requires that we first
identify the forms – often very subtle forms – that oppression takes in a society like
ours” (p.156). Within this study the subtle form of oppression is conceptualized as the
salient for children from backgrounds of disadvantage who frequently and observably
deficits (Tunmer et al, 2006; Snow & Powell, 2008). Ultimately such concerns are
connected to even wider arguments about social justice, equality and the democratic
backdrop to the study. Such critical approaches to education are connected to Social
Constructivism through the idea that this privileging of literacy undermines the
semiotic tools of speech and languages that Vygotsky (1962, 1978) views as central to
56
each learner into the same literacy-shaped mould undermines Vygotsky’s (1926)
Oral storytelling in the classroom is closely aligned with pedagogic methods that
the storytelling process allows children to learn a variety of concepts and skills and
“provides a meaningful purpose for oral expression” (Peck, 1989; p.140), and this
connects to the authentic learning opportunities that the Vygotskian school of thought
propounds.
The literature base on oral storytelling is by no means vast. Indeed, Collins (1999) has
described the research examining “the contribution of hearing and retelling traditional
that offers practical guidance to teachers on the use of storytelling in the classroom
(Gallets, 2005). When rigorous research does appear it is under-utilized within the
wider educational research literature, and such studies are therefore difficult to source.
value educational research are doubtful of storytelling because its effects have not
(p.15-16).
57
Despite this dearth of information the research base that does exist is varied and
complex, focusing at different points on the social, cultural, cognitive and language-
based effects of oral storytelling as a pedagogic tool. Frequently these effects are
mixed up within the literature in a manner that makes it difficult to ascertain the
specific ways in which oral storytelling produces such effects. Multifarious claims
separate out and explain exactly how it operates in individual domains. This induces
the perception that it is an effective pedagogic tool but for reasons that are less than
easy to articulate.
Additionally, oral storytelling effects are not always separated from story reading
effects. Differences between the two forms are frequently not made explicit within the
literature, confusing the situation with regard to oral storytelling even further. That
said, much of the research focusing on story reading can equally be applied to oral
(2007) on multiple aspects of story, incorporating written, read and oral forms of
narrative; motivation to learn (and pay attention); building a sense of community and
involvement; literacy and language mastery; writing; and memory” (p. 89-90). This
who compiled eighteen years of data on the effects of teaching through literature,
finding that “stories enhanced and accelerated virtually every measurable aspect of
58
Clearly stories whether told, read or written can have profound and beneficial effects
upon learning, but it is important to differentiate between these effects. The next
section will focus upon the existing research into oral storytelling, and the broad
domains within which it can be seen to have beneficial impacts upon learning.
Vygotsky considered the social sphere as both the place where, and the means by
which, learning occurs on the most fundamental of levels. Oral storytelling by its very
nature is social, and on a purely practical level it requires an audience to enable a co-
construction of meaning between teller and told. Whilst this may seem an obvious
point, it can be easily overlooked when attempting to qualify effects and benefits.
Connected to the social sphere are the emotional responses of individuals that arise
primarily in response to and in association with others in our immediate social milieu.
The social world and the emotional development of children are profoundly
interdependent, and therefore the social and emotional effects of oral storytelling will
be considered together.
An important part of the way that oral storytelling produces its effects is connected to
the audience listening to an orally told story can be understood as the second half of
personal, active and direct” (Alex, 1988; p.1). In direct contrast to story reading it has
been suggested that this personal quality is a result of the increased use of eye contact
and a de-focus on story book illustrations, making the whole experience more
59
interactive and personal (Malo & Bullard, 2000). Studies have demonstrated that in
(Ellis, 1997; Aina, 1999) while in story-telling there is a greater use of audience
variations in certain free-story elements” (Isbell et al, 2004; p.158). Such story-telling
communication.
that both children and storyteller interact and enjoy the experience more during oral
storytelling than when reading stories from a book. In a study that directly compares
the effects of story reading and storytelling, Myers (1990) found that the children
showed a preference for orally told stories over stories read out loud and attended
more to storytelling over story reading. Myers (1990) used four different stories over
a period of four weeks that were either read or told to two groups of children in an
alternating pattern so that each group heard the stories both read and told at different
points. The storytelling/reading sessions were videotaped so that both verbal and non-
(Myers, 1990; p.826) could be analysed. Myers (1990) found that the children
attended to the stories that were told significantly more as evidenced by a lack of un-
away, looking at a magazine, and scooting around on the floor. In contrast, children
story reading sessions. When children did make non-verbal responses in the
storytelling condition, they tended to be directly related to the narrative, with children
60
“imitating the storyteller’s gestures and acting out parts of the story” (p.829). In
addition, Myers (1990) reported that “the data suggested a collaboration between
storyteller and listener that didn’t manifest itself as readily between story reader and
questions, making comments etc. - in storytelling sessions than story reading sessions.
In addition, the storyteller was able to ask considerably more questions to the children
(on average 30 questions during a told story and 2 per story read) in order to clarify
meanings. This was particularly in relation to the younger children who showed “by
the expression on their faces, and a ‘kind of leaning back’ movement in their bodies”
(Myers, 1990; p.826) that they were not quite understanding the gist of a story.
The social aspects of oral storytelling are further highlighted by Palmer et al (2000)
who suggest that “ordinary events can become special and exciting through the
creative use of language” (p.99). This links into issues of intrinsic motivation whereby
the stories and social narratives that we tell and are drawn to on a daily basis are
appropriated into new and exciting forms. In this way oral storytelling provides a
conceptual and physical space where telling stories becomes performative and
creative, making “the act of telling stories more meaningful and exciting by providing
school. Mello (2001a, 2001b) proposes that “taken as a whole, these studies suggest
61
that the activity of storytelling has an impact on participant’s interpersonal
This corresponds with research by Fox (1989) that focuses less on collaborative
identification with character and content that “push[es] children towards new
relationships and decentred viewpoints” (Fox, 1989; p.33). Fox (1989) suggests that
“In their storytelling the children's most complex utterances arise from an
affective base; the themes of their stories are powerful ones — fear and ambition, love
(p.32)
Vivian Paley (1990) children dictated and then acted out their original stories with
other children in their class. The results of the study highlighted the transformative
power of play in the storytelling context, with noticeably difficult children who
persistent interest” (Nicolopoulou et al, 2009; p.49). Such children were seen to
derive notable benefits from the intervention including markedly less anxiety and
62
The authors conclude that such effects result from the requirement for children to
Research that has examined the effects of oral storytelling on children’s self-
literature suggest that oral storytelling may impact upon children’s self-esteem and
model for developing language and literacy Palmer et al (2001) “observed a diverse
general effects that the authors reported were apparent increases in self-esteem that
although as already suggested the degree to which self-esteem and self-confidence are
“The children seemed to benefit greatly from the peer process; specifically, we
the first time before their peers. Concomitantly, these students continued to exhibit
Other social effects of oral storytelling relate to more culturally defined aspects of
learning. Within the research literature oral storytelling has been identified as
63
enabling the development of cultural literacy by introducing students to “the
traditions, beliefs and history of folktales" (Palmer, Hafner & Sharp, 1994; p.56); as
encouraging “respect for cultural and linguistic differences” (Palmer et al., 2000;
p.101); and building a bridge between community and school through teaching
children the ways in which language is used within the family and the wider
community (Bloome et al., 2000). Such effects have been illustrated in a project by
oral stories in small schools in Alaska. Traditional stories were told by community
Elders, and then transposed by the children into transitional readers for younger
children. Madros (2010) noted that some of the major effects of the project were
cultural norms and standards and…explore their own lives through the lens of these
stories” (p.57). Madros (2010) reported that the intervention helped the students to
with the Athabaskan Elders, and become “more eager to learn their own language,
and participate in their own cultural songs and dances” (p.57). Such cultural
engagement has been noted to have positive effects upon children’s self-esteem, with
Haberman and Post (1998) suggesting that “a high level of self-esteem derived from
knowing one’s roots” (p. 98) is an important aspect of cultural self-knowledge and
self-acceptance.
The bulk of the research on storytelling originates from the domain of language and
literacy, and the effects that oral storytelling has on children’s ability and desire to
engage with spoken and written language forms. Again, Vygotskian thought
64
underpins this domain with the semiotic tools of speech and language being the
vehicles by which oral storytelling operates. In the research literature oral storytelling
has been observed to have positive effects on all forms of language development.
However, it has been argued by Brigman et al., (1999) that “the competencies that
follow directions…along with crucial social skills…are essential for school success”
(Wilde & Sage, 2007; pp.679-680). The research literature has identified vocabulary
positive impact upon communicative competence (Morrow, 1985b; Trostle & Hicks,
1998). As observed by Terry & Fisher (1990), oral storytelling “is one of the few
kinds of talk in the classroom that offers rich, complex, vivid language, which
Research that straddles spoken language and more literacy-based effects in relation to
storytelling includes studies that explicitly examine the effect of storytelling and story
the differential impact of story delivery upon the language development and
comprehension of children from the ages of three to five. Within the study the same
stories were heard by all children, the only difference being whether they were read or
told. After the children had heard each story they were asked to retell it. Both
treatments showed positive benefits with the story reading group demonstrating
the effects of retelling more closely. Children were read a story and then had to either
retell it, or draw an illustrative picture before being asked structural and inferential
65
questions. Morrow (1985b) found that retelling enhanced comprehension during the
first round of the study. In a further treatment involving extended practice and
guidance in story retelling there was a significantly larger effect. Similar results have
been found by Trostle and Hicks (1998), and cumulatively such findings demonstrate
that oral storytelling has positive effects upon the comprehension of stories and the
story structure that listeners rely upon for understanding and meaning. Stories that
are good telling stories offer the framework shown to be a significant factor in
reading comprehension.”
Pappas & Pettigrew (1991) undertook research into the benefits of oral storytelling in
development. They describe “ways in which oral retellings, as oral compositions, can
serve as holistic literacy experiences for young children in the transition from oracy to
literacy” and that children “employ various wordings in story retellings” (Pappas &
Pettigrew, 1991; p.419). Such linguistic choices “provide a means to understand and
(1991) observed children retelling a story to ‘naïve listeners’ (i.e. teachers and
children who didn’t already know the story) in what they describe as “an authentic
communicative event” (p.431). They suggest that oral stories told in this manner
represent “the production of an oral monologue” (Pappas & Pettigrew, 1991; p.422).
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Unlike conversation that is jointly constructed by participants monologues require the
speaker to achieve two principle aims: firstly they must sustain a continuous utterance
without external help from the listener; and secondly the child “must be considerate of
his/her listener in the same way the writer must be considerate of unknown, non-
(Pappas & Pettigrew, 1991; p.422). They therefore suggest that such practice serves
as “early literacy opportunities for young children to construct texts like writers”
(pp.419-420). This is due to the idea that oral storytelling, unlike dialogue, represents
language event that mimics writing whereby the author “must make information
available in the linguistic content or message itself” (p.420), rather than relying on the
The research examining the utility of oral storytelling in relation to literacy, and
factors that support literacy acquisition, has generally found strong links between
orally telling stories and learning to read and write (Morrow, 1985a/1985b; Strickland
& Morrow, 1989; Pappas & Pettigrew, 1991; Trostle & Hicks, 1998; Palmer et al,
2000; Isbell et al, 2004). Indeed, one study examining a sample of effective family
literacy programs across the United States, found that “the most successful programs
included storytelling as a vital component” (Palmer et al, 2000; p.93). In addition, the
NCTE (1992) has suggested that oral storytelling can act as a classroom playing-field
leveller due to the observation that children “who do not feel as competent as their
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A study investigating the impact of oral storytelling on the literacy abilities of
reluctant writers over a two month period found that such students could be ‘nudged’
into “producing fully-fledged stories” (Campbell & Hlusek, 2009; p.3). The authors
found that modelling storytelling, and then retelling, redrafting and discussing their
stories to enable the students to benefit from feedback had “a huge impact not only on
engaging reluctant writers but also on motivating fluent writers to continue to improve
their writing skills” (Campbell & Hlusek, 2009; p.1). They describe how for certain
children the challenge is “the actual physical act of writing” (p.3) experienced as both
boring and difficult. Additional findings indicated that oral storytelling gave the
children ideas about stories to then tell and write themselves, as well as being an
writing” (p.3) that similarly extends to children’s desire to read. As noted by Peck
(1989):
“Many tellers attest that young children will often ask to read a particular
book after hearing it told; the storytelling has extended an invitation to read.”
(p.139)
While cognitive effects of oral storytelling are perhaps less immediately obvious than
the social and language-based effects they are no less beneficial to children’s learning
and development, with effects upon memory, attention and imagination being
and Isbell (2004), Gallets (2005) compared storytelling and story reading and found
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that the children in the storytelling group tended to recall significantly more of what
they heard. Gallets (2005) suggests that the reason for this might reflect that the
requirement in oral storytelling than in story reading where children are able to refer
Another aspect of cognitive ability that is connected to memory and recall is the
impact of oral storytelling upon the attention levels of children. While this is a
engagement it also hinges upon the cognitive ability to listen and attend over a period
children’s experiences listening to orally told stories, the children “insisted that
listening to a story was a different way of listening and they felt different during a
storytelling” (p.111). This qualitative difference has been reported by Gallets’s (2005)
examination of storytelling and story reading where he suggests that the improved
recall in the storytelling group could have been due to the students being “more
attentive to the stories they heard than the students in the reading group” (p.33). Such
listened to stories that were told as compared to children who heard stories read from
a book.
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picture-book narratives and their performance on a general measure of language
ability to relate the main events of the story through use of conjunctions, to convey the
main events of the story, to shift between the actions and perspectives of characters,
and to talk about the mental states of characters in the story – and later mathematical
achievement”
Comprehensive findings from decades of research into memory, “from Bartlett in the
1930’s, to the structuralists and cognitive psychologists of the 1960’s, 1970’s and
1980’s”, has demonstrated that “memory reorders our experience as stories” (Fox,
understanding of the way human memory works, it can be argued that the most
memorable occasions are those that invoke, and are associated with the strongest
emotions. This claim has been reinforced by Duncan & Barrett (2007) who position
research by Liwag & Stein (1995) into children’s memory of emotional events has
found that emotional cues “generated the most detailed, goal-directed, and causally
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In addition to the association between emotion and recall, researchers have connected
Degenhardt and McKay (1988) suggest that the imagination involves a rational
process that can be “as informed as any other” (p.242) due to the fact that mental
images can be changed in ways that simple perceptions cannot. In this way
Degenhardt & Mckay (1988) suggest that the imagination can serve as an empathic
tool that passes “beyond the observable evidence for people's thoughts to get at the
and cognition arcs back to the theoretical basis of the study, with Vygotskian
The focus of this section of the literature review is on the current educational climate
the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) as governmental policy that formalizes
learning goals within the early years setting. Debates about the early starting age to
education, are considered as a foreground to literacy, S&L skills and oral storytelling
that cumulatively represent the principle foci of this thesis. There is an emphasis
within this section on the recent Cambridge Primary Review (Alexander, 2010) as it is
pedagogic context within primary education since the Plowden Report of 1967. The
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rest of the section will focus on the NLS in Key Stages 1&2, in particular how the
NLS is structured in relation to literacy and S&L objectives, the relative weighting of
each, the role of assessment, and the extent to which S&L skills in general have a
literacy acquisition, as I see this as being the foundation from which future
engagement with reading, writing, and S&L specifically, and learning within school
more generally, is either fostered or disaffected within children. There is the potential
for children’s trajectory within and beyond school to be set at this most formative of
stages, and therefore it is important to examine the context within which literacy
It seems that literacy has become the gold standard to be achieved at all costs, as early
as possible, to give our children the best start in education and life. Within the UK
school entry age is defined as the year in which the child turns five, and formal
This means that for some children formal teaching in literacy often begins as early as
four years of age. Criticism of this explicit and early focus on literacy comes from a
2010) which suggests that within the English education system the relatively high
attainment in pupils’ reading comes at “the expense of their enjoyment” (p.170). This
survey data that has found that England had the highest proportion of children
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expressing “clearly negative views about reading” (Alexander, 2010; p.170). This
suggests that the formal start to schooling and the early introduction to literacy “may
Early years and primary education in the UK used to be recognized and admired
throughout the world as a result of its emphasis on experience and play (Kelly, 1994).
However, since the introduction of a highly prescriptive NC (1988) and NLS (1998)
2000). This is particularly the case when considering more educationally progressive
countries such as Denmark and Finland where formal literacy instruction does not
The debate surrounding the best age at which children should start to be taught the
skills of reading and writing is an emotionally charged and contentious one. Some are
of the view that many children flourish and thrive with early exposure to the alphabet,
and others decry the negative impact that too early a start can have on some children’s
ability and motivation in picking up the tools of literacy. The debate is strongly tied to
beliefs about how children learn, and while research in this area serves to illuminate
research that has revealed emerging literacy skills in very young children (Strickland
and Morrow, 1989; Cunningham & Carroll, 2011) challenges the views of those who
consider that young children are not sufficiently mature to learn the complexities of
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A diverse range of detrimental effects in relation to early formal instruction has been
observed in both the USA and UK including alienation, disaffection and burn-out
(Barrett, 1989; David et al., 1992); poor results from children who start formal
education close to their fourth birthday as compared to children of the same age who
have been at school for less time (Sharp, 1995); and very large achievement gaps
between boys and girls in countries where children begin formal instruction at the age
of five (Purves and Elley, 1994). In relation to literacy more specifically, it has been
argued by Juel et al. (2003) that young children do not have sufficiently well-
instruction without equal attention being given to comprehension and word meanings.
Many schools tend to focus upon decoding skills when teaching children to read as a
result of educational research that “has found that these skills have powerful
instructional effects on developing word recognition skills” (Juel et al., 2003; p.14).
While the ability to decode is an important skill for reading success it is not sufficient
for children to be able to read for meaning: there is little point in being able to spell a
Research that directly contradicts this has been conducted by Cunningham & Carroll
(2011) who compared the early literacy development of Steiner and mainstream
educated children over the first two years of formal reading instruction. Importantly,
due to the later starting age at Steiner school the Steiner educated children were a full
2 years older that the mainstream educated children. The study hypothesised that the
Steiner children would make better reading progress, however, the findings did not
support this. Instead “the younger children showed similar, and in some cases, better
progress in literacy than the older children” leading the authors to conclude that
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“concerns that four and five year olds are ‘too young’ to begin formal reading
More recent longitudinal research by Suggate et al. (2013) examined the differential
reading achievement of children learning to read earlier or later. Suggate et al. (2013)
found that children who had commenced literacy instruction at the age of seven
caught up to children who had started learning to read at age five by the time they had
reached ten years of age. In addition, they found that later starters had no long-term
acquisition earlier. In support of these results two international studies on the long-
term effects of differences in reading instruction age have found that children learning
to read earlier and later achieve similarly over the long-term (Elley, 1992; Suggate,
2009). Such research recognises that while preschool and kindergarten children are
not too young to learn to read it asks the alternative question of whether there is a
long-term advantage in learning to read earlier. They conclude that there isn’t,
invoking the concept of ‘equifinality’ (Gottleib, 2003) that suggests that there are
often many different developmental pathways to the same outcome. The persistent
finding that earlier advantages in reading do not seem to hold up (Chall, 1976)
supports hypotheses that assert that phonemic awareness can be acquired implicitly
Research has also suggested that there are behavioural consequences for children who
repeatedly experience difficulties in learning to read. Such children can come to feel
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Longitudinal research by Miles & Stipek (2006) examining literacy achievement and
“poor literacy achievement in the first grade” predicted “the subsequent development
of aggressive behaviour” (Miles & Stipek, 2006; p.115). In support of this a previous
study by Adams et al. (1999) found that behavioural problems in children were more
strongly associated with reading achievement than other subject areas including
mathematics. Miles & Stipek (2006) suggest that such findings may be strongly
attached a large degree of stigma if children observably struggle to read and write.
that attends to the whole child rather than focusing exclusively on discrete skills.
The trend towards early formal instruction within school has its roots in even earlier
practice within the nursery with children as young as 3 years of age being routinely
exposed to the alphabet. This tendency has been formalized in recent years by
governmental legislation (Section 39; Childcare Act, 2006) that outlines the EYFS
(DCSF, 2008) as a set of welfare, learning and development requirements which must
be followed by all providers of care with the aim of raising quality of early years
The revised EYFS (DfE, 2012d) that has been implemented by the latest
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Statutory Framework (2008), building on its strengths and “retaining what works”
(Tickell, 2011; p.9) as recommended by the Tickell Review (2011) that informed its
revision. The learning goals of the EYFS are intended to cumulatively “summarise the
knowledge, skills and understanding that all young children should have gained by the
end of the Reception year” (DfE, 2012d; p.4). Contained within the early learning
goals are 7 interconnected domains of learning that the statutory guidance insists
“must shape educational programmes in early year’s settings” (DfE, 2012d; p.4):
three ‘prime’ areas and four ‘specific’ areas, which are designed to build on the prime
areas of learning.
The revised EYFS (DfE, 2012d) has seemingly retained some of the key strengths of
the original EYFS (DCSF, 2008), that highlighted the importance of play-based
learning and “the concept of the unique child” (p.9). However, within the most recent
reworking of the Statutory Framework much of the language upholds an explicit focus
upon teaching and learning that is designed to “ensure children’s ‘school readiness’”
(DfE, 2012d; p.2). This focus has the potential to undermine the principles of
developmentally appropriate practice that the EYFS (DfE, 2012d) claims to propound.
In addition to this explicit focus, more implicit elements have the potential to result in
less time and attention being spent upon more developmentally suitable activities in
the early years than may be desirable. A closer examination of the three prime areas
and the four specific areas of learning is necessary to elucidate these inferred aspects
The three prime areas of learning include communication and language; physical
development; and personal, social and emotional development. The four specific areas
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“through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied” (DfE, 2012d; p.5)
are: literacy; mathematics; understanding the world; and expressive arts and design.
The EYFS presents communication and language as a prime area of learning that
their confidence and skills in expressing themselves; and to speak and listen in a range
of situations” (p.6). Within this prime area, three core skills are positioned as being of
central importance: listening and attention; understanding; and speaking. Clearly, the
revised framework has seemingly put speaking, listening and comprehension at the
approach of the EYFS that has an explicit emphasis upon phonics-based decoding
skills that appears almost immediately in both the reading and writing portions of the
statutory guidance on literacy. The specific areas are positioned as building upon the
phonics instruction as part of the specific area of literacy as a way to ‘strengthen and
apply’ more holistically oriented S&L skills within the larger prime area of language
2012d; p.6). Such descriptors resonate with a whole language approach that highlights
the need for interdependent and plural literacy practices. The expectation that children
obtain a degree of mastery in phonics within the EYFS is clearly antithetical to such
rhetoric.
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The specific expectations of the EYFS are that children should be able to read, write
and understand simple sentences by the end of the reception year, and their decoding
abilities should extend beyond simple CVC words encompassing both the reading and
writing of “some common irregular words” (p.8). The EYFS insists that each area of
learning “must be implemented through planned, purposeful play and through a mix
of adult-led and child-initiated activity” (p.7). However, the framework also suggests
about “each child’s emerging needs” (p.7). Despite this emphasis upon child-centred
and play-based learning a more realistic synopsis envisions large amounts of adult-led
activity focusing on phonics work in a whole class teaching environment as the most
and early literacy skills. It is likely that early childcare providers will find it
practice that recognizes the overarching EYFS principle that “children develop and
learn in different ways and at different rates” (DfE, 2012d; p.3) with the literacy-
It is clear that the Tickell Review (2011) that informed and shaped the EYFS (DfE,
2012d), received “strong feedback that the underlying philosophy, and many of the
key elements of the EYFS, should be retained” (p.9), most prominently play-based
and child-centred learning. However, it would seem that within the structure of the
been eschewed in favour of phonics-based learning that produces quick results. This
is reinforced by the worrying observation that much of the language within the
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original EYFS framework (DCSF, 2008) underscoring the importance of
developmentally appropriate practice has been dropped from the most recent version
individual development of each child, to ensure that the activities they undertake are
suitable for the stage that they have reached” and that “children need to be stretched,
but not pushed beyond their capabilities” (DCSF, 2008; p.9), do not appear in any
The tendency within the EYFS (DfE, 2012d) to emphasise literacy instruction and
phonics-based decoding skills over engagement with language that is more holistic in
nature is no less evident in the NC’s Key Stages (DfE, 2012a/b) that follow on from
review the draft proposals of the NC as they took shape. In their summary of the
importance of oral language, the panel state that “there is a compelling body of
development and educational attainment”, and as a result they “are strongly of the
view that the development of oral language should be a strong feature of any new
National Curriculum” (James, Oates, Pollard & Wiliam, 2011; p.52). The expert panel
retention of discrete S&L strands within literacy-based modules, and also the use of
radically the panel suggests that oral language provision could be strengthened within
the curriculum “by identifying communication and language as a new subject within
the Basic Curriculum” (p.53). However, instead of aligning the curriculum in English
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with these recommendations, S&L is undermined and devalued implicitly through the
overly heavy emphasis that is given to literacy instruction and explicitly through the
complete lack of an individual Programme of Study (PoS) for oral language skills.
While the recommendation to retain discrete S&L strands within literacy has been
adhered to, this is arguably the softest option. In addition, there is increased potential
for S&L strands to get lost within the statutory requirements and general ‘noise’ of the
individual PoS.
Contrastingly, within the online guidance S&L skills are presented as a whole area of
teaching and learning. As a result the overall picture with regards to the emphasis that
is accorded to oral skills is somewhat confused. The critical difference lies in the very
closely prescribed nature of the NC that provides finely detailed year-on-year PoS’s in
online guidance serves to give teachers a web-based resource that helps to guide their
teaching within the major Key Stages more generally. It is this discrepancy that
silently speaks volumes about the policy-based agenda in relation to the balance of
S&L in the NC. Oral language is described in the NC in terms of its importance “in
pupils’ development – linguistic, cognitive and social – across the whole curriculum”
(DfE, 2012a; p.3). However, this would seem to be more an exercise in political ‘lip
service’ to the expert panel’s recommendations than any real conviction about the
value of S&L as a subject area in its own right. To these ends it is salient that the
rhetoric that is used to describe S&L within the online guidance gives prominence to
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“Teaching should ensure that work in 'speaking and listening', 'reading' and
'writing' is integrated In English, during Key Stage 1 pupils learn to speak confidently
and listen to what others have to say. They begin to read and write independently and
with enthusiasm …”
This call for integration would seem to represent the recommendation made by the
expert panel for the inclusion of overarching statements about the importance of S&L
“…the quality and variety of language that pupils hear and speak are key
factors in developing their vocabulary, grammar and understanding for reading and
writing.”
This linking of S&L to literacy-based outcomes is more than just the integration of
oral and print-based forms of language. Rather it is the privileging of one form over
another, and represents the devaluation of S&L skills to a level where they become a
In an online opinion piece written after his withdrawal from the expert panel, Pollard
states that the NC is “fatally flawed without parallel consideration of the needs of
learners”. In addition, Pollard suggests that the overly prescriptive nature of the
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specifications will have “constraining effects on the primary curriculum as a
(Pollard, 2012; online). S&L skills that are mainly referred to very generally as
‘overarching statements’, or inserted into the curriculum as discrete strands within the
literacy-focused PoS’s, are more likely to become side-lined. In addition learner needs
will have to fall into line with the instruction of discrete skills in decoding, grammar
on reading and writing over spoken language is key to understanding how and why
are tested more frequently and at an earlier age than in most other countries” (p.497).
current primary NC maintains the sampling heavy methods that have held sway over
the Primary Framework since the inception of the NC (1988). As observed by Andrew
writing, composition, spelling and grammar, outlining the technical knowledge each
arrangements and tough new tests at 11” (Pollard, 2012; online). In addition, the
Year 2 if they did not meet the required standard in Year 1” (DfE, 2012c; p.5). This
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test has already been criticized for being an overly prescriptive one-size-fits-all
“Any anxiety around the complex matter of learning to read will be counter-
pleasure derived from discovery and the meaning of the texts… Ancedotal evidence is
emerging telling us that children who are already reading books are being 'sent back'
to do phonics because it's being deemed that they have to 'catch up' on decoding.”
Various negative effects of high-stakes testing have been cited in the research
al., 1994; Osborn et al., 2000); a correlation between low self-esteem and low
achievement (Harlen and Deakin Crick, 2002); negative effects on pupils’ identities
and self-definitions as learners (Reay and Wiliams, 1999); and the exclusionary
the expense of other types” (Hall et al., 2004; p.801). In addition, it has been noted
that the effects of the SAT’s at the end of KS2 tend to impact upon teaching and
learning in the lower years as early years practitioners and primary teachers feel
pressurised to prepare children for tests in later years. It has been suggested by the
Early Years Curriculum Group that “this country has made successive errors in its
education policy by designing a curriculum and assessments for older children which
then press, top-down, upon the experiences of the youngest children” (Alexander,
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2010; p.163). Such criticisms are directly connected to literacy-based practice that has
The effects of ‘SATurated pupildom’ (Hall et al., 2004) in the lives of Year 6 children
reform the assessment system that holds sway over the NC in England. Whilst the
literacy “at the point where pupils move from primary to secondary education”
Review suggests that children’s achievements across the whole curriculum need to be
“…the current intense focus on testing and test results in the core subjects…is
narrowing the curriculum and driving teaching in exactly the opposite direction to
that which other research indicates will improve teaching, learning and attainment.”
(p.224)
Their recommendations, in line with the Cambridge Primary Review, emphasise the
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for selection has a strong tendency to “distort teaching and the curriculum”
Because oral storytelling can be understood as a spoken word art-form, and also
because the CP organization that delivers arts-based education in school is the focus
of this study, a consideration of the arts within education is a necessary addition to the
arts in education to understand the how the arts have been positioned within
educational discourses and represented within the curriculum in recent years as well
The arts in education have experienced a chequered history that has limited their full
integration into the curriculum since 1870 when education first became a public
entitlement for all children between the ages of 5 and 13. To a large extent the arts
were not even a consideration of education at that time since the focus was on the
basics of reading, writing and arithmetic in response to the perceived need for a semi-
skilled workforce.
The arts struggled to gain a foothold within education well into the first quarter of the
20th century when the first Hadow Report (1923) stressed the “desirability of
p.60). The Hadow Report (1931) on primary education put great emphasis on active
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Education, 1931; p.xv) over compulsory instruction and rote learning. The principles
influential, and this had a progressive effect upon the position of the arts in education
which started to be discussed in terms of their history and relative neglect within
education:
“They have not received the attention in schools which is due to them. They
were received as late-comers; when they were taught, they occupied a place outside
However, in practice the practicalities of teaching to the test to get children through
scholarship examinations won out over broader ideas about the purpose of education.
education was slow and patchy. Instead, the “basic class teaching approach, with an
emphasis on literacy and numeracy, continued in the new junior schools after the
paradigm that derived from child centered approaches and Rousseauian ideas about
criticism on the grounds of it “abdicating the role of the teacher, abandoning standards
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by valuing absolutely anything in the name of creativity and rejecting the importance
The 60’s saw the next landmark in the educational landscape in terms of both arts-
based and child-centered education: the Plowden Report (1967) on primary education.
This pivotal report aimed to “build on and strengthen children's intrinsic interest in
learning and lead them to learn for themselves” (Plowden, 1967; p.532), putting the
child “at the heart of the educational process” (p.9) and warning teachers against
criticism from certain quarters for the excesses in child-centered progressivism that it
was seen to promote (Peters, 1969). It came at a time of rapid, all-embracing change
within education in the UK, and it has been suggested that some of the educational
problems of later decades had “their roots in this period and the apparent subsequent
reaction from ideas and practices then regarded as positive” (Galton et al, 1980; p.39).
This move towards more informal, child-centered education was facilitated by the
education, which freed primary schools from the constraints of teaching to the test.
and the encouragement of innovation in schools at this time allowed for arts education
The ‘Great Debate’ in education that was launched by James Callaghan’s Ruskin
speech in 1976 paved the way to increased scrutiny of the arts in education as a result
of increasing public interest in, and concerns about, the effectiveness of educational
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provision generally. In response to “complaints from industry that new recruits from
schools sometimes do not have the basic tools to do the job that is required”
(Callaghan, 1976), a polarization between the fostering of creativity and neglect of the
basics was implicitly set up within the framework of the debate. The Ruskin speech
was instrumental in setting the tone of official writing on education in the period
leading up to the introduction of a centralized NC at the end of the 80’s, and while the
arts were “never directly criticized nor neglected in theory…their significance was
The general election of 1979 saw the Conservatives take power with Margaret
Thatcher at the helm, steering her neo-liberal agenda of privatisation, cost reduction
and de-regulation coupled with the formation of new forms of public management.
The result was “a form of governance in which market principles were advanced at
the same time as central authority was strengthened” (Jones 2003; p.107). Powers
were taken away from teachers and LEA’s saw their influence being increasingly
reduced, resulting in teachers and schools being demoted from curriculum innovators
to mere curriculum deliverers (Gillard, 2007). The effect of this political and
ideological activity on the arts in education was profound, and there was a feeling at
this time that the arts were being marginalized within the curriculum. This was
principally a result of the central aim of standardizing content and ensuring that all
children were equipped with essential skills in core subjects, most notably literacy and
education were resurfacing, and The Great Debate that Callaghan had started in ‘76
was becoming increasingly reduced to criticism of the liberal and progressive ideals
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through which arts education had previously found some degree of purchase on the
educational agenda.
There came a period after the introduction of the NC in 1988 when arts educators
increasingly resorted to advocacy to counter the adverse political pressure that the arts
were then experiencing. Debates surfaced about how the arts should be conceived and
undertake a review of the NC as a whole and the status of the arts within it. The report
that came out of the review, All Our Futures: Creativity, Culture and Education
that time, specifically concerns: about the place and status of the arts within
education; that pressures and priorities within the curriculum were inhibiting
creativity; about the training of new teachers; and the need for partnerships and
the overarching emphasis on more academic disciplines within the curriculum, the
intention of the NACCCE report (1999) was to “advance the significance of creativity
throughout the whole curriculum, not just in the arts”(Fleming, 2008; p.30):
sciences; the core curriculum or the broad curriculum; between academic standards
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The detailed recommendations of the All Our Futures (1999) report were made to the
new Labour Government that had swept to power in the 1997 general elections. While
the previous Conservative Government’s there was a sense in which the arts gained a
very real purchase within education. This was reinforced by the creation of the
governments’ flagship initiative CP. Established in 2002 as a direct result of the All
Our Futures recommendations, and funded by the Arts Council, CP was designed to
develop children’s creativity and imagination across the curriculum through the
facilitation of long term links between schools and creative professionals from diverse
creative fields.
Whilst as an initiative CP was warmly received in schools, and its benefits acclaimed
within educational research (Sharp et al., 2006; Kendall et al., 2008a/b), its impact
was not destined to last beyond the next election. As part of the much maligned
funding by 30% and all financial support was withdrawn in its entirety from the CP
initiative. The economic and social impact of such severe cuts to spending on the arts
and creativity in education is symptomatic of a longer lived tendency for the arts to be
austerity:
£4 billion net positive benefit for the UK economy …is bearing the brunt of the cuts in
funding. What is of greater concern however is the impact that this approach will
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generation of young people will grow up without having had access to the arts and
this is not something that can be fixed once public finances are restored.”
new but rapidly growing body of literature” (BERA, 2012; online), that is
into the arts in education have been conducted since the 1980’s when the “arts and
Britain” (Reeves, 2002; p.7). Many of these were concerned with the economic value
pertinence to this thesis is research that examines the impact upon academic
A broad-based report that offers a synthesis of research examining the impact of the
arts upon the learning, attainment and social development of children and young
people has been conducted by Fiske (1999). Presenting the results from seven
researchers, including James Catterall and Shirley Brice-Heath, the report provides
compelling evidence on the wide ranging benefits of arts education. Cumulatively the
authors observe that the arts can benefit learning through: the promotion of inclusivity
for students who have become disaffected from the learning experience; the provision
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of novel and diverse learning opportunities; socio-emotional benefits in relation to
self and others; playing-field levelling effects by offering new challenges to students
who are already successful and opportunities for less successful students to excel; and
transferable forms of learning in terms of “the ability to generate ideas, to bring ideas
to life and to communicate them” (Fiske, 1999; p.x), as important skills to the world
have been conducted in recent years to assess the effects of CP on the learning and
development of children and young people in school. Two reports by the National
al., 2008a/b), have found significant differences in the attainment and behaviour of
there was no statistically significant difference in progress at Key Stage 2, there were
and children who had not in the same school, as well as non-CP attending young
people Nationally at Key Stages 3 & 4 (Kendall et al., 2008a). These gains applied to
English and Science whilst mathematics showed less of an impact upon attainment.
“While effect sizes are small, the results of this study suggest that Creative
people who have attended Creative Partnerships activities made, on average, the
equivalent of 2.5 grades better progress in GCSE than similar young people in other
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The second NFER report (Kendall et al., 2008b) found a statistically significant
with this reduction increasing “over a period of years as CP became more established
in these schools” (Kendall et al., 2008b; p.5). The report concluded that this
three years” (p.5) and amounted to a “relative reduction of about a fifth in absence
rates within CP schools over a period of four years” (p.5). Cumulatively, the evidence
from both NFER reports (Kendall et al., 2008a/b) points to the effects of CP
initiatives over time. Whilst the effects of such initiatives on attainment and behaviour
Thomson, Jones & Hall (2009) suggest that national research that examines the
impact of CP upon schools, teaching and learning should continue. In particular they
suggest that research addressing “the pedagogies of close encounters with different
kinds of artists and creative practitioners” (p.87) will be an important addition to this
effort. In line with the authors’ recommendations it is hoped that this thesis will
provide an opportunity for an examination of one such creative close encounter with
2.5 Summing up
The literature on oral storytelling and the arts in education points to the value of
spoken word arts-forms specifically and creative forms of education more generally
for children’s learning and development. Certainly, trying to source research which
points to the negative impact of the arts upon learning is something of a challenge. In
contrast, through an examination of the research into literacy there are questions
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concerning literacy’s powerful influence upon the educational experiences of
children. Documents that prescribe the literacy curriculum for all children in early
years and primary education point to a curriculum that is strongly skewed towards
literacy and that marginalises S&L in school. This marginalisation can be understood
The research questions that form the basis of this inquiry are accordingly aimed at
agents in relation to the balance of literacy instruction and engagement with speaking
Sub-questions:
What are the barriers associated with the utilization of storytelling within the
classroom?
What can the specific focus on storytelling tell us about broader issues in relation to
The next section focuses upon more practical aspects of the inquiry in relation to
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3. Meta-theoretical Considerations
arts education. In the course of the inquiry a relativist position that assumes multiple
individual realities influenced by contextual factors has been taken (Guba & Lincoln,
1994). These ontological assumptions ultimately lead to the central assertion that
researcher. The methodological rationale for the research is grounded generally within
the constructivist paradigm (Hayes & Oppenheim, 1997; Pidgeon & Henwood, 1997),
Charmaz (1994; 1995a/b; 2000; 2006). A data-driven perspective that relies upon
qualitative methods of data collection is taken within the course of the research. The
analysis aims to engage with the “participants' views of the situation being studied”
(Creswell, 2003; p.8), whilst recognising the role of researcher within the research
process. Implicit within this is the view that all inquiry comes laden with associated
and their relationship. We understand that meanings are negotiated within particular
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Researcher reflexivity of this kind transforms subjectivity “from a problem to an
through the use of personal revelation “as a springboard for interpretations and more
perceptions of oral storytelling in school] “aiming toward consensus but still open to
This chapter fully describes how this research was undertaken, through a process of
participants as the primary research method and observing oral storytelling in school
The research design upon which this work is based can be understood in terms of an
a design form an integrated and interacting whole, with each component closely tied
to several others, rather than being linked in a linear or cyclic sequence” (p.216).
Maxwell (1998) goes on to identify five essential components to this model, namely:
the goals of the research; the conceptual framework that informs the research; the
research questions that direct the inquiry; the methods utilized to collect and analyse
data; and the ‘truthfulness’ of the findings. As a part of the interacting and
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requires the researcher to question his/her role, motives, research decisions and
The research presented here does not have an explicit design that can be described in
simple terms. However, it does adhere to more implicit and less restrictive notions of
that exists in relation to these broad themes of study. As already suggested it is this
latter focus that positions this thesis as a library-based research study as much as it is
the effects upon teaching and learning of practice that is predominantly literacy-based
It is hoped that this research has a coherent design that clearly presents: personal,
practical and intellectual research goals that clarify why oral storytelling as an under-
storytelling in relation to the balance of literacy instruction, S&L and arts education
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research tool; an analysis that employs systematic Grounded Theory coding
& Teddlie, 1998), disconfirming evidence, an audit trail, and researcher reflexivity
throughout.
One of my first personal encounters with oral storytelling was in Edinburgh at the
International Storytelling Festival, which takes place every year in October. Before
between a story that is told and a story that is read, but no first-hand experience that
enabled me to fully understand the qualities that separated storytelling from other
of orally told stories in a place where oral storytelling is very much valued, both in
school and society more widely, as part of the Scottish oral tradition. In addition, I
working in schools, some working with young children, and one who used to be a
head teacher. I was able to follow this latter storyteller into school to observe her
work with Year 6 children who were involved in a project creating their own modern-
day myths based around the style of traditional oral stories. Crucially, these children
were experiencing the storyteller’s work as a taster of orally told stories rather than
worth noting that at this point in my study the kind of collaboration between artists
and teachers that was to become a central theme was not a part of my developing
theoretical focus. The project they were embarking upon involved them first writing
their stories before going on to orally tell them under the supervision of their Class
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Teacher (CT). Therefore, there was an explicit emphasis upon literacy in both process
and outcome, and S&L was not being emphasised in a manner that would have
foregrounded oral forms. It was this kind of storytelling that seemed to be most
strongly aligned with traditional classroom practice, and as such the experience served
as clarification for the kind of storytelling practice that I was trying to find an
One of the biggest challenges faced in the research process has been locating the type
oral practice and that eschews engagement with literacy as a major part of the
storytelling process. This situation is most noticeable when taking into consideration
the day-to-day activity of the classroom where writing and the written word occupies
rare to find long term-projects that utilise the pedagogic and collaborative methods
that are the focus of this study. Indeed, many of the teachers who were interviewed as
part of the study expressed the opinion that oral storytelling generally was not
something that was used extensively in school. More specifically the type of
storytelling that was to become the focus of the study with its strong emphasis on oral
methods in both process and outcome was a particularly uncommon format that none
of them had come across before. Therefore, the kind of oral storytelling practice that
school. As articulated by Stake (2005), it is frequently the atypical case that provides
greatest opportunity to learn. This is the rationale for examining practice that may be
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limited application in school. As a result of the scarcity of practice in oral storytelling
opportunity sampling (Patton, 1990) as the primary methods of locating the type of
practice that was of particular interest to the inquiry. This was because it was
necessary to follow the lead of the oral storyteller who was the key informant to the
kind of oral storytelling in school that was to become the focus of the study.
Overall therefore, the goals of the research can be understood as: locating oral
storytelling practice in school that utilises orality in process and outcome; and seeking
the perspectives of key participants who had experience of this particular form of oral
Theoretical sampling can be defined as the selection of “incidents, slices of life, time
important theoretical constructs” (Patton, 2002; p.238). It was upon this premise that
participants were identified and then selected to be part of the study. Initially
storytellers were identified on a national basis as individuals who were most closely
aligned with the area of interest to the research, specifically, oral storytelling that had
interviews then took place, some by phone, most in person, in various places around
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After this, came a process of selection whereby the most valuable participants were
selected as core participants for the study. One storyteller in particular, David Keele,
was this opening that became the foundation for the inquiry by providing an
professional storyteller, Blaine Hogarth, who was the first formally interviewed
a part of the process of seeking out similar storytelling practice, David Keele had
different occasions. Therefore Blaine and David shared very similar understandings of
oral storytelling in terms of its defining features, the process of storytelling, and the
structure of oral stories. Their views were similar to my own in terms of the idea that
addition, they provided the inspiration to seek out similar storytelling practice in
school that explicitly avoided literacy in process and outcome. They were therefore
selected as the main authorities on the type of storytelling that was of particular
interest to the study. One problematic aspect of the selection of these participants that
presented itself throughout the course of the research was the allure of their practice
as oral storytellers unduly influencing the inquiry. I tried to remain mindful of this
claims.
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The opportunity was taken to observe David Keele while he worked with two Year 4
orally tell a story. The tales that David taught were traditional tales (Meg Shelton and
The Leaves That Hung But Never Grew) that were first modelled by the storyteller,
and then rehearsed and retold by the children. In addition, the perceptions of the two
Year 4 CT’s, as well as the Head Teacher (HT) of the school, were important
additions to the research, and interviews were conducted with all of these participants
over the course of the observation period. This sampling procedure can be understood
according to the research opportunities that present themselves and the aims and focus
of the study.
The oral storytelling intervention was in conjunction with a CP Change School project
that extended over a three year period involving collaboration with external artists
who would come into school to share their creative expertise with both pupils and
teachers. Therefore, the storytelling intervention was a small part of a much larger
initiative that was designed to embed creative practice into the curriculum and the
culture of the school more widely. Due to the presence of CP it was felt that an
important addition to the study would include the perceptions of the Creative Agent
(CA) who facilitated both the storytelling initiative, and the wider Change School
and the arts in education, and it was decided that interviews with other CA’s, both in
terms of their perceptions of oral storytelling as a pedagogic tool, and the value of the
arts in education more generally, would be sought to further strengthen the inquiry.
This represents a more theory-driven approach to sampling that was put to use as
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themes emerged from the data, and the need arose for more specific information from
different locations, that he had worked with in a similar capacity. This strategy in
where subjects are nominated by the key informant (Patton, 1990). In addition to
having specific experience of the type of oral storytelling that was central to the study
they also represented critical cases (Bradley, 1992). As such the sampling procedure
also contains elements of theoretical sampling where “the analyst jointly collects,
codes, and analyses his data and decides what data to collect next and where to find
them, in order to develop theory as it emerges” (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; p.45).
Overall therefore, purposeful sampling procedures were utilised where “the researcher
selects a participant according to the needs of the study” (Morse, 1991; p. 129). A
these procedures. This strategy was necessary in order to locate and maximise the
school.
Table 3.1. outlines the participants contributing to the inquiry, with pseudonyms being
given to each participant and school to achieve anonymity . This is in line with
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research ethics proposed by BERA (2011) where the “confidential and anonymous
treatment of participants’ data is considered the norm for the conduct of research”
(p.7). The research context refers to each individual’s orientation in relation to the
research i.e. whether they formed a part of the CP storytelling intervention school or
the wider inquiry into oral storytelling that emerged as a result of purposeful sampling
procedures.
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3.2.3 Participants as people
The participants that were selected to form the basis of the study consisted of 11
individuals: one HT, four CT’s, two Storytellers, and four CA’s working within CP
Roland Morris, David Keele and Sam Rush. The other three CA’s, two CT’s and one
to the intervention school. Therefore they represent the wider research context that
was needed to more fully inform the inquiry into oral storytelling in school. In
addition, Jane Smith and Kate Leech, the CT’s at Lakeside - the school that was part
of the wider inquiry - were chosen on the basis of their association to David Keele.
Due to the fact that David had worked in their school teaching storytelling they were
familiar with his particular style of storytelling practice with its focus on oral
Hollytree, the school where the oral storytelling CP intervention took place, was
located in a town in the North West of England that had above average levels of
unemployment, and also above average levels of young people leaving the school
system without academic qualifications. The socioeconomic context for the study was
therefore one of relative disadvantage. The school demographic itself was identified
by the school’s last Ofsted report as being composed of a higher than the national
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proportion of pupils as identified by Ofsted who were eligible for free school meals
was much higher than the national average. Finally, while the percentage of pupils
with special educational needs was broadly similar to the national average, Ofsted
reported that the number of pupils with a statement of special educational needs
The participants that formed the intervention school element of the inquiry (Hollytree
School) were: Sandra Hollingsworth the HT, and Roland Morris and Sarah White the
Year 4 CT’s who hosted the storytelling intervention in their classes; David Keele, the
intervention Storyteller who taught oral storytelling to the two Year 4 classes; and
Sam Rush, the CA who facilitated the CP Change School project at Hollytree.
Additionally, Roland Morris also took the role of the CP Change School project
coordinator, and it was his initiative that helped to direct how the project unfolded
David Keele was found through an online search of storytellers working in schools in
the Northwest of England. He proved to be a key informant who enabled the research
in Hollytree School that formed the basis of the inquiry to be undertaken. This
opportunity enabled the CT’s, the HT, and the CA for the intervention school CP
project to be interviewed over the course of one half-term while the observation took
place. In addition, the INSET (In Service Educational Training) day that wrapped up
the Change School project at the end of term provided additional opportunities to talk
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The rest of the participants within the study were identified separately to the
intervention school, and as such they represent the wider inquiry into oral storytelling
in school. The first participant to be sourced was Blaine Hogarth who was a
addition, and as a small part of his considerably varied biography, he had worked as a
consultant for the NOP from 1987 until its end in 1992 as well as being the British
Other participants who were part of the wider inquiry into storytelling in school were
composed of CA’s working within the CP organisation. The first participant of this
group was Patrick Mean, a CA working within the North West of England facilitating
creative projects in school, mostly in relation to music which was his area of
expertise. The next participant was Jean Heath who was also a CA working in the
North West of England with CP. Jean had considerable experience of oral storytelling
as she had been an oral storyteller before she became a CA. In addition she was an
author, and she also worked in schools as a creative practitioner using her skills with
creative writing. In this respect Jean had multiple levels of expertise both facilitating
creative practice in schools as well as delivering it. The last participant within this
group was Julia Barden who had worked as a CA facilitating various collaborations in
schools in the North West of England, and her current position was Programme
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The final participants who were part of the wider inquiry were two CT’s, Jane Smith
and Kate Leech, who worked in Lakeside school in the North West of England. As
already described, this school was located through David Keele who had taught oral
storytelling there over a number of years. Thus they were very familiar with David’s
methods, which is why they were identified as being a useful addition to the research.
This school had similar demographics to the intervention school in relation to indices
of social disadvantage such as the percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals
which according to the last school Ofsted report was “well above average”. In
addition Ofsted identified the percentage of pupils with learning difficulties and/or
disabilities as also being well above average, as was the proportion of pupils who had
a statement of special educational need. However, the ethnic makeup was dissimilar
to the intervention school with most pupils coming from white British backgrounds,
The principal research method was the use of semi-structured interviews with a range
included Blaine Hogarth who was instrumental in bringing oral storytelling into
interventions through CP in schools all over the North West; the CT’s at both
Hollytree and Lakeside schools (Roland Morris, Sarah White, Sandra Hollingsworth,
Jane Smith and Kate Leech) who had all experienced David Keele’s style of oral
storytelling in school at different points; and the CA’s – Jean Heath who had
experience telling stories orally herself as well as facilitating oral storytelling projects
through CP; Sam Rush who was the CA for Hollytree School’s CP project that
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incorporated oral storytelling; and Julia Barden who had previous experience being a
CA for CP projects involving oral storytelling. Out of all the participants, Patrick
Mean was the only one who did not have any understanding or experience facilitating
oral storytelling projects in school. However, his more general knowledge in relation
to arts education and CP was considered a valuable addition to the inquiry and a
large extent the opportunity for data collection with this participant was constrained
by the fact that the interview took place during the INSET day focusing on the
outcome of the CP Change School project that she had co-ordinated. Therefore, she
was able to offer only a limited amount of time, and also due to the background
influence of the day the interview schedule tended to focus upon more general aspects
Therefore Sam Rush’s impact upon the inquiry is somewhat limited and similar to
education and CP on a more general basis. The interview with Sandra Hollingsworth
suffers from similar constraints due to the fact that as the HT of a busy school she was
only able to give a short interview during the INSET day. However, despite the
limited impact of these participants in data terms, their views and input was still of
Overall therefore, eight core participants – Blaine Hogarth, David Keele, Roland
Morris, Sarah White, Jane Smith, Kate Leech, Jean Heath and Julia Barden – can be
understood as constituting the fulcrum of the inquiry. The remaining three participants
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– Sandra Hollingsworth, Sam Rush and Patrick Mean – can be understood as
teaching two Year 4 classes to orally tell stories. This observation took place over a
total of 6 separate visits to the school where he worked with one class for a full
morning, and another for a full afternoon, until the end of the oral storytelling
3.3.1 Interview
Semi-structured interviews were the chosen method for eliciting data from
the right to withdraw from the research at any point during the interview process.
interview or survey, and while a standardised interview schedule with set questions
for all respondents was used, the interview style was open-ended and conversational
with scope for the exploration of emergent themes and ideas and the initiation of
topics by respondents.
facilitative and neutral stance that should be adopted by the interviewer. However, the
nature of the research topic necessitated questions about the effects and benefits of
oral storytelling and the balance of literacy instruction in school, and such questions
precluded any attempt at complete neutrality. Clearly, the mere act of asking a
question about the effects and benefits of oral storytelling signals to the interviewee
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that the interviewer thinks there may be some. Furthermore, the roles of the
educational aspects of interventions such as oral storytelling was to a large extent part
and parcel of their professional identities. As such, asking specific questions about
education. Finally, a fairly explicit interview schedule was necessary due to the fact
The stance that was adopted throughout the research then was one of value in relation
to engagement with S&L practice in school. Whilst adopting such a stance was
considered important to the integrity of the research it was also recognised that
ultimately it is the interview process that shapes the course and direction of the
interview. Therefore the conception of the interviewer as neutral tool was rejected
while accepting that the way in which questions are posed “are central to producing
interviewee’s talk, the categories they invoke and the identities they speak from”
(Rapley, 2001; p.309). In this respect the negotiated meanings and the co-construction
balanced with an interview style that tried to remain objective with regards to key
aspects of the inquiry. Whilst personal and academic belief combined to view
orientation was kept out of the formulation of the interview schedule as much as
where the outcome of the interview was seen not as a reflection of reality as perceived
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by the respondent (Holstein & Gubrium, 1995), but rather the “product of a specific
While the interview schedule was an important aspect of the data collection process
and was largely adhered to, the style of each interview was more conversational than
it was structured and inquisitorial. In addition, much room was given for maneuverer
interviewer and interviewee (Holstein & Gubrium, 1995) was taken within the course
of the research. As noted by Fontana & Frey (2005) it is “the active nature of this
process that leads to a contextually bound and mutually created story” (p.696). The
context-bound nature of the qualitative interview derives from both the here-and-now
interactional event in which the interview takes place (Suchman and Jordan, 1990), as
well as the fact that the interviewer is a person with subjective experiences, motives,
“If we proceed from the belief that neutrality is not possible (even assuming it
number of social scientists have realised that they need to interact as persons with the
(p. 696)
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3.3.2 Interview schedule
2. Do you think that oral storytelling enriches children’s learning in ways that are
different and distinct from other S&L activities such as role-play, and other
Are there certain children that benefit more or less from storytelling,
5. How much time and weight has been given to storytelling within the S&L
curriculum?
6. How much time and weight is given to S&L skills as compared to literacy in
the NLS?
why is this?
8. To what extent do you see oral storytelling as being distinct from story
reading?
within school?
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When this separation is not made explicit to children do you think it
9. To what extent do you feel that S&L skills in the curriculum are linked to the
acquisition of literacy?
Do you feel that it would be helpful to uncouple S&L skills from the
literacy agenda?
10. To what extent do you feel that teacher views and beliefs converge or diverge
with prescribed policy and practice of the NLS in relation to S&L skills in the
curriculum?
11. To what extent and in which ways do you feel that artists working in schools
12. How important do you feel that the arts in education generally and artists in
schools specifically are to academic attainment and cultural practice within the
classroom?
How do you feel the withdrawal of funding from CP will affect the arts
in education?
3.3.3 Observation
The intervention school was chosen due to the fact that David Keele had been brought
School project. The aim of the intervention was to increase proficiency in S&L in two
Year 4 classes due to the fact that Hollytree School served an area of considerable
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ethnic diversity with a higher than average number of EAL learners. As articulated by
“Speaking and listening skills is such a massive part of why our children don’t
achieve brilliantly – they don’t come into school fluent in English, so it’s got to be at
the heart of everything we do. It’s recognizing that that’s the need of our community,
On these occasions David Keele was observed teaching storytelling to two separate
classes, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, and in total 30 hours of
storytelling practice was observed. This included the final session that involved the
In addition, the INSET day for the intervention school’s teaching staff focusing on
embedding creative change into the curriculum, was attended and audio recorded. It
was felt that observation of the INSET day was useful to see how the storytelling
intervention was framed to the rest of the school by the teachers who had experienced
important aspects of the research process. To these ends, the research field was
entered with no predetermined ideas about which aspects to attend most closely to or
what the role of the researcher within the observation itself was to be. While a number
of preconceptions influenced the selection of people and research context prior to the
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data collection process, once the research field was entered an open-minded and
the research field and participants became more familiar, was adopted within the
The purpose of the observation was less to gain data for the study than to obtain
contextual information, as it was expected that the primary goal of the research, i.e.
the perceptions of teachers, storytellers and creative agents, was to be secured through
the qualitative research interview. Instead it was hoped that observation would
pedagogic process, gave a sense of how it was received by the children and also its
effects over time. As suggested by Mulhall (2003), observation allows more extant
“Observation also captures the whole social setting in which people function,
activity that is more likely than interviews to provide evidence for process –
(p.308)
Theory (Charmaz, 1994; 1995a/b; 2000; 2006) that “assumes the relativism of
multiple social realities, recognises the mutual creation of knowledge by the viewer
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and the viewed, and aims toward interpretive understandings of subjects’ meanings”
(Charmaz, 2000; p.510), has been adopted in the course of the research. The data
key participants and 15 hours and twenty three minutes of audio that was recorded
during the course of the research. This enabled a significant amount of familiarity
with the data to be achieved during the course of listening to and transcribing
use (BERA, 2011) were respected. Participants were ensured that all recorded
interviews would be kept securely and deleted upon completion of the project. Coding
of participant responses using procedures associated with Grounded Theory and the
constant comparison method (Glaser, 1965; Glaser & Strauss, 1967) was undertaken,
and then down to tie these abstractions to data. It means learning about the specific
and the general – and seeing what is new in them – then exploring their links to
reflexive position to be taken within the research context, to gain an experience of oral
storytelling that enabled myself as a researcher to “enter the phenomenon, gain multiple
views of it, and locate it in its web of connections and constraints” (Charmaz, 2006; p.187).
This is important to the research due to the fact that oral storytelling is something that I
myself am new to, as well as there being valid criticisms in relation to the status of objectivity
118
in Grounded Theory. Due to the organic character of my research in terms of locating
disparate strands of storytelling practice within the milieu of primary arts and language
education, the need for subjectivity in terms of gaining a developed understanding of oral
storytelling as a spoken word art-from and a pedagogical tool, was a salient aspect of the
assert that social phenomena should be approached with as few pre-conceptions as possible
(Glaser, 1992), Constructivist Grounded Theory stresses the utility of engaging proactively
with the literature from the beginning of the research process (Strauss & Corbin, 1998) whilst
practicing theoretical sensitivity (Henwood & Pidgeon, 2003). This ties in with the library-
based nature of the study where empirical observations and data gathering has been equally
balanced with a research process where the emphasis has been upon deep engagement with
the literature on oral storytelling, S&L and literacy practices in school, and collaborative arts
education. As a result the idea of researcher neutrality is rejected and a position that
emphasised.
For my own data the methodological procedure has involved an initial analytical
phase of open coding whereby salient parts of each transcription are separated out and
indicators (Glaser, 1978) are produced from the text. For example, Figure 3.1.shows
an example of an open code that was applied to David Keele’s interview transcription
“It has clear impacts on children’s self- esteem, there’s a clear freeing up for
them in terms of self-expression through language and creativity and combining work
on language with narrative ability, mastery of narrative with at the same time, using
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their body and telling physically, and so on… you can see there are real impacts in
terms of children’s confidence, their self-esteem, their abilities to relate to each other.
I mean so much of it is about that relationship, both at the point that they’re telling
the story, and during the kind of working up of the story when most of the work is
interactive anyway.”
A further refinement of these open codes was then pursued through a process of
Finally descriptive labels were applied to each colour-coded data set with an
more explicitly and meaningfully related to other parts of the data within and between
categories. This stage in the coding is demonstrated in Figure 3.2 that provides a small
selection of codes extracted from my coding manual and the major conceptual
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In this way a categorical framework was created through the gradual “process of
(Strauss & Corbin 1990; p.61) that the open coding phase represents.
I considered the open coding phase to be complete when each interview had been
coded in this manner, and to a large extent the process overlapped with subsequent
phases of coding as categories and sub-categories developed and new data was added
to the corpus of previously analysed text. Figure 3.3 provides an example of the way
the semantic and colour coding was applied to David Keele’s interview during the
freeing-up for them in terms of self-expression through language and creativity and
body and telling physically, and so on… you can see there are real impacts in terms of
children’s confidence, their self-esteem, their abilities to relate to each other, I mean
so much of it is about that relationship, both at the point that they’re telling the story,
and during the kind of working up of the story when most of the work is interactive
The second phase of coding took place later on in the analytic process after the oral
storytelling intervention had ended but before all of the data from the wider inquiry
had been investigated and analyzed. Axial coding (Glaser, 1978; Strauss, 1987) was
undertaken in order to engage with each category that had ‘emerged’ from the open
coding phase on a deeper level in terms of what Glaser (1978) termed the Six C’s:
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“the Causes, Contexts, Contingencies, Consequences, Covariances, and Conditions”
(p. 74). Defined by Strauss and Corbin (1990) as a set of procedures whereby data is
“put back together in new ways after open coding, by making connections between
categories" (p.96), theoretical coding of this kind is designed to tap into aspects of
process that inhere within the research context. The form that this procedure took
concept-indicators within each conceptual category, which were the result of the open
coding phase. This was undertaken to get a holistic understanding of which aspects of
oral storytelling, S&L and arts education were most salient to each participant. For
that each participant had said in relation to a concept and conceptual category. In
addition, things that were not said or implied and direct contradictions to previous
participant’s ‘story’ in relation to the objects of inquiry. Figure 3.4 provides an extract
of the axial coding procedure that was undertaken in relation to David Keele’s focus
upon the inter-relational nature of oral storytelling, with his other most salient
concept-indicators within the major conceptual category of Effects & Benefits of Oral
‘David Keele puts significant credence onto the importance of inter-relational aspects
of oral storytelling, in a number of different ways, specifically, the way that a ‘shared
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temporary community’ is produced when listening to a storytelling performance;
as group work and peer learning; and also the dynamic interaction that occurs
between the storyteller and his/her audience as an integral part of the storytelling
process…’
This element of the aesthetic continued throughout the selective coding phase that can
by LaRossa (2005):
“There is value in choosing one variable from among the many variables that
a grounded theoretical analysis may generate and making that variable central when
(p.838)
Selective coding can therefore be understood as a procedure that furnishes the data
process of recombining the data in new ways (e.g. mind mapping and the distillation
of findings) that allowed the links between categories and sub-categories to become
more transparent and explicit. This enabled the variables that had the most numerous
‘causes’, ‘consequences’, and ‘co-variences’ to come to the fore. Figure 3.5 provides
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an example of the way findings were distilled to explicate the storyline and the
One of the ‘intrinsic benefits’ (McCarthy; 2004) of oral storytelling relates to the
ability. This is particularly the case for children who display socio-emotional deficits
due to impoverished language skills, and this is connected to the robust link between
3.4.2 Frequency
throughout all stages of data analysis and coding. The use of ‘quantitization’
quantitative claim and requires some quantitative support” (p.245). Proceeding from
this assertion, the frequency of categories and their associated sub-categories within
While no explicit statistical analysis was undertaken, or even envisaged at any point,
the salience of concepts within the data was considered an important aspect of the
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most within participant responses, as shown in Figure 3.6, which provides an extract
from David Keele’s most salient Effects & Benefits of Oral Storytelling:
• soc.emo 18
• inter.rel 8
• own.auth.dem.lang 7
• spce.time 6
• play.field.levl.efct 5
• intr.motiv 5
• narr 5
• strytell.benf.disad.lss.abl 5
• prod.lang.vocab 4
• img 4
• comm.comp 4
• kines 4
analysis is considered ‘trite’ (Sliverman, 1993) when handling qualitative data, I was
mindful from the outset that the use of summative methods needed to occupy a
content analysis, but also permits the researcher to combine analysis of the frequency
of codes with analysis of their meaning in context, thus adding the advantages of the
(p.57)
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3.5 Research rigor
lend itself to the checks and balances of the positivist paradigm that are aimed at
ensuring overall quality upon completion of the project. As a result, a confusing array
of terms intended to substitute the positivist concepts of reliability and validity for
ones that are more fitting within the qualitative paradigm have become increasingly
Multiple perspectives about it flood the pages of books…In these texts, readers are
credibility.”
(p.124)
The need for qualitative research to demonstrate ‘trustworthiness’ (Guba, 1981), has
resulted in this plethora of alternative formulations that have greatly expanded our
understanding and description of rigor within the qualitative paradigm. However, they
have also somewhat confused the situation and made it difficult to assess
“qualitative inquirers need to demonstrate that their studies are credible” (Creswell &
Miller, 2000; p.124). To these ends, the procedures that I employ to demonstrate
validity are:
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•Disconfirming evidence and thick description within the Constructivist paradigm
In addition, and in line with suggestions that qualitative research should also attend to
rigor “throughout the research process” rather than “relegating rigor to one section of
a post-hoc reflection on the finished work” (Morse et al., 2008; p.19), inbuilt and
‘self-correcting’ mechanisms to ensure the quality of the study have also been
appropriate sampling procedures through the selection of participants who had very
pedagogically with stories in school; and collecting and analysing data concurrently,
methods associated with Grounded Theory. In these ways “strategies to ensure rigor
inherent in the research process itself” (Morse et al., 2008; p.14) were a significant
aspect of my methodology.
Guenther (2007) triangulation can be achieved through the use of “multiple data
analytic techniques used to align interpretations and test for consistency and
categories across the data sets” (p.6). In my own study this has involved the use of
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mixed methods during the process of analysis where ‘quantitization’ (Tashakkori &
Teddlie, 1998) of the data involving “collating and counting recurrent themes” (Falk
& Guenther, 2007; p.4) is used as a primary means of adding ‘legitimacy’ to my own
(Becker, 1970) has been proposed by Maxwell (1998) as a validity measure that
allows the researcher to “test and support claims that are inherently quantitative” and
also “to assess the amount of evidence…that bears on a particular conclusion” (p.245)
The audit trail is a validity procedure designed to provide the reader with “clear
process and product of the inquiry, and determine the trustworthiness of the findings”
(Creswell & Miller, 2000; p.128). The audit trail that I have chosen to employ takes
the form of evidence of the data analysis process, specifically: an extract from my
coding manual; two examples of the way open codes were applied to participant
responses taken from the interview data in both early and late stages of open coding;
an example of the more intuitive axial coding procedure that was applied to each
participant’s most salient concept-indicators to elucidate the Six C’s within each
resulted from the selective coding phase; and an example of the way codes were
ultimately ranked to give an overview of which themes and sub-categories within the
The use of dis-confirming evidence within the data involves the search for “evidence
that is inconsistent with or disconfirms” (Creswell & Miller, 2000; p.127) categories
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or themes that have been established during the course of the research. As such it
perspectives that can inhere within social phenomena. Within the Constructivist
case that forms a large part of the discussion in relation to the hegemony of literacy as
a conceptual theme. More specifically, the Lakeside School teachers afforded a large
degree of value to the Talk to Write storytelling method that is based in practice more
strongly associated with literacy than orality. This represents a major disconfirming
case that highlights the complexity of the inquiry into oral storytelling and the
accounts” in contrast to ‘thin descriptions’ that “lack detail, and simply report facts”
‘verisimilitude’ that produces the feeling within reader that they “have experienced, or
could experience, the events being described in a study” (Creswell & Miller, 2000;
p.129). Such an approach enables the reader to assess the credibility of the account as
(Creswell & Miller, 2000; p.129). In my own study thick description has been
instrumental spoken word art-form. In this latter case, I have tried to define what I
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mean by oral storytelling and also ‘non-instrumental’ practice in S&L, as fully as
possible to ensure that the reader has a detailed understanding of both aspects of the
inquiry.
In addition, thick description has been achieved through the provision of rich data-sets
of this nature requires “verbatim transcripts of the interviews” (p.244) rather than just
amount of weight was given to transcribing each participant interview in full and
analysing all significant themes that came out of the data. This approach has provided
as full and detailed account of oral storytelling in relation to the balance of literacy,
The validity procedure of researcher reflexivity that is clearly positioned within the
entering beliefs and biases early in the research process to allow readers to understand
their positions” (Creswell & Miller, 2000; p.127). This approach emphasises the
importance of the social, cultural and historical forces that shape the interpretation of
complex ideas and experiences (Creswell & Miller, 2000), as well as recognising the
position myself within this tradition by stating what brought me to oral storytelling as
a research topic, within the introduction of the thesis. In addition, I have employed
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reflexivity in the course of explicating the sampling procedures used during the
The context-specific nature of qualitative research in the social world has resulted in it
another should not, and do not, apply to qualitative research findings (Cronbach,
1975; Denzin, 1983; Hammersley, 1990). However, Falk & Guenther (2007) have
noted that “people do generalise from qualitative research” and they go on to suggest
that they “may well have good reason to be able to do so” (p.1). Similarly, Patton
(2002) uses the term ‘extrapolation’ to describe the way that “modest speculations on
the likely applicability of findings to other situations” (p. 584) can be taken from
qualitative research findings, and Creswell (2005) emphasises “stating the larger
meaning of the findings” (p.48) during the process of interpretation. To these ends I
suggest that the Research Questions that form the base from which the inquiry
of primary education and the place and status of S&L and creative forms of teaching
Falk & Guenther (2007) further suggest that the ability to make generalisations from a
“sufficiently detailed for the reader to be able to judge whether or not the findings
apply in similar settings” (p.4). In terms of my own study I propose that the
the balance of literacy and S&L in school for the reader to be able to judge whether
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the findings apply within different contexts. Falk & Guenther (2007) suggest that
generalisation is:
may be drawn about factors that contribute to those patterns—that is, how and why
The patterns of behaviour that constitute engagement with literacy, S&L and arts-
wider society more generally. It is therefore suggested that this is the basis from
al. (1994), in qualitative research the focus is on discovery rather than generalisation
3.6 Summing up
methods of data collection, and the analysis is based upon iterative coding procedures
literature on oral storytelling, S&L and literacy practices in school and collaborative
arts-based education. Research rigour has been addressed through inbuilt methods
including purposeful sampling and concurrent data collection and analysis. Post-hoc
reliability and validity procedures have also been addressed through triangulation of
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data through mixed analytical methods and an audit trail; disconfirming evidence and
thick description; and research reflexivity. It is hoped that generalising from this
research will be possible in relation to the broader purpose of primary education and
The next chapter will present and discuss the findings in relation to the Effects and
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4. Effects and Benefits of Oral Storytelling
This chapter addresses the first sub-question of the research, examining the effects
and benefits associated with the pedagogic use of oral storytelling in school. In line
with the primary Research Question, participant responses indicate that the most
salient effects and benefits of oral storytelling relate to socio-emotional aspects, and
also to communicative competence and vocabulary. The first section of this chapter
Socio-emotional effects and benefits came out of participant responses as by far the
most salient conceptual category. The following sections examine the ways that oral
storytelling can enable children to: become more self-confident; represent and
with others. Cumulatively these effects can be understood in relation to the theoretical
(Vygotsky: In Valsiner, 1987; p.67) and the centrality of social interaction to learning
and development.
around the distinctive educational experience that oral storytelling can offer children.
The challenge of public speaking allows children to undertake the potentially difficult
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that has greater potential for enjoyment due to its narrative quality. In addition, it is a
scaffolded activity due to the fact that the structure of narrative affords children a
framework and a support upon which to base their speaking. Secondly, being the
centre of attention during oral storytelling allows children to be listened to from the
beginning to the end of a story due to pre-determined rules that dictate that they can
speak without fear of interruption. The implications for feelings of control and
empowerment here are clear. Finally, oral storytelling fosters children’s ability to
think things through in the moment as a result of the ad lib quality of production that
requires children to mould the story as they tell it. This results in increased levels of
confidence through children’s understanding that they are better able to think and
The socio-emotional effects and benefits of oral storytelling proved to be the most
participants have examples of children’s self-confidence to tell stories orally and also
storytelling. Sarah White (CT: Lakeside School) describes how oral storytelling
benefitted one particular girl in her class who was “painfully shy at everything” and
had low self-esteem due to the difficulties she experienced with literacy:
“But today she was smiling, she got in, she told the story, she was working in
a group – she just doesn’t do that normally, she will sit there and let everything go on
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Similarly, David Keele (Storyteller: Hollytree & Lakeside Schools) describes a
situation with a girl who exhibited profound socio-emotional problems and “wasn’t
available for anything interactive - friendship, academic work, she just wasn’t there”.
Having ‘given up’ trying to teach this girl storytelling, David describes how she
unexpectedly and independently chose to tell the story that the class had been working
on:
had touched her at all. And then we sat down and I said ‘let’s just watch each other’s
stories – who wants to go first?’, and she put her hand up – the teacher was
totally….and she struggled more in front of the whole class, but she did it.”
(Storyteller: Wider Inquiry) focuses upon this aspect suggesting that the “power to tell
you the story – I know the story and you don’t, and you’re listening”, is a large part of
“To be the center of attention is the biggest power that storytelling offers, it
really is empowering when you have your peers, or even older people or younger
people listening to you…just to feel you’ve been heard is an amazing thing. To feel
that you’ve made people laugh or moved them is an even greater thing, that ‘I did
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Self-esteem and self-confidence are ubiquitous and problematic concepts that have
(Baumesiter et al., 2003). Self-esteem and self-confidence are terms that tend to
appear together and are used interchangeably in participant responses. For example
David Keele suggests that “there are real impacts in terms of children’s confidence,
difficult to ascertain the extent to which self-esteem and self-confidence are inter-
related and how important they are to children’s learning and more general
clarify the conceptual landscape, and how such constructs as self-confidence can be
al. (1995) offer a useful way forward contrasting global self-esteem with specific self-
esteem, with the former relating to affective aspects of psychological well-being, and
performance and ability. They go on to suggest that specific forms of self-esteem tend
to impact upon global self-esteem more than feelings of global self-esteem impact
upon perceptions of ability in specific domains. This is most likely connected to the
idea that while specific self-esteem is concerned with competence, “the central feature
1995; p.144). Akin to the concept of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1982), the confidence to
attain specified performance levels is central to such abilities as persistence over time
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In contrast, Baumeister et al. (2003) have questioned the degree to which self-esteem,
(1995). Through a thorough review of the literature Baumeister et al. (2003) suggest
that with the exception of the strong link to happiness and resilience there is very little
go on to suggest that the indiscriminate praise that typifies many of the programmes
contribute to “inflated self-esteem than to the kind of self-esteem that will be best for
“Praising all the children just for being themselves, in contrast, simply
devalues praise and confuses the young people as to what the legitimate standards
are.”
the importance of seeking “the right usage of self-esteem” in linking it “to learning
and improvement…in recognition of good performance” (p.39). Jean Heath (CA: CP)
reinforces this perspective by suggesting that children can “have solid self-esteem, not
based on somebody else telling them that they’re good, but just because they know
themselves that they can handle things”. This aspect of creative thinking is related to
Jean’s perception that there is no right or wrong way to tell a story and that retelling
alternative story versions promotes children’s “ability to think things through” for
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through the performance of oral stories, with a focus upon improvement that may
public speaking, being the centre of attention and learning to thinking creatively in the
moment. This perspective is captured within the presentation made by Roland Morris
(CT: Hollytree School) during the INSET day on embedding creativity in the
curriculum:
“Right at the very beginning of the storytelling, our children were very
reluctant to tell their story in front of an audience, but over the course of the activities
that we did with David to learn their story, they really gained that confidence to stand
in front of each other, and confidently speak out their story, tell it and get it out and
all that. Just to add, some of the things that surprised me, that was one of them.”
and social self-concept, and may ultimately impact upon global self-esteem in positive
confidence telling stories throughout the course of the intervention I suggest that such
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4.1.2 Self-expression, emotional literacy and identity: How children understand and
represent themselves
self-expression, emotional literacy and identity are closely aligned to the school of
fostered by oral storytelling through the responsibility that is inherent in the shaping
of stories that are re-told so that children are free to re-tell a story using different
verbal language, body language, expression and even to change the narrative so that
the story unfolds in a slightly different way. David Keele (Storyteller: Hollytree &
Lakeside Schools) describes the “exposing” nature of oral storytelling that involves
describes as “the opposite to escape”. David’s perceptions here seem to center on the
“…it’s quite a personal journey…there’s often times when I tell a story and I
don’t feel that comfortable, there’s times when you feel quite uncomfortable
inside….you know, you’re coming to some quite core difficulties for yourself in
different ways.”
“I think this thing about emotional literacy is huge, in terms of the wonder
tales - the fairy tales, the once upon a time stories - they’re all about emotional
literacy, they’re metaphorical. All the characters in them – the kings, the queens, the
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princesses, the helpers, the beggars, the monsters, the giants, the giants wives – all of
those people, I tend to go along with the Jungian approach that they all represent
As noted by Alexander et al. (2001) in their study on emergent literacy and socio-
emotional learning through dialogic reading, mothers report that their children are
“drawn to stories that display parallels with their own experience” (p.387). Such
parallels “provide a basis upon which the child can personalize the story, identify with
the characters and use the story to help manage emotional concerns” (Alexander, et
al., 2001; p.387). This exploration of identity through the mapping of personal
experiences of self onto those of the story characters is evident within Jane Smith’s
(CT: Lakeside School) responses. Jane suggests that oral storytelling allows children
to utilise an averted gaze to address emotional issues “because it’s not them
talking…they’re the tiger or the child or the angry Arthur or whoever they are” but at
the same time “it’s their voice about how they’re feeling”. This averted gaze enables
children to give voice to their emotions whilst taking on the persona of a story
indirect and therefore potentially less threatening. Alexander et al. (2001) suggest that
“As noted by Engel (1995)…when children retell stories again and again, they
gain both mastery of the original experience and of the telling itself.”
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In addition to confronting the ‘core difficulties’ emphasised by David Keele, oral
storytelling provides children with opportunities to change the narratives that they tell
about themselves. David goes on to describe the way that oral storytelling provides
“….the fact that when they’re doing oral storytelling, that there is no right
way, there’s just your way of telling the story, can be a real liberation for them….it’s
a really powerful experience for them, and they do definitely carry a greater sense of
Similarly, Jean Heath (CA: CP) describes the way that teaching children to tell stories
orally can be understood as giving children the tools they need to “re-narrativise”
their lives:
“…So I think that if you have that sort of background, and you have the
storytelling, then you are in a position to then re-narrativise your life, because you
(2010), who examines the nature and purpose of identity focusing upon the socially
situated nature of the self (Mead, 1934; Vygotsky, 1981). Within the participant
responses of my own study on oral storytelling Jean Heath’s emphasis upon children’s
the self. Warin (2010) suggests that “it is the capacity for self-narration” (p.178) that
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is advantageous, and that such a capacity bestows upon the individual “a kind of
‘identity capital’” (p.178) from which they can draw at times of vulnerability. As
noted by Warin (2010) a value for self-awareness and the need for “a ‘strong sense of
self’” as “the basis for mental health and psychological wellbeing” (p.33) has become
years. Most notably the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL)
programme established under the Labour government, and the Birth to Three Matters
Framework (Sure Start, 2005), on which the current Personal, Social, Health and
based upon unchanging entity conceptions of self (Dweck, 2000). In contrast, Warin
(2010) stresses temporal aspects suggesting that “it is important to look at how self-
construction occurs over time as this concerns a person’s capacity to change, to learn
or fail to learn, to be open or resistant to new influences” (p.37). To these ends, Warin
(2010) invokes the image of the storyteller as a means by which individuals construct
“It is necessary to find a way of representing the self that shows it is flexible
that it can be made and re-made, but that it has continuity over time. The metaphor of
self can be viewed as the creation of narrative, a sense-making device, that provides
(p.37)
Warin (2010) goes on to suggest that this conception of identity construction as the
creation of ‘stories of self’ has important implications for policy and practice in
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relation to identity and self-awareness. Sharing similarities with Baumeister’s (2003)
the self. They should be aimed instead at strengthening a person’s capacity to create
self, their capacity to expand and differentiate identity into a sophisticated, nuanced
story….”
(p.178)
Such an approach has been adopted by Woolf (2012) who suggests that the five
feelings and social skills, are better achieved through engagement with opportunities
for non-directive play and social interaction than through being directly taught or
‘strengthened’. Participants cumulatively suggest that the effects and benefits of oral
likely that such opportunities ultimately impact upon process of identity construction
understand others
Processes of identity formation and understanding of self are closely tied to the effects
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Cohen, 2011) understanding of self and others. The observation that psychotic
individuals can display a cognitive ability to take the perspective of others without
actually empathizing with them reinforces the idea that “empathy includes an
emotional experiential component that is not a part of perspective taking” (Russ &
Niec, 2011; p.28). This notion of double-mindedness has recently been strengthened
by neuro-imaging studies that have found two separate brain areas for emotional
The simultaneous awareness of self and others to which the concept of ‘double-
storytelling upon emotional literacy and empathy. Blaine Hogarth (Storyteller: Wider
“empathy with the characters, identification” and having “to perceive the story
through the eyes of all the various different protagonists”. Similarly, Roland Morris
(CT: Hollytree School) describes the way that oral storytelling involves children
retelling stories in a way that gets “inside the character and how the character feels”
as well as “understanding… the reasons for their actions”. These perspectives are
reinforced by Jane Smith (CT: Lakeside School) who suggests that oral storytelling
enables children to explore emotions and “talk about the good and the bad of those
Clearly, the rich story narratives and the variety of story characters that are available
look beyond themselves so that they can explore and develop their comprehension of
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psychological affordances of narrative have been noted by Alexander et al (2001),
“…it is often the aesthetic properties of the story - the oral and visual
rhythmic patterns, the characters who invite identification and empathy - that inspires
(p.377)
Different story interpretations during oral story re-telling, offer children the
opportunity to experience the same story told by different people in different ways.
The idea that there is “no right or wrong way to tell a story” is central to David
world and acknowledge that it’s different” Jean Heath (CA: CP) links tolerance to
creative thinking and the individualized nature of oral storytelling. She suggests that
the tolerance for alternative responses that is fostered through an emphasis upon
different versions of a story that is re-told, is more likely to be lacking when children
have been educated with strong delimitations about the way things should be done:
everything, and a tick or a cross to everything, you’re not going to have that
tolerance…”
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This acceptance of difference has important implications for children’s theory of mind
understanding that other people have separate minds, thoughts and ideas. Relatedly,
Jane Smith describes the way that due to the cycles of deprivation that result in poor
parenting skills, many of the children at Lakeside School are “not looked at, a lot of
them don’t speak, they don’t contextualise that ‘my mums smiling at me, she must be
happy’”. She goes on to describe the way that oral storytelling can benefit such
children:
that out of the story and give them the emotions that perhaps they haven’t felt before –
they’re quite young, you know you can do it at quite a young age, and our children
will talk in that character, not necessarily for themselves, but when they’re that
character or when they’re in that storytelling world, they can feel and think about
Jane Smith’s suggestion that the children at Lakeside “don’t have a lot of emotion” is
clearly a problematic statement that is not possible to uphold. However, the sentiment
behind her assertion is compelling and requires consideration of what may lie behind
it. It appears that it is the qualitative nature of children’s emotional experiences rather
than a lack of emotions that is the real issue here, with social factors and constraints
resulting in core difficulties that impact upon children’s ability to understand and
that has demonstrated that the quality of emotional talk between caregivers and young
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children is strongly linked to emotional literacy, understanding of self and social
cognition and competence (Asher, 1983; Denham, 1992; Benner et al., 2002).
The process of retelling a story from the perspective of different protagonists involves
themselves, and as Jane Smith suggests “give[s] them the emotions that perhaps they
crucial if they are to achieve emotional literacy and gain a sense of empathy. As
(p.12)
A direct link between role-playing and empathy has been demonstrated by Staub
(1971) who observed pro-social empathic behaviour that persisted over time in
children who enacted a situation where another child needed help. In contrast children
who inductively had the positive consequences of helping and sharing pointed out to
them did not exhibit the same pro-social behaviour. As noted by Szalavitz & Perry
(2010) while the application of theory of mind known as ‘perspective taking’ is a pre-
that is not a part of perspective taking. This observation reinforces the idea that pro-
social skills are ‘caught not taught’ (Woolf, 2012) and the importance of experiential
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Overall participants align themselves with the idea that through processes of
emotional literacy, tolerance and empathy in children. I suggest that the mechanisms
understanding of self and others (Baron-Cohen, 2011), and the perspective-taking and
experiential learning that enables children to turn their more abstract theory of mind
spoken language practice that fosters emotional literacy and empathic ability through
4.1.4 The listener, the audience and the group: Emotional literacy through inter-
psychological processes
Processes of identity construction are couched in a dual awareness of self and other,
where the “capacity to tell a story of self is derived from social relationships, whilst
also facilitating the formation and progression of social relationships” (Warin, 2011;
relation to the dynamic and infinitely complex flux of different social contexts, or the
more helpful distinction suggests that we need to think in less absolute terms and
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Blaine Hogarth (Storyteller: Wider Inquiry) suggests that the collectivism of oral
storytelling with its “’crick crack’, this sort of call and response…and a lot of
participation’ and sets oral storytelling apart from other performing arts. Blaine
emphasizes that with oral storytelling there is “a dialogue possible all the time” and
that “kids feel they can question and interrogate the story”. He goes on to elucidate
how this might work in practice, emphasizing the expertise of the storyteller in
“…if it’s a good storyteller, the kid can ask a question, and the storyteller if
they’re in control of what they’re doing can stop the story exactly, digress and deal
with the question, and maybe even tell another story in response, and then come back
This quality of call and response has been addressed in Myers’s (1990) study of the
effects of oral storytelling as compared to story reading. Myers (1990) found more
comments to clarify meanings, during oral storytelling than during story reading. At
teachers to ask questions that are not wholly based around simple recall. The Bristol
their first school (Wells, 1986) found that “not only did children almost cease to ask
‘real’ questions at school but teachers also rarely invited them to express and explain
their beliefs and opinions – at least with respect to the official curriculum” (Davies &
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Sinclair, 2012; p.5). The increased questioning and dialogic interactions observed by
Myers (1990) can therefore be taken as an indication that oral storytelling is aligned
along with the key principles of collectivity, reciprocity, cumulation, support and
Julia Barden (CA/Programme Director: CP) contrasts oral storytelling and story
reading emphasizing the physical differences between them, describing the former as
“direct”, and the latter as “static”, as well as invoking images of the book as a barrier
“…if somebody is reading often their head is in a book and then they’re
showing the book, whereas if they’re telling the story they’re there, they’re constantly
engaging – that face to face dynamic relationship, so physically I think it’s a different
experience…”
This perspective is aligned with the immediate, personal, active and direct qualities of
oral storytelling that have been demonstrated by research. Studies already presented in
cumulatively reinforce the idea that the ‘crick-crack’ of oral storytelling functions as a
the observation that there is increased use of eye contact and a de-focus on story book
illustrations during oral storytelling (Malo & Bullard, 2000); that participation during
story reading generally involves discussion of book illustrations (Ellis, 1997; Aina,
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1998); and that oral storytelling invites significantly more audience participation
(Isbell, 2004). Such research serves to set oral storytelling apart from story reading as
an activity that has specific socio-emotional effects that hinge upon its inter-relational
quality and the fact that it is freed from the constraints of text-based reproduction.
the way that children are able to enhance their understanding of self and others
through watching and listening to others tell stories. Oral stories tend to involve a
large amount of body language and gesture due to the need to fill the performance
space and also to convey the story to a listening audience. In addition, and as a result
of the direct ‘face-to-face’ connection with the audience, facial expression becomes a
understanding of the link between internal emotional state and external markers of
The role of mirror neurones in empathic responses has been established by Gallese
observed and executed actions, emotions and sensations onto the same neural
substrate. Gallese (2001) goes on to emphasise that in terms of theory of mind, “much
of what we ascribe to the mind of others when witnessing their actions depends on the
‘resonance mechanisms’ that their actions trigger in us” (p.47). The embodied quality
we are talking to. In addition, the observation and execution of actions, emotions and
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sensations has been found to stimulate the self-same regions in the brain (Gallese,
2001). The experiential and embodied character of empathy suggests that oral
storytelling enables children to observe others tell stories with emotional themes and
then replicate those themes themselves, and that this will impact upon children’s
“When empathy occurs, we find ourselves experiencing it, rather than directly
causing it to happen. This is the characteristic that makes the act of empathy
unteachable.”
(p.707)
The interaction that takes place between the storyteller and his/her audience as a
operate. An aspect of oral storytelling that all of the participants with direct
experience of it are clear about is the extent to which the storyteller reads the audience
that they are storytelling to. David Keele (Storyteller: Hollytree & Lakeside Schools)
where the storyteller is “responding to how the audience is”. David goes on to
contrast oral storytelling and reading aloud in terms of how the storyteller can tailor
audience seem to be, and the energy in the room, and the looks on people’s faces and
the rest of it. So you are directly relating through the story with the audience, in a
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way that with a book you’re just not…so if you can feel that your audience is
absolutely in the story then you can afford to relax more and you can slow the story
down, you can tell more, you can put more detail into the story.”
The fact that oral stories can be altered and changed to suit the unique composition of
an audience and how the story is being received along with the requirement to pick up
on non-verbal cues from the audience as an implicit part of this process, has important
implications for emotional literacy. As presented in the literature review of this thesis,
Myers (1990) describes the way that younger children listening to an orally told story
showed “by the expression on their faces and a ‘kind of leaning back’ movement in
their bodies” (p.826) that they were not quite understanding the gist of a story. Such
components within the complex of others’ behaviour patterns together with their
environmental context” due to the fact that “that’s all we can see” (Whiten, 1996;
p.277). Whiten (1996) goes on to suggest that this makes a simple contrast between
ability, whereby the shared manifold of actions, emotions and sensations that allows
us to “recognise other human beings as similar to us” (p.44-45) also allows the
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Cumulatively, participants suggest that oral storytelling is a direct form of
behaviour reading ability, and invites a dialogue to take place between storyteller and
listening audience in a manner that story reading precludes. I suggest that it is the
experiential and inherently social quality of oral storytelling that produces these
effects, with empathic ability being strongly influenced by the action of neural
mechanisms that match emotions and observed and executed actions onto neural
regions of the brain (Gallese, 2001). In this way oral storytelling can be understood as
the development of emotional literacy and social competence through its operation on
The collaboration that is required to get children oral storytelling can be a challenge to
both children and teachers, and is closely associated with the difficulties that teachers
frequently find in using oral storytelling as a pedagogic tool. By its very nature oral
enable children to become familiar with the structure and what David Keele
(Storyteller: Hollytree & Lakeside Schools) describes as “the world of the story”.
telling and listening to each other’s stories as they take turns as teller and audience.
White (CT: Hollytree School) who asserts that she would like to do more oral
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storytelling due to the fact that the children “work so much better together as a class
doing this than they do on anything else”. Similarly, David Keele (Storyteller:
Hollytree & Lakeside Schools) asserts that children’s ability to relate to others is
relationship, both at the point that they’re telling the story, and during the kind of
Collaborative learning involves an element of risk due to its emphasis upon human
experience the potential for conflict that inheres within any social interaction in order
to learn and develop important social skills that can’t be taught. During the
telling the story as a different character, or choosing a different section of the story to
tell. It was during such group-work that a significant amount of negotiation was
the girls today -conflict resolution is not their strong point! We’re doing so much
PHSE and things on…we’re doing families and conflict resolution because that’s our
big issues in this class…but I think this does, this helps because it’s somewhere they
can put it into practice – all the stuff they’ve being trying to do like compromise.
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Whether it works or not is another matter, but… because we’re working in a group,
and not everyone can be the farmer’s son, and you know, is there a way round it, is
someone going to have to say ‘okay, this time you can do what you want to do’…”
collaborative and co-operative forms of learning into the classroom. This effect
reinforces the concepts already discussed of experiential learning and the idea that
“social skills are not taught, but rather absorbed” and “learned through relationship”
(Woolf, 2012; p.37). Participants aligned themselves with this notion of experiential
and collaborative learning that enabled children to work together towards the end goal
of producing an oral story. The group-work that was observed during the course of the
therefore suggested that opportunities for learning the social skills that underpin
This section examines the effects and benefits of oral storytelling upon
storytelling increases fluency and scaffolds language and affects children with
speaking well and being comprehended well actually entail, and how such abilities
can be instilled in speakers is far from clear. Participant perspectives focus upon oral
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storytelling as an effective way to improve and showcase communicative competence.
and fluency regardless of vernacular features, so that “somebody with strong dialect
(1999) “fluency is an elusive notion [and] the assumptions which underpin classroom
The concept of fluency has been aligned with rapidity, smoothness and confidence,
(Goldman-Eisler, 1968; p.31) quality of spontaneous speech that does not conform to
“If the pauses, hesitations, inaccuracies of all kinds, the vagueness and
(p.15)
This conception therefore sees fluency as “the features which give speech the qualities
of being natural and normal, including native-like use of pausing, rhythm, intonation,
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appeals to dialogic formulations of spoken language where the participatory nature of
(1999; p.14). In this conception the focus is upon the finesse of individual production
evidence for fluency in spoken language is best found and assessed in dyadic and
multi-party talk rather than in monologic contexts. In this respect McCarthy (2004)
How this all relates to oral storytelling hinges upon the complexity of oral storytelling
involved in orally telling a story (cf. Pappas & Pettigrew, 1991). However, as already
explored in connection with inter-relational aspects there are also significant levels of
interactivity in terms of reading the audience that the story is being pitched to for
levels of understanding and reception (Myers, 1990). In addition, there is a need for
the oral storyteller to be able to work with the interjections and interruptions that
not characterise other monologic forms such as poetry or story reading (Myers, 1990).
All notions of fluency are intrinsically impressionistic, plural and open to the
perception of fluency and what is entailed in speaking well and being comprehended
well that becomes the focus. Much of the pedagogic work that surrounds the teaching
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and learning of oral storytelling in the classroom hinges upon a ‘confluence’
(McCarthy, 2004) of perceptions about what it means to tell a story well. During the
perceptions about which parts of a re-telling worked best. Echoing the Longman
Dictionary definition of fluency, a focus upon pause, rhythm, intonation, stress and
accent, characterisation and the non-verbal use of body language were also important
aspects of David Keele’s approach, with children being encouraged to focus upon
these qualities of speech and delivery through various exercises. For example, during
“Alphabet Telling” children were asked to change tone and intonation while reciting
the alphabet, as a simple pitch-based exercise or one where emotional content was
added by reciting the alphabet in a scared voice, a happy voice or an angry voice.
In addition, the end goal of oral storytelling is not accuracy but rather automatic and
dynamic language use (Hammerly, 1991; McCarthy, 2009). Indeed rote learning is
actively discouraged and children are encouraged to change and develop the narrative
so that the story becomes their own. The pedagogic techniques that David Keele used
to enable children to become familiar with the “world of the story” are targeted
towards remembering the structure of the story narrative rather than the kind of word-
dramatization where the focus is upon accelerating language use in the moment of
speech. Both storytellers emphasise that oral storytelling enhances what David Keele
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(Storyteller: Hollytree & Lakeside Schools) describes as children’s “ability to use and
weave language in the moment”. Blaine Hogarth similarly describes the “rapid run to
lexicon” that oral storytelling requires, and how this works to enhance children’s
communicative competence:
“…it is creating this thing which I believe is right at the heart of speaking,
which is this rapid access to the vocabulary, this rapid editing of information, this
rapid shaping, this rapid construction which we have, which we do when we speak
our language – it’s all in there, and you can see the story, and you just tell what’s
(CA/Programme Director: CP) that “for everybody…it offers this extending of their
vocabulary” as well as inviting “kids to be articulate, to really engage with the spoken
word”. Julia suggests that the process by which oral storytelling achieves this is by
giving children “a structure upon which to base their speaking” so that “they
pedagogic techniques that David Keele used to enable children to become familiar
with the “world of the story” are targeted towards remembering the structure of the
story narrative:
“…the thing is that what happens when you’re working with oral stories is - it
doesn’t happen when children are working usually with writing stories – is that you
spend so much time exploring the world of the story beforehand, so you know the
characters, you know what they look like, who they are, you draw story maps, and
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story boards, and emotion graphs and you visualize the places and you can hear the
sounds and smell the smells, and when you have that level of understanding and
releases vocabulary.”
As noted by Burns, Griffin & Snow (1999), “vocabulary, language skills, and
knowledge about the world are acquired during interesting conversations with
particularly when stories are first told by a capable and responsive adult, has the
Cortazzi & Jin (2007) “delaying speaking and learning initially through listening
modelling – is commonly used in the classroom to help learners navigate their way
through the ZPD (Vygotsky, 1978; cf. Tharp & Gallimore, 1988), enabling learners to
reach their goals through decreasing levels of instructional support (Wood et al.,
1976). Oral storytelling scaffolds children’s learning, first through the modelling of an
orally told story, and then through pedagogic techniques that enable children to
Cortazzi & Jin (2007) present the concept of ‘narrative learning’, which they define as
“learning to tell stories and learning from, about and through narrative” (p.645), as an
advantageous way for pupils to support their language development. Through the
telling and retelling of stories and the application of pedagogic techniques such as
“Story Maps”, learners are provided with “layered opportunities for developing the
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metacognitive features of planning, remembering, understanding and reflecting on
storytelling” (Cortazzi & Jin, 2007; p.645). Story Maps were just one of the
pedagogic techniques that David Keele was observed to use during the oral
Boards” being just a few of the others that were also used over the course of the seven
weeks. Cortazzi & Jin (2007) describe the metacognitive advantages of a narrative
School) who describes the meta-cognitive effects of the pedagogic methods used to
“And the methods they’ve used to help them remember the stories have been
really good as well, and they’re sticking in their minds, and now they’re putting it into
sequence well because they keep starting at different points and carrying on and
picking up from there, because that’s what children can have a problem with when
they’ve read a story – the sequence of events and the order that it goes in, drawing
In addition, learning is scaffolded on simple account of the fact that the narrative is
language ability:
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“If you want to assess pupils ability to use language… why don’t you do what
we do which is retell an existing story, that’s the oral tradition, a story is passed on,
the story can be changed…they use their own language to retell it, but the effort of
This aspect is reinforced by research that has examined the scaffolding of children’s
oral storytelling abilities, finding that children “were often hesitant” and “tense and
uncertain” (Turner, 1999; p.106) in sessions where they were asked to retell their
favourite story (i.e. the onus was upon them). In contrast, sessions that used
“The average length increased greatly, while the structure of the stories told
also improved over the sessions with the pupils developing the ability to tell stories
which had a definite sequence, with its own logic. They were clearly motivated by the
increased significantly.”
through the process of learning how to orally reproduce a narrative. I suggest that
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opportunities to assess fluency that are utilised as an inherent part of the oral
including the modelling of language, the narrative context of stories, and also the
many pedagogic techniques employed during the course of teaching oral storytelling
behavioural disorders were present in the children that were exposed to the
(HT: Hollytree School) “speaking and listening skills are such a massive part of why
our children don’t achieve”. Sandra goes on to suggest that this is largely due to issues
of ethnic diversity and the fact that children “don’t come into school fluent in
English”. There is an explicit focus within Kate Leech’s (CT: Lakeside School)
responses upon this aspect, and she contrasts children from “middle class areas [who]
have 10,000 words going into reception” with children from Lakeside School who she
suggests are “more coming in at ESL level” with some children even struggling to say
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their own name. Kate goes on to describe the kind of daily interactions she has with
“…they’ll come in with their jumper and they’ll just hold it up at you – you
know they want you to put their jumper on, but that’s what they do at home, and the
amount of times I have to say ‘use your words’ – in the day I have to use that phrase
so often.”
David Keele (Storyteller: Hollytree & Lakeside Schools) focuses upon “children’s
ability to express themselves orally” and “whether they can articulate what they want,
how they feel”, suggesting that a number of the social difficulties that children
“I was working in this class the other day – year 4 – and they have such
problems, and it’s all about oral communication, all problems of oral communication
between members of the class, and they can’t solve problems and talk to each other
without calling each other names after 5 minutes – much less than that actually!”
Similarly, Sarah White (CT: Hollytree School) describes the problems she has faced
in relation to the effects upon her whole class of externalizing behaviour exhibited by
a handful of boys:
“…they’re quite a traumatized class. Up until last year they had four
extremely disruptive boys, three of whom were excluded permanently…So I’ve ended
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up with a lot of – especially the girls who are shy, introvert, because they’ve never
been able to have any attention because it’s always been on these four.”
children is far from straightforward with studies finding that while some socio-
are not (Clark et al., 2000, 2002). On the whole however, there is strong support in
the literature for the co-occurrence of behavioural, social and emotional difficulties
and also psychiatric problems, with language difficulties (Gualtieri et al., 1983;
Beitchman et al, 1989; Cohen et al., 1993, 1998; Lindsay et al, 2007), with research
estimating a 50-70% co-morbidity rate between the two disorder categories (Hummel
A study by Ripley and Yuill (2005) has examined the expressive and receptive
language problems of boys excluded from primary and secondary schools in relation
to age and different aspects of behaviour. The study found that language abilities were
significantly different from controls suggesting that in the excluded boys general low
ability was not a contributory factor. An unexpected finding of the study was the
excluded boys with above average expressive language ability showing no indication
of emotional symptoms. In contrast, excluded boys with poor expressive ability were
‘markedly high’ on this behavioural measure (Ripley & Yuill, 2005). Early language
competence and the quality of emotional talk between caregivers and very young
children is strongly linked to emotional literacy and understanding of self and others
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that is in turn associated with social cognition and competence (Asher, 1983;
Denham, 1992; Benner et al., 2002). However, the findings reported by Ripley &
language may help children in regulating their own emotions, while other [receptive]
aspects of language may play more of a role in encounters with others” (p.48). This
hypothesis has support from research that has found that 6-10-year-old’s ability to
regulate negative emotions was partially predicted by their expressive language, but
notions of learning and development. Through the impulse control that develops with
emerging language during the preschool years (Kopp, 1982), and then through later
self-talk that enables young children to understand situations and effectively problem
have difficulties with thinking things through, and with the receptive and expressive
language that affects their ability to understand and respond in an appropriate manner,
they are put under considerable pressure to conform to the ability levels of their peers.
externalizing behaviour - that gets interpreted simply as bad behaviour rather than an
emotional level has been explored by Warin (2010) who suggests that the ability to
tell stories of self in the service of identity construction, “emphasises its language
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demands” and “suggests the need for children to develop an emotional vocabulary”
(p.38):
could also encompass the narrative skills of weaving together the different threads of
a story of self, what Giddens terms ‘capacity to keep a particular narrative going.’”
Cumulatively, such perspectives provide support for the mediational role of language
provide strong emotional content can give children the experience they need to
develop the expressive language skills and the emotional vocabulary that are essential
for self-regulation and social competence in and beyond school. Inherent to oral
storytelling is the strong emotional content and themes, and the expressive language
emphasises this latter aspect highlighting oral storytelling’s ability to enable children
to “become enriched in their language” so that “they develop the ability to talk while
they’re in nursery”. Similarly, Sandra Hollingsworth suggests that since more creative
pedagogic techniques based in spoken language had been brought into Hollytree
ago most afternoons were disrupted by poor behaviour, because the topics were
taught using quite traditional – teachers started the afternoon by talking at the
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children for half an hour, they listened and went away to their tables to fill in a work
sheet and write something down about what the teacher had told them – the old style
Problems of oral communication that are exhibited by certain children can have a
Pygmalion Effect (Rosenthal & Jacobson, 1968) that results in such children
Redmond & Rice (1998) who propose a Social Adaptation Model that views the
primary language limitations, social context, and the biases people associate with
limited verbal proficiency” (p.689). Redmond & Rice (1998) go on to assert that
changing “peer and teacher attitudes and their stereotypes about the underlying nature
of a child’s limited verbal proficiency” (Redmond & Rice, 1998; p.698). In the
this tendency to stereotype children with low ability, as well as the potential of oral
something like that, so….maybe I’ve had low expectations of them, but seeing what
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they’ve done in this, it just goes to show that if they can do that with the storytelling,
Overall, participants’ responses focus upon the link between low language ability and
behaviour, and also the tendency for the expectations of teachers and peers to consign
oral communication has been an extrapolation of these views and therefore represents
inferred aspects of the inquiry rather than participant perceptions per se. From these
develop their expressive language and an emotional vocabulary that enhances self-
regulation and the capacity to ‘tell stories of self’ (Warin, 2010). Oral storytelling can
therefore be understood as spoken language practice that has the ability to remediate
problems of oral communication in certain children, and may also affect associated
4.3 Summing up
salient effects and benefits that can be attributed to oral storytelling. In addition, and
perhaps most importantly of all, oral storytelling provides scope for changing
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delimiting perceptions of poor communicators that may be held by teachers and more
The next chapter shall examine the balance of S&L in the curriculum more closely to
get a sense of the extent to which oral storytelling specifically and non-instrumental
practice in spoken language more generally, is given a platform within school and the
NC.
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5. Speaking and Listening in the National Curriculum
The focus of this chapter is the balance of S&L in relation to engagement with
the research that focus on the best ways to utilize oral storytelling in school, as well as
the barriers associated with its practice. In line with the primary Research Question,
participant responses indicate that there is a devaluation of S&L in school that results
from the way curriculum and teacher training is organized. In particular, a lack of
storytelling process and the linking of spoken language to written aims and outcomes
in the curriculum come across as ways that this devaluation can be most clearly
perceived. Cumulatively, this chapter invokes the theoretical basis of the study
whereby the semiotic mechanism of speech as the “tool of tools” (Luria, cited in Cole,
social development (Vygotsky, 1962, 1981). This chapter first examines the
devaluation of S&L in the curriculum and ITT more generally, before going on to
examine the lack of storytelling process and the linking of S&L to writing in the
The call for a greater emphasis upon spoken language and more dialogic modes of
teaching and learning in school has been gaining support over the last decade since
Robin Alexander (2001, 2004, 2008) first drew attention to the pedagogic importance
attention to the task in hand; that challenges and stretches their thinking; that probes
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their understanding and misunderstanding, building on the one and rectifying the
other; that demands as much of the teacher’s expertise as it does of the child’s
However, the degree to which spoken language practice that is ‘rigorously planned
and implemented’ has been utilised in school in recent years is questionable. Rather,
David Keele (Storyteller: Hollytree & Lakeside Schools) was a primary teacher
before he trained as a professional storyteller, and this background ideally places him
to comment on the degree to which oral storytelling and S&L more generally are a
focus of the primary curriculum. David asserts that during his time teaching his
experience was “that the foci and the specifics of the S&L curriculum were attended
to less probably than any other area”. Similarly, Roland Morris (CT: Hollytree
School) asserts that within the three schools he had worked in “not a great deal” of
time and weight was given over to S&L. Roland goes on to suggest that S&L should
be “given more potence perhaps than it is” within the National Strategies, with more
time being spent on S&L and activities such as oral storytelling in the early years, to
“…if a lot more time was given earlier on in Foundation Stage and Key Stage
1 – most definitely in Key Stage 1 – to speaking and listening, and to activities like
telling stories or verbally saying what you’ve done…you know, have a balance.”
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Jane Smith (CT: Lakeside School) reflects upon the situation at Lakeside School
where S&L is a significant focus of the way the school tries to achieve its aims and
targets, but she goes on to suggest that this may not reflect the situation in schools
more generally:
“Here, it’s one of our biggest isn’t it? But Nationally I don’t really know, I
Kate Leech (CT: Lakeside School) focuses upon the idea that “speaking and listening
was seen as more important than it is now” (p.22) when the renewed Primary
K: …so going back 6/7 years, when the National Primary Framework came out – it
a serious devaluation of S&L in the curriculum. This devaluation has recently been
education, and also the Director of the Cambridge Review. As such, Alexander is
strategically placed to disseminate findings from the Review (Alexander, 2010) and
also engage with policy makers in relation to these findings (Alexander, 2012a,
2012b). It is perhaps no surprise then that his forthright opinions have reached a
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implemented by the Conservative-Liberal Coalition, which has effectively
“The Secretary of State, and the draft programmes of study, announce that
‘the importance of spoken language should be a priority throughout the new national
this. Indeed, there is deep concern in many quarters about what is seen as a severe
weakening of the profile of spoken language in the draft programmes of study, and
this despite the considerable array of evidence with which ministers and DfE have
been presented.”
Alexander (2012a) points to a number of key concerns in relation to the way that
spoken language has been positioned in the NC. Firstly, he asserts that the
each of the three core PoS’s (English, Mathematics and Science) are “so brief and
follow -through of these statements within each PoS, so that rhetoric describing the
– cognitively, socially and linguistically” (DfE, 2013a; p.13) can be understood as just
that – rhetoric; and finally and the most troubling of all Alexander (2012a) strongly
condemns “the removal of spoken language as a distinctive strand within the English
PoS” (p.5):
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“Far from prioritising talk as claimed in the Secretary of State’s letter of 11
June, the decision to remove it as a distinct strand of the English PoS represents a
backward step - one, indeed, which may well frustrate two of the government’s key
While S&L has been reinstated as a PoS after widespread criticism at its removal
from the initial draft of the new English curriculum, it is slimmed down and unlike the
reading and writing elements of the revised curriculum it is not age differentiated and
a single brief PoS covers the whole of the primary age range (DfE, 2013). Therefore
the devaluation of S&L that Alexander (2012a) heavily criticises stands despite
attempts by the government to silence critics and redress the heavy imbalance
emphasise the lack of time that is given to S&L in the curriculum as a direct result of
curriculum constraints. Roland Morris’s view that S&L should be “given more
potence perhaps than it is” indicates that oral work is not developed in the curriculum
in a manner that impacts upon children’s learning in any significant way. If this is the
case for spoken language then it is applies to oral storytelling to an even greater
degree, and participant responses certainly seem to reflect this situation. Roland goes
on to suggest that in schools more generally his feeling was that oral storytelling is
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“But I think the storytelling as we’ve done it, I don’t think that’s done.”
David Keele suggests that the degree to which schools engage with oral storytelling is
self-directed and contingent upon constraints and teaching priorities within the
curriculum:
“I mean it’s in there, but I don’t think it’s given a lot. I think that there’s the
scope….I think that the National Literacy Strategy gives teachers and schools the
license to bring it in if they have the motivation and knowledge to do so…. So if they
want to go in to all those kinds of stories from an oral point of view then they can and
actually there’s nothing to stop them to some extent, except that of course that they’ve
Similarly, Jane Smith suggests that “not enough” time is given over to S&L activities
like oral storytelling, and in her view “less and less” (p.11) in more recent years. Kate
Lakeside School, she feels that this is not the case in schools on a more general basis:
One key aspect of this devaluation relates to the assessment agenda that has an
explicit focus upon reading and writing. Jane Smith explicitly links the reduced
emphasis upon S&L in school to the focus on literacy assessment and the fact that
teachers are “never asked to assess them on speaking and listening”. Jane goes on to
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suggest that teacher assessment of S&L would not be difficult to achieve, but that the
lack of focus within the Primary Framework on oral language means that it does not
“I think it would be easy, because if you look at the Foundation Stage profile,
it is in there – how our children talk, it is a strand in its own right, but after that it’s
lost. You know, we pay lip-service to it and we put it into our planning as something
Reasons for this lack of assessment in S&L are perhaps related to the difficulty that is
involved in assessing it. While Jane Smith asserts that assessment in spoken language
“would be easy”, this is not the way that assessment in spoken language is generally
perceived. Certainly, Jane’s later assertion that teachers “pay lip-service to speaking
and listening” but they are “never asked about it – thankfully!” could be interpreted as
Jane’s thankfulness could similarly result from a relief that S&L as an area of learning
manages to avoid the relentless and constraining effect of the wider assessment
agenda. Regardless of which interpretation one chooses to adopt, the fact that the lack
that “the government don’t look at [speaking and listening], so you can push that to
the side.”
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The complexity and difficulty involved in assessing spoken language is exemplified
in the following extract taken from an exchange between the teachers at Lakeside
School:
K: Yeah, because even a vocabulary check isn’t really a speaking and listening check,
J: Well I look at my class and I know the ones in my class that can talk imaginatively
or can just talk – can retell a story, tell me what they did at the weekend, to recount,
can use words in the right context – I could do that, some that can’t say ‘under’ ‘over’
Such observations are reiterated by Johnson (1995) in his examination of the standard
of S&L in schools shortly after the introduction of the NC. At this time S&L had been
given a raised (but short-lived) profile as a result of its inclusion within the NC as an
Attainment Target. In addition, the work of the NOP at that time provided schools
with ground-breaking resources and methods aimed at supporting the S&L component
of the NC. Johnson (1995) describes the way that many teachers were unaccustomed
to planning for S&L and “were uncertain of the extent or the quality of children’s
talk” (p.19):
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“…talk is simply an unfamiliar medium for teachers to use in assessment. The
methods which they have used to conduct written assessment…are often wholly
inappropriate for oral assessment. And there are additional problems in observing
talk – where teachers often experience initial uncertainty about what exactly they are
looking at – and in capturing talk so that it can be considered in any objective terms.”
revolve around the idea that issues of task misunderstanding, performance on the day
and confidence in speaking in front of an audience can impact upon the degree to
which speakers display their full oral ability at any one moment in time. As a result,
oral work is not always able to produce valid evidence of competence. Therefore it
“catching them peaking” i.e. the inclusion of assessment information that concentrates
on children’s “best, most interesting and most noteworthy oral work” (p.26). As
(p.260)
Despite the difficulties involved in assessing S&L, this does not mean that it should
be cast aside as a focus of assessment although this is not the view of some of the
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participants. The close attention to the assessment of literacy-based skills in primary
influence of the standards agenda. David Keele in particular is of the opinion that the
testing of oral storytelling ability specifically and S&L skills more generally, is best
left unaligned with this agenda. Instead, David’s perspective centres upon the idea
that “if you could get rid of league tables, the landscape would just change, because at
the end of the day there is this pressure – particularly coming up to Year 6 – they’ve
got to be able to get the stuff down on paper”. David goes on to suggest that:
“…in the end it’s all about writing so this is still kind of subservient to the end
goal of them getting it down, and if you get rid of SAT’s I have a feeling that some of
that could go, because at the end of the day, that’s what they’re going to get assessed
on. No one’s ever going to sit down, and thank god really, no-one’s ever going to sit
down and give them a test on their oral storytelling skills, or their oracy skills.”
Yet it is clear that the standards agenda is unlikely to be reconceptualised at any point
in the near, middle or perhaps even long-term future. Logically then, there is a strong
argument for the inclusion of spoken language within this assessment agenda so that
its profile in school can at least be given a chance at parity in a curriculum that is
S&L skills are given their own assessment focus that is separate from literacy-based
considerations pupils are “better enabled to show what they know, understand and can
do” (p.26), and process-based learning rooted in constructivist principles are better
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“Through observing and listening to pupils at work, teachers got much fuller
access to the processes of learning, not just the final outcomes. And assessment could
be genuinely formative if teachers could observe the first stages of a piece of work to
check that the pupils both understood the task and had the required knowledge.”
Overall, participants indicated that oral storytelling specifically and S&L more
generally, are both devalued within the curriculum that lacks an explicit focus upon
spoken language within the NLS. The complete lack of mandatory assessment in S&L
in the latest version of the National Curriculum for English (DfE, 2013) strongly
reinforces this devaluation and results in teachers pushing S&L to one side. It is
literacy over S&L. This situation is unacceptable and as Alexander (2012a) argues it
is essential to reinstate S&L “as an explicit strand of the English programme of study”
5.2 The devaluation of speaking and listening through Initial Teacher Training
Alexander (2012a) has recently suggested that “raising the profile of spoken English
However, participant responses would seem to indicate that this is not generally the
case. As David Keele (Storyteller: Hollytree & Lakeside Schools) asserts, S&L was
not a strong focus when he was training to become a teacher, and oral storytelling did
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D: My experience in teacher training was that it [speaking and listening] wasn’t
Similarly, when asked whether S&L activities such as oral storytelling came into his
Initial Teacher Training (ITT) twelve years earlier, Roland Morris (CT: Hollytree
“No, nothing, nothing at all like that. I think teacher training’s quite poor
really, when I did it…I don’t feel that it prepared me for teaching in a classroom, and
certainly we didn’t look at anything like storytelling and things like that…”
It is almost impossible to get a sense of the degree to which S&L is embedded within
ITT curricula, largely due to the diversity of routes into ITT that currently exist,
which results in significant diversity of practice. Potential trainees can choose from
postgraduate training courses, and also online distance learning courses. As pointed
policy in relation to ITT, suggesting that “the state has taken a much more assertive
role in defining what to teach as well as how to teach it” while concomitantly
Furlong, 2006) that was initiated after Callaghan’s Great Debate in 1976, was
continued under New Labour. Teacher identities became increasingly managed and
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externally dictated with little recourse to different forms of professional knowledge.
This lack of trust in educators along with the marketization of education, has resulted
and the insistence on a range of different ‘providers’ has done more than maintain a
market; together, they have also ensured that teacher education has now become
narrowly functional….”
As pointed out by Furlong (2006) “in terms of governance, the instincts of the
Conservative and Labour governments have been identical” (p.126). This has been
The ‘technical rationalist’ enterprise of ITT can be identified by examining the latest
set of standards for trainees to attain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). These standards
relation to subject and curriculum knowledge, trainees are expected to “have a secure
knowledge of the relevant subject(s) and curriculum areas, foster and maintain pupils’
permeate the document and there are no specifications in relation to literacy and S&L
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responsibility for promoting high standards of literacy, articulacy and the correct use
‘articulacy’.
The familiar usage of ‘speaking and listening’ has historically appeared in curriculum
Cox Report (1989) and the legislation of the Education Reform Act (1988). The Cox
Report (1989) laid down the fundamentals of the NC, stating that S&L as Attainment
word and the capacity to express themselves effectively in a variety of speaking and
listening activities, matching style and response to audience and purpose” (DES,
1989; p.5). As speaking and listening is an Attainment Target in its own right, no
perplexing. In addition, the next QTS standard that appears in the short section on
what trainees are expected to know in relation to subject and curriculum knowledge is
phonics” (p.7) when teaching early reading. Overall therefore, the explicit references
to literacy and synthetic phonics combined with the relegation of the more familiar
usage of S&L skills to a downgraded and one-sided notion of articulate speech would
seem to indicate that a focus on developing oral language ability has little purchase in
The standards outlined in the QTS document do not represent a fully prescribed
curriculum and are more a general list of standards. However, such details are
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irrelevant in light of the fact that the Teaching Agency ensures the withdrawal of
accreditation from providers who are “non-compliant with one or more of the
specified ITT criteria” (DfE, 2012d). Clearly, there is limited room for creative
manoeuvre in the QTS standards, and provision is therefore more likely to include
what is explicit in the documentation (i.e. literacy and synthetic phonics) over what is
alluded to through such hazy notions as ‘articulacy’ (i.e. speaking and listening).
However, participant responses also indicate that ITT can, and does provide less
narrowly functional training for new teachers. Sarah White (CT: Hollytree School),
who was a probationary teacher at the time of the study, describes the emphasis in her
recent ITT as being “on speaking and listening and a more holistic primary thing”.
However, she goes on to describe the way that the ‘amazing ideas’ that she came
across during her training were drowned out by “practicalities of doing your 1st year
of teaching”:
“…it’s very difficult to implement it if it’s not a whole school policy, as a new
teacher I would not come in here and say “right, scrap that. We’re going to do this”,
rounded approach, but that has yet to come down into schools. So at the moment, no I
Clearly, there is little point in training new teachers to make better use of spoken
language in the classroom if there are limited opportunities to engage in orality within
the curriculum.
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Participant responses therefore indicate that the devaluation of S&L in school can be
understood as operating on at least two fronts that are dependent upon each other: the
formulation of curriculum materials in school, and teaching standards in ITT, for new
teachers following the curriculum and using their training in the classroom. In line
with Alexander (2012a) it is suggested that “raising the profile of spoken English in
However, there is little point in training teachers to value S&L if there are limited
opportunities for them to engage with spoken language in the curriculum. Therefore
documents and ITT, if any kind of meaningful change in the way spoken language is
Intrinsically connected to the assessment of spoken language skills is the idea that oral
storytelling highlights the process of telling a story orally over more content-based
his recollection of conversations with the architects of the NOP at its inception, oral
“…this must have been about 87… I said to them, ‘basically you want to be
able to assess children’s speaking skills’ – (and right at the beginning I said this, but
it didn’t really go in) - ‘If you want to assess people’s ability, pupils ability to use
language, it’s not the same as asking them to make up a story, why don’t you do what
we do which is retell an existing story, that’s the oral tradition, a story is passed on,
the story can be changed, they take complete ownership of it, they use their own
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language to retell it, but the effort of having to make up a story is out of it, and the
The key here is that retelling an existing story where “the effort of having to make up
a story is out of it”, involves processes of language mastery over the creation of
imaginative content. Research examining the effects of storytelling upon such aspects
as concept of narrative structure and language complexity has found that retelling
stories offers an effective way of improving oral language (Morrow, 1985b; Trostle &
Hicks, 1998). Arguably, the reasons for this are related to the inherent focus upon
process in story retelling where the natural point of convergence is how the story is to
be told rather than what the story is about. Indeed, the key aim of the pedagogic
methods that David Keele (Storyteller: Hollytree & Lakeside Schools) used to teach
storytelling revolve around pupils getting to know the structure of the story so that
they can concentrate on delivery and use of language rather than wasting cognitive
suggestion that while storytelling may be within the curriculum in terms of content so
that “traditional stories come into it…and myths and legends and so on”, it is not
Director: CP) describes the way schools “tend to be quite compartmentalised about
where they see storytelling fitting in”, equating oral storytelling with traditional tales:
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“What they tend to do from my experience is when it comes to things like
traditional tales, they tend to look at storytelling, and that’s where I’ve pushed
Jean Heath (CA: CP) echoes this perspective, emphasising that while storytelling may
appear in the form of “folk tales and so on, that doesn’t mean they are told orally”.
Jean goes on to qualify that while narrative and stories more generally are key aspects
of children’s learning in school, “teachers don’t have the skills to deliver them in this
particular way”. There is little discussion of this perspective in the literature, and
certainly no empirical research that focuses explicitly upon this dimension. However
educational activity that is a rare occurrence. Instead children are much more likely to
themselves. While such approaches have their merits, their prevalence in the
concerns.
One potential criticism of the oral storytelling initiative at Hollytree School is the fact
that traditional tales were also a central part of the pedagogic approach utilised by
David Keele. To what extent such stories reflect children’s broader cultural lives
outside school is worthy of consideration. However, this was not a salient aspect of
the inquiry that instead focused upon the process of orally telling stories for which
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traditional tales provided a useful model rather than the content of the stories and
Kate Leech’s (CT: Lakeside School) complaints about the ambiguity of the language
used in the Primary Framework to talk about storytelling highlights the need for more
explicit guidance that is process-based in its requirements. Kate suggests that none of
the guidance directly relates to oral storytelling processes in any kind of explicit way:
“So if you look at speech in a different context the only thing is to ‘speak
confidently and creatively for different purposes’… and that’s all they say on
effectively’…”
As Kate points out, being asked to ‘speak confidently and creatively for different
be pointless” (p.5). However, this is the kind of language that permeates curriculum
“And then, this vagueness…and I’ve asked and asked and asked, ‘what are the
criteria for assessing it?’, and it’s all terribly subjective. How do you tell – I can tell
because I’ve listened to thousands of storytellers – how somebody’s getting on, how in
control of it they are, but to a teacher who hasn’t got that experience, how do you
know?”
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Overall participants agree that there is very little, if any, explicit and process-based
guidance about the teaching and learning of oral storytelling in the curriculum. I
suggest that this lack of guidance in relation to oral storytelling extends to S&L more
generally. If the processes of oral language and what makes good S&L are not made
explicit to teachers they have no means of knowing what ‘speaking confidently and
creatively for different purposes’ actually entails. More usefully, teachers need
pedagogic strategies that showcase and promote engagement with the spoken word. I
is one way that the S&L in school can achieve greater parity with literacy and potency
in the curriculum.
The linking of spoken language to written outcomes in school is a given – schools are
in the business of teaching children to pick up the tools of literacy and as a result oral
work becomes recruited into the enterprise of learning to read and write. There is
wide acceptance by educators, and also by researchers in the fields of literacy (Heath,
1983; Street, 1985; Gee, 1988; Collins & Blot, 2003), that oral and written forms
interrelate and spoken language provides children with the building blocks they
require to master reading and writing. In the daily life of the classroom oral and
written forms merge with little thought about the implications for children’s learning
Hollytree & Lakeside Schools) emphasising that the attachment of both S&L and oral
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storytelling to written aims is dependent upon the culture and the orientation towards
“…it depends a lot on school culture as well… schools have… space for
interpretation of the curriculum and some schools are very fixated on writing, and so
speaking and listening work and oral storytelling work is seen very much as a
precursor to getting it down on paper, and in other schools, they’re more open to
David goes on to suggest that S&L skills are “much more linked to writing now than
they were” when he was teaching. Similarly, Jean Heath (CA: CP) asserts that most
storytelling and S&L projects “want to lead to writing” and such projects will be
visual arts just because it’s the most obvious way for them into writing and literacy.”
Curriculum materials that explicitly link talk to writing pepper the official guidance
that informs teaching practice, and engagement with spoken language is more often
than not simply a precursor to written outcomes. This is reinforced by the fact that the
literature. Much of the research in the field of S&L is geared towards the idea that
meaningful contexts (Hewitt & Inghilleri, 1993; Haworth, 2001; Carter, 2002;
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Alexander 2008b, 2012a, 2012b). Similarly, there is general consensus that traditional
(IRE) with a tendency towards closed questioning, has the effect of relegating pupils’
S&L skills to “limited and passive purposes” (Westgate & Hughes, 1997; p.125):
Standard English.”
Such perspectives centre upon the idea that traditional forms of teaching stifle more
exploratory and dialogic types of talk that extend children’s thinking, affecting
learning and development in deleterious ways (Mercer, 1995; Wegerif & Mercer,
1997; Mercer et al, 1999; Alexander 2001, 2008b).The legitimate nature of such
concerns is clear, but at the same time they solely focus on the differential status of
spoken language in school. In contrast, there are few studies that explicitly examine
enquiry into the specific effects of engaging with orality as a precursor to literacy
development is lacking. This creates a situation whereby the linking of oral language
matters not whether educational activity in S&L has a written outcome attached to it
or not. But is there not the possibility that attaching literacy-based outcomes to oral
work in school alters the very nature and the qualitative experience of the oral event?
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The subtlety of this differentiation is worth restating for clarity: while the subordinate
status of orality in school is widely accepted and criticized in the literature, there is no
relation to spoken language. Instead, research has tended to focus upon qualitative
differences between oral and written forms, for example research that has examined
Ellis, 1997; Aina, 1999; Malo & Bullard, 2000; Isbell et al., 2004; Gallets, 2005). The
teachers’ pedagogic understanding and orientation, and upon the quality of spoken
language practice has, however, not been explored in any kind of systematic fashion.
It is pertinent to suggest that that there may be subtle but observable effects when
practice in S&L takes the form of educational activity geared towards oral outcomes
as an end point as opposed to being largely a vehicle for the acquisition and
enhancement of literacy.
There is a degree of tentative, if mostly implicit support for this perspective. It has
been suggested by Hewitt & Inghilleri (1993) that “it is primarily the instrumental
role of talk that has been treated as important while little emphasis has been placed on
evidence when oral work is entered into as, in David Keele’s words, “a precursor to
educational activity that, importantly, positions S&L as a means to the end of writing.
In their observational study of orality in the classroom, Hewitt & Inghilleri (1993)
describe the way that instrumental practice in S&L resulted in oral events that were
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bland with “little personal investment in the topic” (p.312). In addition, the authors
found that there was a consensus amongst pupils that within the context of such
artificial oral events “talk was bracketed off from normal intercourse and treated as
wholly artificial, with the clear corollary that the identities of the students in
interaction and any closeness was not at stake in these performances” (Hewitt &
Inghilleri, 1993; p.313). Hewitt & Inghilleri (1993) suggest that such “transactional
talk” can be defined as “spoken language where it is predominantly the content that
has a definable purpose” (Department of Education and Science 1989; In Hewlitt &
Inghilleri, 1993; p.311). The authors suggest that since the 1970’s, S&L practice
have become the norm. In concluding their study the Hewitt & Inhilleri (1993)
suggest that such instrumentality may “rob the oral work of substantial intellectual
benefits” (p.316) and that as a result the quality and purpose of S&L in school needs
enquiry into how the world is, not of neutralised pseudo-topics invented solely to give
and contextualized opportunities for spoken language. During oral storytelling the aim
is reflected in the “living issue” (Barnes, 1988) of learning how to tell a story rather
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than utilising a “neutralised pseudo-topic” (Barnes, 1988) that has merely been
pupils are personally invested (Hewitt & Inghilleri, 1993) in the project of retelling a
story in their own words, from their own perspective, and with the individuality of
their own personal style. Indeed this agenda of ownership was central to the
pedagogic approach taken by David Keele where multiple and dialogic perspectives
this way “the barrier between owned and school knowledge” (Paechter, 1998; p.174)
is effectively crossed through the oral stories that children reproduce in unique and
The idea that there are conflicting models of orality that are embedded in educational
programmes and informed by official rhetoric has been taken up by Haworth (2001)
past decade such as the NOP, the NC for English, and the NLS. Through textual
analysis of the NLS, Haworth (2001) suggests that there is cause for concern
literacy in close relationship to oracy, yet the conjunctions suggest concession, if not
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Haworth goes on to suggest that the NC has “been both friend and foe to oracy”
(p.14), with the Attainment Targets for English that were set out in the first
enunciation of the NC initially securing equal status for S&L. However, subsequent
political and ideological battles resulted in successive revisions that “led to a more
upon Standard English and ‘correct’ usage. As a result there has been a “gradual
controlled by the teacher and related, in complex but subordinate ways, to literacy”
(Haworth, 2001; p.13). The erosion of S&L across the curriculum is observable in
Roland Morris’s (CT: Hollytree School) assertion that S&L is “strongly linked to
literacy”, a state of affairs that he questions due to his belief that “there are so many
other opportunities” for S&L within different subject areas. He goes on to connect
this erosion with the location of S&L in the curriculum, and suggests that there may
“…where you’ll find it is in the literacy strategy. So maybe people think I only
erosion plays out in the classroom talk of pupils’, where learners’ accounts of
schooling and the activities of reading and writing are “characterised by rules” and
“It was as if the talk curriculum, which had been given status in their
classroom for a year, had been silenced by more authoritative discourses. Certainly,
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the children were themselves pushing talk to the margins, as if in deference to the
This description reinforces Hewitt & Inghilleri’s (1993) conception of learners’ ability
reading and writing are seen by pupils as ‘the more senior partnership’ (Haworth,
2001) in relation to orality, the degree to which pupils are likely to engage with oral
work on a serious and sustained basis becomes questionable. They are considerably
more likely to view oral work as a means to the more serious business of literacy and
merely go through the motions of engaging in classroom talk that is required by the
rules and regulated duties of schooling. Here it would seem that the “abiding
significance of ideas about, institutions of, and practices involving literacy in modern
Western societies” (Collins and Blot, 2003; p.5) that the revisionist perspective of
the difference and superiority of Western culture and intellect vis-`a-vis non-literate
or differently literate societies. These claims are untenable and have been
While “the grander claims” about the superiority of literacy over non-literacy have
been “deflated and undermined” (Collins & Blot, 2003; p.5), the abiding significance
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of reading and writing as “the more senior partnership” (Haworth, 2001; p.18) over
spoken language, reinforces the idea that at least within an educational context, the
autonomous model is alive and kicking. Haworth (2001) goes on to conclude that
contrast to monologic talk that seeks to “reduce every difference to a single ‘true’
perspective” (Wegerif, 2005; p.223), Haworth (2001) outlines how this reinstatement
suggests a comparison with two basic pedagogic modes, aligning monologic talk with
‘reciting by heart’ and dialogic talk with the process of ‘retelling in one’s own words’
(Holquist, 1981, p.341). Whilst both have a place in any classroom, it seems clear
that the second agenda needs to be urgently rearticulated if we are to avoid carrying
a reductionist model of oracy into the next millennium.” (Haworth, 2001; p.22)
strongly associated with the written word and memorization of a script – often
someone else’s. Retelling in one’s own words, however, is strongly linked to the oral
tradition and the conception of oral storytelling employed in this thesis. It includes
heavily on memory and the structure of narrative over prompt, verbatim reproduction
and crucially, literacy knowledge and skill. As already suggested, it is this aspect that
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provides children who struggle with literacy important opportunities to develop the
spoken language upon which literacy is based, and the narrative ability upon which
one’s own words upon which oral storytelling relies is the end-point of oral
storytelling – there is no drive to then write the story down for later reproduction.
style, tone or format on another occasion for a different audience. Therefore the
argument being forwarded by Haworth (2001) when viewed in the light of oral
literacy, both in terms of process and outcome, would be a valuable addition to the
reinstatement of orality in school and across the curriculum. For it would seem that
frequently it is when literacy enters the equation that problems can begin to arise for
spoken language: the temptation to refer to a story that has been written down as part
the cognitive work that unprompted recall demands. In addition, pupils’ tendency to
‘push talk to the margins’ (Haworth, 2001) as a result of their tacit understanding of
the senior status of reading and writing in school, invites the suggestion that if literacy
was more frequently removed from the equation, such perceptions may stand half a
of orality that comes across particularly strongly in the perspectives of both David
Keele and Jean Heath. To a large extent this attachment is particularly visible in oral
well as the fact that the writing of stories is a commonplace activity in the primary
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classroom: the time honoured practice of children making up their own stories is
textual reproduction of an orally told story may seem to represent a benign and useful
the situation in schools that explicitly try to link his style of orally based storytelling
to the Talk for Writing (TfW: DCSF, 2009) approach that formed a part of the NLS
into a school and the reason they want storytelling is for this ‘talk to write’ agenda,
where in the end it’s all about writing so this is still kind of subservient to the end
This agenda has been noted in the literature by Fisher (2010) who asserts that the TfW
initiative was “not on talk as a learning process per se but as a means of improving
perception of the initiative that in her view detracted from the intrinsic value of S&L
recitation, she describes the way she saw TfW promoting instrumental oral practice
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“…it’s like all the Pie Corbett stuff, you sort of go (groans) – desperate! One
of the projects I was on for one of our INSET days, we had someone coming in to do
all that sort of stuff… horrendous, let’s get all the children just chanting by rote, and
then writing a few words that they’ve learnt and it’s like ‘haven’t we done well?’ –
In direct contrast to this perspective is the positive assessment of the TfW materials
that was forwarded by the CTs at Lakeside School. Both teachers expressed how
helpful they found the storytelling framework in supporting children’s oral language,
as it employed a range of different actions to go along with the words of the story that
“...so some of them will just do the actions for a bit, and then they’ll get the
words that go with the actions – it’s like learning a song. Like how children learn
songs and they can do their times tables can’t they because they sing them, it’s like
that. It’s another way into it. But he said they should learn 12 a year so by the time
they leave – they should know 72 stories that they have developed and enhanced and
While this kind of practice may have value in its own right, it is clearly more aligned
with monologic forms of talk that emphasise recitation and rote learning than it is
with the kind of dialogical and non-instrumental oral language that is valued by
school that are more connected to writing and the memorization of a script. Therefore,
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the perspectives of the Lakeside School teachers in relation to the TfW materials
credibility because reality…is multiple and complex” (Creswell & Miller, 2000;
p.127).
Finally, Julia Barden (CA/Programme Director: CP) makes the observation that oral
‘present’ in a polished way rather than engaging with oral language in an age
appropriate manner:
“…because a lot of the focus I think is getting kids to write… they do want
kids to speak and often to present, but I often think they want to do it as little adults
rather than as kids, so I think that there is a waiting on the written word because of
particularly in light of the latest revisions to the NC. An essential difference between
oral and written forms can be understood in terms of the crafting that frequently goes
“And the whole joy of the written word – of course, I’m totally literate and
admiring of literacy, but it’s just different – you can craft your language and you’ve
put all that time into the crafting of the thing you’re going to recite, or learn, and
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repeat. Storytelling is immediate and it’s a huge condensation of time and speed, so
for me storytelling is about massive speed, thinking on your feet, being there, it’s
about improvisation.”
The issue at stake here is more considered and retrospective forms of literacy-based
creativity over more immediate and playful forms of orally-based creativity. The
Wegerif (2005) who forwards the idea that “there are educationally valuable ways of
talking together that are characterised more by verbal creativity than by explicit
reasoning” (p.223). He goes on to describe the notion of “playful talk”, a fourth type
of talk identified by Mercer (1995) that was neglected due to its off-task quality.
Wegerif (2005) suggests that playful kinds of talk “may well be central to improving
the quality of thinking and learning in classrooms” (p.227) as well as forging shared
understanding between learners. Wegerif (2005) goes onto describe children’s on and
off-task word play that starts with almost random rhyming and “poetic resonance
between words” (p.234) as well as images and metaphors, before progressing onto
something more educationally substantial that involves the generation of “new links
are parallels here with the verbal word-play that is encouraged during oral
storytelling. As noted by Wegerif (2005) “It is actually very hard to get children to
perform any kind of task at school without their being creative with language”
(p.228). However, during oral storytelling this kind of creative behaviour is actively
encouraged rather than being viewed as a distraction to the task in hand. In the
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process of working up a story that involves practising telling stories to each other in
small groups, inter-subjective opportunities for playing around with language abound.
In addition, the creative use of language that sets one storytelling performance apart
from another is contingent upon this kind of playfulness that allows children to take
states that that there is a “need to expand our understanding of dialogical reasoning to
incorporate creativity and to develop dialogical models to support the stimulation and
This conception of the relation between playful spoken language and dialogical
reasoning fits the pedagogic use of oral storytelling well. However, it provides a bad
fit with the most recent propositions for spoken language in the NC where the
emphasis is squarely upon ‘polished’ and considerably less playful engagement with
S&L. Here, Julia Barden’s concern about children being asked to ‘present as little
aligned with the 19th and early 20th Century tradition that emphasises “the aesthetics
clarity of expression” (Hewitt & Inghilleri, 1993; p.319). The proclivity towards this
other reading, and to prepare their ideas before they write. They must be assisted in
making their thinking clear to themselves as well as to others and teachers should
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ensure that pupils build secure foundations by using discussion to probe and remedy
their misconceptions. Pupils should also be taught to understand and use the
Here, the linking of oral language to literacy with the standards enhancing drive for
written outcomes, and an emphasis upon polished and discursive engagement with
contrast, the type of “expressive orality” (Hewitt & Inghilleri, 1993; p.311) that is
is silenced. Participants support this assessment in their responses that focus upon the
linking of oral aims to written outcomes such as those evident in the TfW program
within the NLS. Whilst a number of participants were explicitly critical of this
initiative, most notably the CAs and Storytellers, some of the teachers expressed
enthusiasm for this linking of writing to classroom talk. The suggestion here was that
the scaffolding of children’s talk through the memorisation of actions that “are used to
make the tales, especially the key connectives, memorable” (Corbett, 2008; p.1), is a
useful technique for children who struggle with their spoken and written language. In
addition, participants expressed the idea that the desire for polished oral forms in
I suggest that the linking of spoken language to written aims and outcomes negatively
affects both the process of oral storytelling as well as the quality of S&L practice
more generally. In addition, both the rote learning involved in the TfW initiative, and
the desire for children to present ‘as little adults’ in school, are indicative of a more
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pervasive devaluation of spoken language that results from the linking of spoken to
written forms. As noted by Hewitt & Inghilleri (1993), expressive forms of orality
that focus “less on the high culture existing outside of the individual student and far
more on the ‘voice of the child’ in a social context” (p.310), have increasingly taken a
conceptualisation of the NC with its highly instrumental and narrow agenda in spoken
language will strongly reinforce this situation, constraining opportunities for spoken
language that are playful and in which learners are personally invested. A rebalancing
of the books is required, and a central element of any agenda that desires to reposition
oracy in the curriculum needs to also establish the importance of a drive for oral
outcomes as an end-point.
5.5 Summing up
Storytellers and CA’s alike. However, they also observed that within school S&L
The next chapter examines CP and Artists in School in relation to oral storytelling and
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6. CP and Artists in School
This chapter examines collaborative engagement between artists and teachers in the
classroom to elucidate the final sub-question of the research that asks what the
specific focus on oral storytelling can tell us about creative practice and arts-based
education more generally. In line with the primary Research Question, participant
responses indicate that teachers and creative practitioners bring different but
complementary skills to the pedagogic context, which dove-tail and build upon each
other in successful creative projects. However, they also suggest that artists have an
and dialogic forms of learning. In addition, participants stress the shift in perception
in both teachers and learners that arts education can foster. The first section examines
the concept of co-delivery between artists and teachers, before considering the
improvisational approaches to learning that artists bring to the classroom. The final
section discusses the many and varied perceptual shifts that are afforded through the
arts.
One of the main aims of CP is to get teachers and creative practitioners working
together delivering creative practice in the classroom. However, this does not
necessarily entail a desire for teachers to change their personas to fit in with more
artistic sensibilities. This is a perspective that is emphasised by Jean Heath (CA: CP)
who stresses the importance of combining skills and the role of dialogue in learning
from each other so that teachers and practitioners can complement each other’s
practice. She seems to be speaking less from a position of skill transfer than she is
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“…we need a dialogue about …what we have to offer, and what might happen
if we play ball and put all that stuff together and throw our skills into the pot with
your skills, because practitioners aren’t teachers, so it’s not the case that you’re
going to become like practitioners and we want you to, it’s more these people have
exchange that should occur from the very beginning of a project, emphasising
practitioners and teachers “learning each other’s language”. The emphasis here is
therefore less upon complementary skill sets, and more upon teachers and
practitioners affecting each other’s practice so that in Julia’s words “both are
Such perspectives have been noted in the literature by Galton (2008) who questions
whether teachers adopting more creative teaching styles is something that may be
desirable, and responds with the suggestion that “at one level the answer…must be in
the affirmative” (p.63). However, Galton (2008) goes on to note that in suggesting
teachers adopt more creative pedagogic personas there is potential for the creation of
an ‘us and them’ situation that can further be positioned as a “deficit view of
teachers” whereby they are “seen in need of remedial creativity assistance” (Thomson
et al., 2009a; p.69). In addition, there are large contextual differences influencing the
kinds of practice that artists and creative practitioners are able to deliver, with the
pedagogies due to the fact that they are not ultimately responsible for learning
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norms and values that characterise teaching as a Community of Practice (Lave &
Wenger, 1991) clash with a more creative Community of Practice, where the
The differences between teachers and creative practitioners that exist in terms of
context and practice produce a mutually defining cycle that strongly characterises the
type of pedagogies that children end up experiencing in school. For example, Roland
Morris (CT: Hollytree School) suggests that CP enables practitioners “that have skills
that I just don’t have” to come into school and share their knowledge, skills and
methods with teachers. He goes on to stress the importance of this for diversity of
There are a lot of people who aren’t in teaching who’ve got skills out there that they
could share with teachers who could then develop it with our children.”
translated to the CP context (Hall et al., 2007) to show how creative practitioners tend
pedagogies that place “the emphasis upon a specific output of the acquirer [learner],
upon a particular text the acquirer is expected to construct and upon the specialised
skills necessary to the production of this specific output, text or product” (Bernstein,
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‘invisible’, that is, learners have more control over what they learn and how, and the
‘visible’ whereby “the hierarchical relations between teacher and pupils, the rules of
the organisation (sequence, pace) and the criteria” (Bernstein, 1996; p.109-110) are
explicit and therefore known to the pupil – the teacher is the author and authority.
Hall et al. (2007) suggest that if creative practitioners working in schools are
support of teachers who know the children and have a sustained relationship with
them” (p.617). This perspective is highlighted by Jean Heath who suggests that
teachers offer a supportive role in the classroom, insight into the children, and
collaborations:
“…they bring their skills obviously hugely, and they know the kids really well,
so if you can really grab their best teaching skills and your new skills, give them a
chance to try something new, but at the same time they’re giving you the chance to
flourish in that environment, and you can only do that if they play their part.”
This is clearly a conception of teachers as experts in their own right and a view of co-
delivery as the complementary practice that is emphasised by Jean Heath, rather than
the exchange of skills described by Julia Barden. The former view is shared by
Thomson et al. (2009a) who query “the limits and advisability of the exchange of
skills and knowledge between teachers and creative practitioners” (p.69), as well as
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“The headteacher at Rowan Nursery and Infants, one of the two case study
schools which have now included creative practitioners as permanent staff members,
argues that she cannot possibly learn what the dancer on her staff has taken twenty
years to master. Neither can he learn what she knows after over thirty years of
professional practice.”
The kinds of skills characteristic of creative practitioners that are most strongly
practitioners to respond to the demands of the classroom in more flexible and learner-
Director: CP) suggests that creative practitioners provide teachers with experience of
more improvisational ways of working in school, and insight into dialogic and
“…a lot of the work that teachers do is massively planned… Artists and
practitioners will do a level of planning, however they tend to be…much more in the
moment and confident to improvise, to go in with a plan and chuck it out the
window…because pupil voice and learner lead has been really important in the
Sandra Hollingworth (HT: Hollytree School) suggests that creative practitioners give
teachers the support to attempt more challenging creative projects that they ordinarily
would not have “the confidence to even contemplate”. Sandra goes on to suggest that
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“teachers are very good at being creative on paper”. The implication here is that it is
The idea that creative practitioners employ a teaching style that in Patrick Mean’s
(CA: CP) words, enables them to “critically move into the risk area of not planning”
and entails them “following the kids…their energy and ideas”, has been noted by
Maddock et al. (2007) who suggest that artists “prioritise the challenge of the
themselves towards the predictable, the familiar, normative standards and public
(Maddock et al, 2007; p.54) for teachers and also practitioners who are trying to
through extended exposure to such practice, Maddock et al. (2007) suggest that
teachers are able to “unlearn some of their tried and tested teacherly ways and means,
and think more adventurously about their role in building a culture of creativity”
Sawyer (2004), who suggests that the methods associated with improvisational drama
where themes and trajectories are collaborative, emergent and unpredictable, have
much to offer the pedagogic process. Teachers have historically been encouraged to
curricula, particularly in low performing schools. Sawyer (2004) suggests that such
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methods emphasize “low order skills that are particularly easy to measure with
methods that encourage deeper learning that is less readily quantifiable (Wells &
traditional IRE sequences that are frequently the ‘default’ pattern of classroom talk
(Cazden, 2001), such discourse is “open ended, is not structured in advance, and is an
interaction among peers where any participant can contribute equally to the flow of
the interaction” (Sawyer, 2004; p.14), enabling learners to access the co-construction
of knowledge (Forman & Cazden, 1985; Wells & Chang-Wells, 1992; Palincsar,
structure is unlikely to be helpful to teachers when faced with the reality of the
classroom. Disciplined improvisation (Sawyer, 2004) that “acknowledges the need for
about creative approaches to teaching. Even within the most creative and flexible
lessons there is a need for broad-based goals and a degree of structure, and
correspondingly the most heavily scripted teaching routines will always require the
contributions. The storytelling methods that David Keele (Storyteller: Hollytree &
Lakeside School) employed as a part the Change School project at Hollytree School
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can be understood in relation to the concept of disciplined improvisation. Roland
Morris (CT: Hollytree School) puts particular emphasis upon these methods, such as
“So I’m planning on using it – not just the storytelling, but all the things that
David’s done like his emotion graphs, and the story map and where you draw out the
scene where the story takes place…so it fits in well with what they’ve been doing as
well…so I can take it and use it and adapt it for writing as well as storytelling.”
Clearly such creative scripts provide a degree of structure within which more
incorporates “drama structures and stories into different areas of the curriculum as a
way of teaching it”. This aspect has been noted by Maddock et al. (2007) who make
“…it seems as if there is little time or space in the busy school day for what
the artists see as a necessity, not a luxury: the need for slow thinking, and yet slower
re-thinking, as gradually, bit by bit, new connections are made between curriculum
areas normally neatly slotted into their proper spaces on the timetable…”
(p.51)
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In addition, it has been noted by Galton (2008) that few formal opportunities exist
explore how learning and competence is best developed. The constraining effect of
time that results from the pressures of a tightly regulated curriculum limits discursive
opportunities for pedagogic reflection. Compounding these effects is the fact that
“working around the schools visible pedagogy” (Galton, 2008; p.71) as well as their
with creativity, they are likely to avoid pedagogic conversations highlighting such
constraints, which could result in defensiveness from teachers. While the subversion
of mainstream pedagogic ideology where ideas and methods brought in through the
backdoor may be a necessary component of working in and with schools, it does little
to alter practice on the ground floor if the perspectives that necessitate such tactics
remain implicit, particularly if expert creative practitioners struggle to put into words
the rationale for their practice, and have a tendency to “see most of their work as
‘intuitive’” (Galton, 2008; p.73). However, for creative practice to be sustained and
creative practice” (Galton, 2008; p.73) needs to be fostered to avoid superficial and
short-term take up. Clearly the creation of discursive opportunities between creative
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Ultimately, artists in school hold different perspectives and utilise different pedagogic
methods to teachers who occupy the physical and conceptual space of the classroom
on a more permanent basis. However, this is not to say that it is not possible for
teachers, but rather is an indictment of an educational system that lacks faith in the
ability of teachers to maintain standards, and as a result constrains their creativity and
deserving of autonomy and respect like other professions such as law or medicine?
competence in school today can therefore be understood as a sign of the times rather
Jean Heath there may be some tendency for teaching to attract less creative ‘types’
person than used to go in 25 years ago…you used to get a lot of quite subversive
people, different people, creative and alternative people that went into teaching
because they wanted to effect kids and they wanted to subvert things on the ground
level, but they wouldn’t touch teaching with a barge pole now.”
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While this is a worrying statement, it does not mean that there is little hope for
teachers and students asking “more higher order questions” (p.18). Participant
perspectives suggest that there is a strong need for more improvisational styles in
school, and that creative practitioners represent a model of more creative and open-
ended approaches to teaching. I propose that the ethos of CP and such creative
between artists and educators and improvisational teaching styles has strong potential
to spread the skills associated with creativity and creative forms of practice on a wider
educational basis.
Shifting pupil and teacher perceptions of what constitutes learning in school is related
content in less imaginative formats. This aspect comes across strongly in participant
responses, with David Keele (Storyteller: Hollytree & Lakeside Schools) describing
the way that teachers are frequently “a bit astonished” that children “would sit and
“…I think that teachers are often surprised, about the extent to which children
are so ready and wanting to just sit and listen to stories, in this age where they’re so
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bombarded by media and games and video…in which case leads to shorter and
Similarly, Jean Heath (CA: CP) goes on to describe the way that educational drama or
oral storytelling can “transmit concepts” that children may not ordinarily be interested
“It’s like writing letters to a real MP, yes you can do that, but writing letters
to an MP as part of a drama you’ve created is just as relevant. And the kids come to
me…and they’re not thinking ‘oh, I’ve got to write a letter as part of a lesson’ - the
writing’s intrinsic…”
programs in the US (In Deasy, 2002), “children are more engaged when involved in
artistic activities in school, than when involved in other curricular activities” (p.155).
In addition, Catterall (2002) makes the observation that “children in schools with high
levels of arts experiences are generally more engaged and motivated in school”
(Deasy, 2002; p.155). This propensity to engage more deeply with learning as well as
from learning in and with the arts to learning situations more generally. Perhaps
children who find parts of their school day satisfying and fun through the arts become
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more sanguine about the whole school experience.” (Catterall, 2002; In Deasy, 2002;
p.155)
The transfer of learning from one context to another has been difficult to prove, with
research failing “to corroborate transfer far more often than it has managed to support
its existence” (Catterall, 2002; In Deasy, 2002; p.151). However, within the
variety of social and academic outcomes can be identified (Deasy, 2002). Clearly
there is some support for the transfer of learning through the arts. The combination of
intrinsic motivation and the transfer of learning has been noted by Howard Gardner
(1999) who suggests that “…the compelling reasons for arts education…are the
likelihood that skill and craft gained in the arts help students to understand that they
This links into increases in academic and/or social self-concept, and certainly a
number of the Compendium Studies have found strong links between self-concept and
2002; p.155). For children who have deficits in self-concept due to processes of
alienation and disaffection within the educational context, ways to improve self-
concept are key. Caterall (2002) goes on to suggest that a reason that certain art-forms
they include “demonstrating skills for audiences” as “an integral component” (In
Deasy, 2002; p.155). The performativity of academia with its tests and targets does
not sit well with students who adopt performance avoidance goals. However, within
the context of artistic performance, pupils who experience disaffection in school are
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presented with an alternative route into their learning and non-standard opportunities
academic attainment, people are very, very quickly branded as able or less able, and
what learning through a different vehicle has often offered is that the non-usual
There are clear dangers to students being ‘branded as able or less able’ rather than
Ames, 1992). The most adaptive reactions to schooling are characterised by mastery-
approach goals where students “want to learn, master and truly understand the task at
a range of strategies in the classroom that will have the effect of lowering attainment
(p.337)
The importance of offering pupils opportunities to shift their perceptions about their
learning identities in school is essential for both their own self-concept, as well as the
labels that others apply to them within the educational context. The classic Pygmalion
in the Classroom study conducted by Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) offers a seminal
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example of the way that teacher perceptions and expectations can either relegate
very effect within his responses in describing the way that the oral storytelling
“…since I’ve done the storytelling personally, it’s definitely opened my eyes
to the extent that storytelling can help build confidence in children, and see how the
lower able can perform against the higher able – they come on a par, which is really
powerful…”
Similarly, the testimonies of Sarah White and Roland Morris during the Hollytree
School INSET day, in relation to the way that two particular children excelled at oral
storytelling, attest to the way that both learner identities and teacher perceptions about
“…he had a very short concentration span…his writing is poor, and he really
struggles with literacy, but as you will see from the clip here, he was absolutely
mean, when he was telling the story, his language was so much different from
speaking in the classroom everything ‘yeah like, you know, like, the thing is, like’
a really fantastic fantasy story as well from that – really, really good.”
(Sarah White)
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“Just before I show the clip, this is the quietest child in the school… and this
for her is really a break through, she hardly speaks to me at all, or anybody…”
(Roland Morris)
Similar shifts of perception are evident in other participant responses with David
Keele suggesting that the positive impact of oral storytelling is related to the way that
it “seems to open teachers’ eyes to this whole other area - children can express
themselves”. Similarly, Jean Heath describes the way that in her own work teachers
invariably see the value of her creative practice, despite initial surprise at the novelty
of her methods:
“…they always see the benefit in the stuff I’ve done – I mean I had one where
I was doing lots of drama, lots of storytelling in my own way, with them going ‘oh, I
didn’t realise you could do that!’ ‘oh, that was different’, and then it was like ‘they
did really well in that test, and we think it’s down to you.’”
Shifts in teacher perceptions of the way children can ‘express themselves’, ‘come on
the mechanisms through which creative forms of education operate. The layering of
Barden who aligns oral storytelling and creative education with “learning through a
education, particularly for pupils that struggle “with a certain delivery”. Patrick Mean
(CA: CP) echoes this perspective by emphasising that CP enables children to find
“other access points into their learning”. Julia goes on to describe the way that arts-
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based education can enable such children increased access to their own learning as a
themes:
“…so in the case of a special school that I worked in, [learning through a
different vehicle] was absolutely vital because those kids got to observe something
with the naked eye, then they got to film it so they got to observe it again, then they
However, it has been noted that there is a lack of strong empirical research available
to support the infusion of the arts across the curriculum (Russell and Zembylas,
2007). Evaluations into the educational impact of the arts have found no statistically
to traditional teaching methods (Hetland & Winner, 2000). It has been suggested that
such findings are connected to the fact that learning in an arts integrated environment
is “inherently complex and multi-dimensional” and therefore does not readily lend
2004; p.7). As a result, Russell & Zembylas (2007) suggest that “any evaluation of
pressing need to find better outcome measures that take into account a much wider
range of factors. Mansilla (2005) has argued for an alternative conception in which
to use knowledge accurately and flexibly in new situations rather than simply
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accumulating facts and subject knowledge that needs to be used as evidence of
learning. Such flexibility has been observed by Demoss (2005) who found effects
affective connections in their writing resulting from arts integrated curricula. The
creation of such novel and complex mental models is the hallmark of abductive
thinking (Berghoff, 2005), and it depends upon “a variety of rich experiences” such as
“when students engage with arts-infused curriculum” (Russell and Zembylas, 2007;
p.195). The creation of flexible forms of thinking through engagement with oral
“But actually, if you want people who can think, then you need storytelling,
and you need people to actually engage in stories that are remote from them that they
can then rework in their own way. Basically, you need to create an active
imagination. I think all children have imaginations, but what they actually then do
with it, and what you can enable them to do with it. In terms of having something to
say, and wanting to say it – it’s those two things really…It’s only when you can talk
about yourself that you can see what’s happening and you can take a proactive part
in it…”
engendered by more intrinsic aspects of the arts. Intrinsic effects contrast with the
instrumental effects upon cognition and attitude so far discussed in relation to changes
continuum from private effects of pleasure and captivation; to more public effects of
an extended capacity for empathy and the cognitive growth of the individual; to the
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most public dimension represented by the creation of social bonds and the expression
of public meanings (McCarthy et al., 2001). It has been suggested by McCarthy et al.
(2001) that intrinsic benefits are ‘the missing link’ in terms of our understanding of
the arts and their benefits, and that “many of them can lead to the development of
individual capacities and community cohesiveness that are of benefit to the public
sphere” (p.xv).
Exposure to novel cultural experiences and perspectives gives people “new references
that can make them more receptive to unfamiliar people, attitudes and cultures”
(McCarthy, 2001; p.xvi). Similarly, the cognitive growth that is fostered when
individuals are invited to makes sense of novel works of art where meaning is
entirely new perspective on the world and how he or she perceives it.” (McCarthy et
al, 2001: xvi). Within participant responses Julia Barden emphasises the shifts that
can occur in children’s cultural awareness through creative practice. In particular she
describes the rural roots of oral storytelling in terms of some of the traditional tales
that are frequently based around countryside themes and locales, and the way they can
offer children from more urban environments insight into cultures that are new and
“What’s interesting, I think is it’s something that has largely grown out of
rural stuff, a lot of the storytellers live in rural areas and a lot of the festivals are all
in rural areas, so it’s really interesting when that comes into more urban areas, and
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The promotion of cultural difference through the arts and oral storytelling more
that the “ancillary folk law that surrounds storytelling…can be really good for cultural
exchange”:
“There’s a whole sort of – things like lullaby’s, and sayings, good luck, bad
luck all these little superstitions, clapping games and all that….”
The final perceptual shift that is afforded through the arts and more specifically
through schemes like CP that bring artists into schools and in touch with children is
related to the way that creative practitioners can represent a valuable alternative to the
CT. This perspective is highlighted by Sarah White (CT: Hollytree School) who
“…and this helps so much in seeing someone who is really enthusiastic about
it, and who isn’t…I think quite often they see, as a teacher – ‘you can do this
yourself” – but they don’t always take on board…they think ‘oh well, we have to do it
for school work and they’ll make us write something down’, whereas actually they’re
getting the skills to write amazing stories, but doing it in a completely different way.”
Sarah places emphasis upon the idea that children do not always trust teacher motives,
suggesting that they see the role of the CT as being primarily geared towards the
attainment of academic goals such as literacy. Sarah therefore implies that children
tend to interpret praise and encouragement or curriculum content that is not overtly
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oriented towards academic goals as a way of getting them to comply with an agenda
Sarah’s perception of an artist coming into school who “is really enthusiastic about it,
and who isn’t…” speaks volumes about the way she feels creative practitioners
finish off Sarah’s sentence with the words ‘a teacher’, as this is the core quality to her
personas that are qualitatively different to those of the CT, they are inherently able to
offer children novel perspectives as well as being able to forge different relationships
This perspective has been noted by Burnard & Swann (2010) in their examination of
pupil perceptions of learning with artists and the emotional dimension of learning.
Burnard & Swann (2010) assert that artists form qualitatively different relationships
“different from the experience of being taught” (p.79). Jean Heath highlights this
perspective in her suggestion that “just by definition of what they do” creative
practitioners are able to “find totally different ways” of using oral storytelling and
creative practice more generally “that teachers won’t have thought of”. Jean therefore
emphasises that shifts in perception about the potential for creativity in the classroom
“I know a couple of practitioners who are incredibly creative and the way
their brains work is so far removed from how most class rooms work, but it is so
valuable for them, that to make that leap, for teachers to go ‘I get it’.”
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The enthusiasm of the creative practitioners that is highlighted by Sarah White relates
to what Burnard & Swann (2010) identify as the way that artists are able to draw
connecting pupils “to their feelings and senses” (p.79), Burnard & Swann (2010)
describe the multifarious and sometimes intangible ways that “emotion was used as a
means of inhabiting opportunities for learning” (p.79). This was both in terms of less
complex pleasant emotions that engender success and achievement as well as more
challenging ones that are representative of risk and failure. Bernard & Swann (2010)
While Bernard & Swann’s (2010) research may be suggestive that such relationships
and dimensions of learning are characteristic of the style and persona of the creative
personality, it may be more accurate to suggest that to an even greater extent they are
Teacher in a school in the U.S. where Thursday afternoons were devoted to such
“…everybody, from the cleaners, the maintenance bloke, the cooks, the
members of staff, the P.E staff would go into classes – people who are not teachers –
and just talk about the thing that they were passionate about…and it would inspire the
kids by demonstrating that a human being can be passionate about something. And in
terms of emotional intelligence, or emotional literacy, the thing that drives most
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learning is emotional interest – I’m getting juice out of this, joyful juice out of
The crux here is emotional interest and the importance of enabling children to make
the connection that legitimate forms of learning are not wholly represented by a
target-driven curriculum. Such “real world learning” (Burnard & Swann, 2010; p.80)
needs to find a much greater purchase in the educational context of the classroom.
Burnard & Swann (2010) assert that teachers “can, and do, provide the trusting,
collaborative, facilitative relationships that pupils found with the artists” and they
“can plan for the emotional dimension of learning” (p.80). However, the authors also
themselves into the learning” (Burnard & Swann, 2010; p.80). This aspect is
emphasised by Jean Heath who suggests that the lack of pedagogic engagement with
creative practice in school is a symptom of teachers never having “had a chance to sit
back and consider some of those things, simply because you don’t have the time.”
Clearly, teachers end up being pulled in conflicting directions, where their feelings of
& Swann, 2010; p.80) is further increased by their professional desire to engage with
“Herein lies the paradox for teachers who describe a tension between their
desire to enact values, develop relationships with their students, and enhance
creativity on the one hand, while trying to raise standards and increase accountability
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(Burnard & Swann, 2010; p.80)
Burnard & Swann (2010) conclude by suggesting that research needs to focus upon
practical ways of bridging this gap, and combining more imaginative ways of
teaching and learning with an agenda that is strongly oriented towards the raising of
standards. Certainly participants stress the ability of oral storytelling and the arts to
shift pupil and teacher perceptions in the classroom on a number of different levels,
most notably in terms of: what counts as the products and process of learning; how
fostered; and the way teacher-pupil relationships can be changed and negotiated. I
practitioners and pupils encourages shifts of perspective to take place, so that new
adopt more nuanced tools than are traditionally applied to didactic forms of education.
promote a value of art for art’s sake. It is only when the intrinsic benefits of the arts
6.3 Summing up
Participant responses indicate that both artists and teachers are experts in their own
However, they also stress that artists generally possess different teaching identities
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that are improvisational in orientation, and as such they offer teachers a pedagogic
model from which they can strongly benefit. The shifts in perception in both teachers
and learners that exposure to arts-based practice can promote appear in participant
discursive opportunities need to be created between teachers and artists to uncover the
and abductive ways of teaching and learning that the CoP of the creative and
similarly flexible and arts education needs to be valued in and of itself, for the
The next chapter shall examine this devaluation and its effects more closely in
relation to the central theme of literacy as hegemony, upon which the varied sub-
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7. The Hegemony of Literacy
This chapter focuses upon literacy as a hegemonic force that affects the balance of
literacy, S&L and arts education in school, as well as the way that oral storytelling is
understood and practiced, to elucidate the second and third sub-questions of the
research that focus upon the best ways to utilize oral storytelling in school, as well as
the barriers associated with its practice. In line with the primary Research Question,
participant responses indicate that there are a number of negative consequences to the
process, S&L more generally and the quality of children’s writing; a narrowing of the
their abilities in school. However they also indicate that despite the primacy of orality,
spoken and written forms are heavily interdependent, and this complicates attempts at
separation. The section first examines the prioritization of literacy in school and its
in relation to debates concerning NLS and the potential for specific cognitive effects
development is discussed.
Literacy is important, it pervades our lives from a very young age and as we get older
it impacts upon our daily activities to such an extent that it is difficult to imagine how
someone without any literacy at all could cope in a world that is literally saturated in
text. Therefore, enabling children to become familiar and adept in the skills that are
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policy and practice. However, along with the strong emphasis that is placed upon
literacy and its acquisition, there is a corresponding lack of emphasis upon S&L
within the curriculum. In addition, the linking of oral language to written outcomes
would seem to indicate that there is a thinly veiled subtext beneath the overarching
reading and writing is more important to children’s education than ability in oral
communication.
This perspective comes across strongly in the responses of the oral storytellers. Blaine
Hogarth (Storyteller: Wider Inquiry) asserts that in terms of literacy and orality the
B: I go into schools, very often – “oh we’ve got an author here” - and giving the
author cups of tea, and the storyteller here – you can go and speak to the kids down
there ….
Blaine goes on to emphasise the historical primacy of oral language, suggesting that
despite the many mediums through which a story can be told and the fact that “the
written word is just one of them”, literacy takes precedence in people’s minds:
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“…humanity has only been writing for 5000 years or so…but it’s got this
huge, huge authority - literally author and authority - stamped all over it. It’s a
mindset.”
Similarly, David Keele (Storyteller: Hollytree & Lakeside Schools) suggests that in
school and society more widely “there is just too much focus on reading and writing”.
He goes on to observe that “the external forces acting on the school means that
writing still has the ascendency”. By way of example, he recalls a conversation about
“I was talking to this advisor a while ago, he told me ‘not everything’s so bad
with the NLS, by the age of 10 they’re familiar with all these different genres of
writing’…oh well that’s great isn’t it, you know, by the age of 10 they’ve analysed
writing to death, they can identify all these genres – I wonder how many of them they
enjoy?”
Jean Heath (CA: CP) similarly suggests that the over-emphasis in school on literacy is
such that it becomes “all about the reading and writing”. Jean goes on to describe how
oral storytelling is naturally associated with and understood in relation to writing and
books:
“…it’s like when people come to photograph you to put you in the paper
because you’re a storyteller in school and they try and give you a book to hold,
because they need a visual, and it’s like ‘no’! That’s not the point!”
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Roland Morris’s (CT: Hollytree School) use of the word ‘obviously’ in his description
of the priority that is given to literacy in school highlights that this priority is a given
R: Um, I’d say speaking and listening was obviously done, but obviously not as much
I: It gets priority?
R: Yeah.
Similarly, Kate Leech (CT: Lakeside School) states that school dictates that “you’ve
got to do a piece of writing every day to develop the writing”. She goes on to assert
that this is “something that doesn’t sit comfortably” with her due to her belief that
“until they’ve had the S&L and storytelling” they haven’t got “the experiences, the
The differential level of status that is conferred to literacy has been noted by Bryant
(2009) who describes “the elevated importance of reading and writing in schools”
(p.151). Bryant (2009) goes on to suggest that the “language of speaking has merely
been an assumed aspect of literacy that, in the wake of educational theory, has
Biber (1988) in his analysis of the linguistic differences between speech and writing
observes that “the historical view that written, literary language is true language
continues as the dominant lay perception” and that this results in the view that
“children need to study English at school, which includes written composition and the
prescriptive rules of writing, not speech” (p.6). Even when talk does occur in the
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classroom, the kinds of talk that arise are frequently more closely aligned with
al., 1989) describes classroom talk that centres upon the dissemination of information
contained in texts that students are expected to read, memorize, and then feedback to
the teacher by giving correct factual answers. In addition, the classic pedagogic IRE
geared towards monologic and text-based forms of discourse. Such classroom talk is
reinforces the hegemony of literacy: even when talk is put to use in the classroom it is
This giving of greater value has its roots in the autonomous or ‘Great Divide’ model,
such as logical and analytical thinking upon those who take up the tools of reading
and writing (Goody & Watt, 1963). The autonomous model is responsible for casting
literacy (Chege, 2009) which results in students’ poor literacy skills being attributed
to their “faulty minds” (Daniell, 1999; p.396). This in turn positions literacy as a skill
that takes work and effort for students to be able to master. Therefore we have a
binary effect where literacy is seen as being both a more important outcome of
education and learning as well as being more difficult for children to acquire. This
situation is reinforced by the fact that certain people do not ever learn to pick up the
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“All children learn to speak (barring physical disabilities); many children do
not learn to read or write. All culture makes use of spoken communication; many
(p.8)
governmental policies that are targeted towards remediation and the maintenance of
and it is currently one of the two areas of learning (the other area being numeracy)
that is subject to mandatory assessment in both Key Stages. In addition, the testing
regime is skewed towards literacy, with a newly introduced phonics screening check
Literacy is clearly a significant focus of the assessment regime accounting for more
than half of the assessment time in school at a conservative estimate. Indeed it has
narrowed to testing, defines the school day, the curriculum, the teacher’s
responsibilities, the pupil’s worth, the ideal parent, and what counts as ability; it
pushes towards a particular type of learning at the expense of other types” (p.801).
well as upon learning more generally. All participants held strong convictions in
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“And it’s awful really, that that’s the assessment focus - if they can’t pick up a
piece of paper and see their mastery of story…then it doesn’t count, well they don’t
(David Keele)
“I think that a confident teacher can work it away from its level of
container and find ways of interpreting it and making it dynamic and vibrant. I think
that people who aren’t confident - outcomes have a place along the way of process,
but if they’re very worried about that in any kind of tense way, they will be more
(Jean Heath)
“But within school it’s a narrow focus of what you’re judged on – the first
thing that OFSTED look at is your standards, and if it’s not good enough, then we’re
coming in to see why not. It’s the sword you live and die by…and having been a year
6 teacher, that’s why you’re always ‘we need to go, we need to go, we need to move’,
(Roland Morris)
“…when it’s always results driven it’s a kind of a means whereby, rather than
(Julia Barden)
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“…they might have a really well-rounded education and they’re smart and
bright and able to think for themselves and be independent learners, but if they can’t
tell you what the main features of the opening paragraph of a newspaper is, you’ve
technically failed...”
(Sarah White)
“But with the phonics, you know if one child in your class doesn’t achieve that
level, then you keep the whole class back, that’s the rule now.…there’s some children
who won’t reach that level if they’re doing it til they’re 16/17. But it’s just how it is.”
(Kate Leech)
of the heavy focus upon literacy assessment in school. Such perspectives serve as a
teaching that limits children’s learning. These effects are explored in more detail in
the next section. As noted by Julia Barden (CA/Programme Director: CP), the
of learning over another, effects are compounded. This would appear to be the
situation in which we find ourselves with regards to reading and writing and S&L.
But how did we get here? There is a clear assertion within participant responses that
children’s learning. Similarly, David Keele professes his love of reading and writing
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and his tendency towards being “a complete bookworm”, whilst acknowledging that
“there’s really too much of it” in school. However, David is a storyteller and he
understands the oral process and the tendency of schools to link storytelling to written
outcomes to fulfil curriculum targets and conform to the standards agenda. While
teachers may similarly understand the benefit of spoken language and engagement
with learning activities such as oral storytelling, they have little power to implement
such an aim unless, as pointed out by Jean Heath, they have the confidence to wrest it
away “from its level of prescriptiveness” and trust that targets in literacy can be met
“So it’s quite a challenge, and I think sometimes that speaking and listening
might get squeezed out because you’re thinking ‘I’ve got to get them to write this’, but
if you actually stopped and thought about it and gave the time to speaking and
listening, it would help them and the writing might be a better quality when they came
to actually write. So I guess it’s about taking risks as well, with your time, and
trusting that it’s going to work – ‘I’m going to give this block of time during this unit
However, there is also something implicit at work within such hegemonic conceptions
of literacy as noted by Kate Leech who emphasises the way that storytelling is
naturally seen as being linked to literacy in people’s minds. This is a situation with
which all the storytellers were ruefully familiar. It follows from this that within an
reading a story from a book, unless there is an explicit focus upon oral processes
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within its presentation, or they have directly experienced oral storytelling themselves
within or beyond the classroom. Given the novelty of the oral storytelling intervention
as expressed by the teachers at both Hollytree and Lakeside Schools, the latter
situation is comparatively unlikely. As for the former, the distinct lack of process-
based aspects within curriculum materials has already been discussed in the preceding
section on Speaking and Listening in the NC. In addition, Sarah White (CT: Hollytree
School) was the only teacher to have experienced oral storytelling outside the
classroom through members of her family who had embraced the oral tradition when
Curriculum…there is storytelling but I think a lot of people see that as read a book…
J: Yeah, I don’t think they see it as storytelling. And I don’t think I would have done if
Jane Smith’s (CT: Lakeside School) admission that she would have been unlikely to
view oral storytelling as anything other than reading from a book without
sanctioned ‘common sense’ of hegemony (Gramsci, 1971). The fact that oral
become dominant and unquestioned in people’s minds so that they almost cease to be
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visible as sources of hegemonic relevance. In this way, the prevailing cultural norm of
imaginative children’s stories come from books and they are read, and are (generally)
Indeed, telling a story orally in front of an audience and without the aid of a book can
“some teachers find…very, very difficult”. Jean goes on to suggest that “reading and
writing can be much more mechanical”, and this perspective is exemplified by Jane
Smith who asserts that compared to telling a story orally “reading a book is really
easy”. This can represent a real stumbling block for oral storytelling as pedagogic
practice due to the various constraints that teachers who are pressed for time and
“I think that’s why it’s so hard storytelling…you’ve got to know your story...I
know if I’m in the middle of a story and something’ll happen and I’ll be ‘I don’t know
where I’m up to’ – I’ve completely lost the thread!...and once I have that interruption
Such practical factors as the ease of reading over engagement with oral storytelling
school: it is simply easier to use literacy than it is to engage with S&L that as Jean
Heath observes “implies in itself that you’ve got to take risks and you’ve got to
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Ultimately, hegemony through prevailing cultural norms involves practical factors
such as those described above in relation to the ease with which literacy is translated
into the educational context, and also political factors that are more strongly related to
describing his experiences with the NOP, the demise of which he attributes to the
metaphorical and literal silencing of creative and dialogical forms of learning that was
“…and ultimately, we all knew that the unspoken thing was that success
would be measured when there was a kid who would stand up and argue with a
teacher and hold his ground, but confidently, and fluently, and well – that was what
we were aiming at and that was not at all what the Tories wanted… But anyway, it
sort of died and got lost, and then the literacy strategy came in and there we are –
writing, it’s easy, you know, shut them all up, sit and write quietly, and it’s the exact
Such subversive and political agendas in relation to literacy practice in school are the
focus of post-structural and critical approaches to literacy, which have been adopted
contested terrain” (p.236), and the insistence upon a ‘first, fast and only’ approach to
the teaching of synthetic phonics in the most recent conceptualisation of the NC (DfE,
2013) can be seen as educational policy that directly subordinates and silences more
orally grounded forms of language practice in school. Similarly, the drive for written
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outcomes in relation to S&L practice that has been discussed in the previous chapter
similarly perpetuates the hegemonic educational values of those in power who dictate
policy and practice. The approach to synthetic phonics that is currently being
advocated by the government has been recently described by Michael Rosen (2012) in
“…causing real distress to some children and some parents and some
experiences of texts and very different personal and social outlooks and behaviour. It
time, weight and value in school as a direct result of educational policy and the
storytelling is frequently taken for and treated as, story reading. Such legitimizing
norms are connected to the ease with which literacy is translated into the pedagogic
suggested that more critical approaches to pedagogy and education (Freire, 1972a,
1972b) are needed if literacy is to be divorced from its negative hegemonic effects. In
this respect the “paradox of literacy” in that “as much as literacy is an apparatus of
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shine”. This egalitarian agenda provides “praxis grounded on empowerment of
effects that impact upon children’s learning, development and education in diverse
ways. Participant responses focus upon deleterious effects to the oral storytelling
process, S&L more generally and also the quality of children’s writing; a narrowing
the way that the prioritization of literacy in school results in difficulties in terms of
getting teachers to understand the process of oral storytelling, thereby limiting the
orientation:
model that even when they think they’re operating from a storytelling point of view,
The effect of the drive for written outcomes upon the oral storytelling process
specifically and spoken language more generally has been explored in the previous
section on S&L in the NC. However, the negative impact of literacy upon literacy is
an effect that requires further consideration. Whilst such a suggestion may be at first
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counter-intuitive, there is a certain logic to Kate Leech’s (CT: Lakeside School) idea
“I think that’s a National thing that it’s to increase writing stamina, I don’t
think it’s ever been said that Nationally you have to do a piece of writing every day,
but I know a lot of schools do, and I think that’s at detriment to the storytelling and
Arguably, when such narrowly instrumental and laborious approaches are adopted in
instruction with the effects of spoken language practice, upon subsequent writing
has been too limited an amount of research into the connections of writing and oral
(p.174)
Shanahan (2006), observing that research that has been conducted on atypical learners
with language deficiencies, suggests that “oral language and writing are closely
connected in a general way - with children who have well-developed oral language
doing better with writing” (p.173). More specifically Shanahan (2006) observes that
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writing appears “to draw on oral language, such as in the development of cohesion”
literacy abilities that are required to decode and construct texts, rather than the overall
quality of children’s writing. This aspect has been picked up by Cassell (2004) in her
skills (Whitehurst & Lonigan, 1998) to writing. Cassell (2004) notes that while de-
sufficient:
punctuation involved in writing. ‘Outside–in skills’ relate to the function and features
literacy begins in play and storytelling activities that do not explicitly involve the
Such aspects as the maintenance of cohesion and reference (Gee, 1985; Michaels,
1986; Peterson et al., 1999) through the manipulation of linguistic devices including
tense, temporal adverbs, connectives and referring expressions (Cassell, 2004), are the
kinds of markers that teachers look for in students writing. Within oral storytelling
there are abundant opportunities for the use of these linguistic devices that are also
research undertaken by Cassell (2004) examined the use of various Story Listening
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Systems (digital technologies that utilise children’s innate propensity to tell stories) to
support children’s emergent literacy and subsequent writing skills. Cassell (2004)
found that oral storytelling through Story Listening Systems evoked “playful language
use” (p.102) that resulted in the bootstrapping of literacy. Such findings echo
Mercer’s (1995) conception of the fourth kind of ‘playful talk’ which Wegerif (2005)
suggests “may well be central to improving the quality of thinking and learning in
classrooms” (p.227). In addition, the use of such digital forms of storytelling may well
reinforce the kind of cultural capital that children in society today increasingly
possess. The use of multi-modal forms of learning in the classroom has been
positioned as underutilized in school and may well offer children the kinds of access
points into education that more traditional forms of teaching and learning preclude
(Marsh, 2004).
Rooks (1998), whose pedagogic use of oral storytelling has led her to assert that there
is “a clear link between oral storytelling and story writing” (p.27). In addition, Rooks
(1998) found that oral retelling was “particularly beneficial for the children who find
writing laborious and therefore find it difficult to complete a story in a given time”
(p.25):
“As one boy told me in an interview “Once you've told your story...once
you're absolutely sure ‘cos you've told it before, you'll know what you're writing
down’. Here oral storytelling may be used as a tool for children who are not short of
ideas but find writing difficult and who may never realise their full potential in story
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Participant responses also emphasise effects related to a narrowing of the curriculum
and pedagogic practice resulting from the prioritization of literacy in school. Jean
Heath (CA: CP) suggests that a lack of awareness about oral storytelling means that
teachers “often feel that if they’re reading stories to the kids, then in a sense they’re
meeting their story criteria”. This relates to the hegemony of ideas and institutions
that has already been discussed in relation to literacy: because oral storytelling is
frequently confused with story reading, and also because story reading is so much
more common, familiar and easy for teachers to work with, the result is a narrowing
of the curriculum and pedagogy in a manner that tends to preclude telling stories
orally. Similarly, Roland Morris (CT: Hollytree School) emphasises the way the overt
areas of learning:
“…it’s like they’re the only skills that are important, which I don’t believe in
at all, and even if you’re not very good at writing it down, you might be a brilliant
Roland’s assertion that it’s like reading and writing are “the only skills that are
accountability. Kate Leech’s description of the way that the focus on writing in school
constrains teaching practice, exemplifies the way creative forms of teaching are
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“And then obviously you have to hand in your plans and so if you’re doing
that you can’t just write in your plans ‘we’re going to talk about this story’ or ‘we’re
going to do drama about this story’ because they’ll be like ‘where’s your writing?’
Research by Crocco & Costigan (2007) on the ‘narrowing of the curriculum’ and
pedagogic practice in the wake of impositions resulting from the No Child Left
Behind Act (2001) in the United States, mirrors the situation in UK schools as a result
of the most recent conceptualization of the NC. The prioritization of literacy in the
NC represents a schism of status between such core and non-core subjects as literacy
and S&L respectively (Paechter, 2000, 2003). In addition, Crocco & Costigan (2007)
suggest that narrowing in the US context has resulted in subjects such as science and
social studies losing time in the curriculum. Similar effects are observable in the UK
since the Conservative-Liberal Coalition axed the funding for the CP initiative as a
part of austerity measures. Both the arts and oral storytelling suffer from
marginalization within education and are therefore subject to the curricula and
pedagogic narrowing that results from the standards agenda and the prioritization of
literacy as a core subject in the curriculum (Paechter, 2000, 2003). While Crocco &
Costigan (2007) acknowledge that “a balance must be struck between autonomy and
accountability”, they conclude that overall “the balance seems to have tipped too far
in the direction of accountability” (p.514). The overt focus upon the assessment of
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“…the pedagogy more indirectly prescribed by the emphasis on summative
assessment outcomes serves to render invisible the diversity of pupils’ home and
community lives. The equity and social justice agenda is clearly subjugated to the
areas… the effect of SATs would appear to impoverish pedagogic practices and,
(p.814)
The inclusionary issues of equity and social justice bring us to the effects of the
perceptions of their abilities in school. This aspect is captured in Sarah White’s (CT:
Hollytree School) description of a pupil who whilst having a good command of oral
language, struggled with writing. Sarah goes on to describe the way that such children
are frequently aware of what counts in school, and their inability to conform to this
agenda means that it is difficult to fill them with confidence about their academic
worth:
“The stuff that she writes - she’s perfectly eloquent, perfectly coherent in what
she says and she’s got some brilliant ideas - but she can’t put them down on paper,
which in this sort of culture means that she’s failing. She’s not, she just can’t do one
part of it - but it’s very difficult to tell her that in a way that she understands. You try
as much as you can, you know, ‘that’s brilliant, love it!’ praise her all the time, but I
think that in her heart of hearts she knows the culture of school, she’s not stupid.”
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Sarah’s assessment that “in this sort of culture [that] means that she’s failing”
contrasts with the fact that such school failure is often in spite of pupils’ ability in
other areas and that they ‘just can’t do one part’ of what is required in school. Clearly
the pivotal problem is that the part they cannot do is the part that is most valued,
prioritized and pushed in school. This aspect has been noted by Knobel (2001) who
undertook a case study of one child, Jacques, who failed to achieve in literacy in
life outside school. Such a disconnect between home and school life in relation to
literacy has important implications for what counts as literacy learning and
educational failure according to the tests and benchmarks of the standards agenda.
order to be sure that they are not playing into the hands of injustice.”
(p.409)
meaningful to students” and by “embracing models of literacy teaching that are not
undertaken by Purcell-Gates & Dahl (1991) in their study of the different ways that
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skills-based literacy instruction in early years education. They identified four
Non-weavers; the Deferring Learners; and the Curriculum Dependent learners. The
former three types of learners were characterised by, to greater and lesser degrees, an
understanding of the ‘big picture’ of literacy i.e. that print was meaningful and
stance towards the process of literacy learning, the passive non-weavers exhibited a
disinterested “’it's meaningless work and I'll just get it done as such’ approach to the
others and a general failure to make sense of literacy in an independent capacity. The
confidence in personal literacy knowledge and ability that was in spite of the fact that
they tended to have strong literacy knowledge and active and self-initiating
In direct contrast to these approaches were the Curriculum Dependent learners who
did not have a big picture of literacy as a functional and meaningful system. Such
“dysfunctional strategies for coping with instruction” (p.19) that gave way to
and school. Overall, such research is indicative of the multifarious ways in which
difficult to predict with certainty which approach any one child will take, and while it
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is clear that larger amounts of literacy knowledge upon entrance to school will be
in the case of the Deferring Learners such an outcome is not a certainty. Purcell-Gates
& Dahl (1991) conclude by asserting that there is a “need for policy makers,
“Learning to read and write does not begin with learning letter names,
sounds, and so forth, and children have difficulty learning these pieces without a
larger picture of the entire system. If children have not had the opportunity to explore
instruction must provide this opportunity. Otherwise, we are asking these children,
(p.30)
This call for literacy learning that “begins through many experiences with written
1991; p.30) is a very different approach to that which is proposed by the push for
synthetic phonics in the latest conceptualisation of the NC. In addition, it is likely that
the new phonics test for all six-year-olds, designed to assess children’s ability to
decode words and non-words, will induce even stronger feelings of confusion, anxiety
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This situation is strongly reinforced by Goodman (1986) whose nativist view of
language stems from the field of psycholinguistics and Chomsky’s view that humans
are hard-wired to acquire language. Goodman (1986) describes the way that literacy
instruction has tended to have presented reading and writing as if they are unnatural
literacy skills:
created pathologies of failure which are independent of the need for language, the
(p.368)
From this perspective exposure to written language, the functional nature of literacy
and the natural motivation to communicate is more important to literacy learning and
instruction than the difficulty with which writing as an abstract form is associated. In
assuming that those of them that do not master the skills of reading and writing as
quickly and effectively as others are best served by more intensive de-contextualised
literacy instruction:
“We made literacy something separate and apart from language and its use.
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We skilled and over-skilled readers and then sought to help those who couldn’t find
(p.370)
The tendency within the latest conceptualisation of the NC to give struggling readers
documentation at each of the Key Stages for struggling readers to be taught literacy in
a manner that emphasises the skills of decoding. Even in years 5&6 when reading
failure would perhaps be suggestive of the idea that previous phonics-based efforts
“It is essential that pupils whose decoding skills are poor are taught through a
rigorous and systematic phonics programme so that they catch up rapidly with their
by Pearson (2000) “many young readers do not ‘catch’ the alphabetic principle by
sheer immersion in print or by listening to others read aloud” (p.25). Pearson (2000)
goes on to suggest that for certain children there is a requirement for “careful planning
and hard work by dedicated teachers who are willing to balance systematic skills
instruction with authentic texts and activities” (p.25). I propose that it is such a
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balanced approach to literacy learning that is currently missing in educational policy
revolve around: a narrowing of the curriculum and pedagogic practice; effects upon
children’s engagement with spoken language that subsequently impacts upon the
quality of their writing; and the impact upon children’s confidence in their abilities
and their identities as learners. This final point is undoubtedly connected to children’s
“…many of them will have lost all confidence in their own ability to get sense
from print. They will be the victims of over-skill…Even if they should later overcome
the fragmentation, they will have been so phonicated, so syllabified, so verbalized that
they will always regard reading as dull, tedious and onerous. They will read only
what they must and never of their own choice for pleasure or relaxation.”
I propose that this is the ultimate outcome of an explicit over-emphasis upon de-
forms of whole language learning, are required if literacy is to be divorced from its
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7.3 The co-existence of speaking and writing
The interdependence of oral and written language is a perspective that comes across
Inquiry) emphasises orality’s “paradoxical relationship…with the pen and the written
word”, suggesting that over the course of the “five or possibly six thousand years”
since writing was first invented there has been “this co-existence between the two,
and written language, as well as the inevitability of literacy within modern western
society:
“No matter how vital and powerful for children working with oral storytelling
might be, the fact is that we are living in this highly literate society, and the two do
theorists whose arguments cumulatively represent the NLS (Heath, 1983; Street,
1985; Gee, 1988; Barton & Hamilton, 1998). As suggested by Heath (1983) in her
seminal study of Trackton, Roadville and Maintown, the complexities of language use
“…the patterns of interaction between oral and written uses of language are
varied and complex, and the traditional oral-literate dichotomy does not capture the
way other cultural patterns in each community affect the uses of oral and written
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Heath (1982) therefore asserts that “strict dichotomization between oral and literate
cultures” (p.73). This argument has been echoed by Barton & Hamilton (1998) in
findings, the NLS perspective is strongly supportive of the idea that claims upheld by
the autonomous model (Goody & Watt, 1963; Ong, 1982; Olson, 1986) emphasising
and oral language have been overstated (Street, 1995). In the place of the autonomous
‘literacy thesis’, plural and socially situated notions of what constitutes literacy are
now predominant: as noted by Brandt & Clinton (2002) “calling literacy a situated
grander claims about the ‘consequences of literacy’, it still has to account for the
abiding significance of ideas about, institutions of, and practices involving literacy in
(p.5)
Research that has directly examined some of the assumptions of NLS has been
undertaken by Stephens (2000), who suggests that the NLS argument that literacy
does not bestow any specific cognitive effects upon its users may in fact have its own
re-framing of parts of the ‘autonomy’ thesis” (Stephens, 2000; p.10), Stephens (2000)
provides evidence of the ways in which the cognitive consequences argument of the
autonomous model may have some leverage. More specifically, Stephens (2000)
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deconstructs the empirical work of Scribner & Cole (1981) whose study of the varied
literacy practices of the Vai people of Liberia has been widely used in support of the
NLS approach. Stephens (2000) goes on to position Schriber & Cole’s (1981) findings
Stephens (2000) suggests that the clearly superior metalinguistic awareness of the Vai
literates “over their non-literate counterparts” (Stephens, 2000; p.14) in Scribner &
Cole’s study is indicative of the fact that literacy has specific cognitive effects that
“can impact upon the use of spoken language” (Stephens, 2000; p.18). Indeed,
and that such evidence provides “support for the hypothesis that the functional
the light of such evidence it seems spurious to suggest that literacy does not affect
cognition, although it is important to note that such studies are frequently confounded
literacy from those of formal schooling. However, there do seem to be some specific
effects of literacy upon cognition, and whilst such effects may not necessarily confer
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“…literacy confers a potential which, although it may not be empirically
realised, is most certainly absent if the relevant skills are never acquired. To note that
literacy does not inevitably lead to cognitive development does not undermine the
argument that some kinds of cognitive development are impossible without it.”
(p.17)
Indeed, the potential of literacy may carry with it concomitant limitations in terms of
other skills and abilities that are lost or degraded once the architecture of our brain has
been modulated by literacy’s effects. This is an aspect that, as far as I can tell, has not
NLS has, quite rightly, been at pains to emphasise that literates are not cognitively
superior to individuals who are illiterate or differently literate, it has failed to turn the
situation on its head and ask whether literates are less capable than non-literates in
certain respects. A purely speculative suggestion is that that the strong emphasis upon
the concomitant impoverishment of S&L, may have resulted in the loss or at least the
degradation of certain abilities in the area of spoken language. Certainly there was a
sense within the oral storytelling intervention that those children who were more
capable with literacy were less capable with the oral retelling of stories, and
conversely it was the ‘non-usual suspects’ who shone. As recalled by Roland Morris
“…one boy who is probably one of the strongest writers in the class – apart
from his punctuation! He didn’t do as well as children like Micheal who are
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academically a lot weaker than he is, and they did better than him in my opinion…and
they’ve travelled further than him as well from where they started at...”
In response to the suggestion that there may have been a certain ‘attachment to text’
with the children who were strong readers and writers so that there was a stronger
desire for them to be word-perfect, Roland reflects upon the improvisational nature of
oral storytelling and the way that ability in literacy could potentially hinder the
“Yeah, it may be that they were….because there was a lot of ‘and er, and er’
from, you know, the lad that didn’t do so well – maybe he was trying to think of the
exact words that he wanted to explain what he was doing, while the others just let
whatever came to them flow out, which may not have been the best vocabulary but, to
be a good storyteller, you can’t be going ‘and er, and er’. So yeah, perhaps the
structures they’re used to using doesn’t help them so well when it comes to
storytelling, you know, they’re reliant on it rather than just making bits up as it comes
to you, and having the main parts of the story in your head and just going with it.”
Anecdotal evidence of this kind suggests that extremes of ability in one area of
attempts to outline the cognitive effects of literacy are frequently confounded by the
more general effects of schooling (Cole, 1990). In their influential study of the Vai,
Scribner & Cole (1981) concluded that while schooling uses the “distinctive
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(Cole, 1990; p.104). However, in a discussion of the evidence from cross-cultural
research, Cole (1990) goes on to suggest that it is the nature and quality of the specific
type of classroom discourse that that accounts for such cognitive effects:
well, a single teacher organizes recitations for large numbers of students. The
material to be learned is broken down into units with a particular sequence, and the
(pp.104-105)
monologic classroom talk that has been discussed in the previous section, which
privileges ‘reciting by heart’ over ‘re-telling in one’s own words’ (Haworth, 2001).
Cole (1990) goes on to emphasise the classic pedagogic IRE sequence with its
knowledge that children need to master in order to succeed in school. This kind of
literacy from those of formal schooling. Cole (1990) suggests that it is the forced
emphasis that teachers place on linguistic form often at the expense of accuracy of
content that separates school-based language from more natural language forms. Such
forced emphasis can appear “rather strange” (Cole, 1990; p.105) to young children,
and it is learners’ ability to master such abstract instructional discourse that results in
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“This set of practices, I believe (along with Rogoff, 1981, and Scribner, 1977)
helps to account for the fact that only a very few years of schooling are sufficient to
bring about a marked change in response to verbal logical problems. Such verbal
logical problems map neatly onto the discourse of school with its motivated exclusion
that can be conceptualised as an attachment to text that can hinder engagement with
the finer points of the complex relationship that exists between oral and written forms.
The evidence presented by Scribner & Cole (1981) reporting “differences in selected
features of speech and communication” (p. 234) between literates and non-literates is
suggestive of distinct and specific effects of literacy upon spoken language. Such
effects have not been taken up or explored within the literature, indeed they have been
treated as trivial by linguists in the field of written and spoken language modes:
“Scribner and Cole found that there are specific intellectual abilities which
served…Consequences of this type are minor and quite specific to different types of
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And yet NLS has tended to use such perspectives in support of the position that there
relation to spoken and written language modes. As asserted by Collins and Blot
(2003), debates about the nature of literacy and differences and similarities between
“Where there have been substantive advances, such advances have depended
upon reformulating the terms of the debate – as in Biber’s (1988) demonstration that
the formal linguistic differences attributed to spoken versus written language modes
(pp. 9-10)
And yet there are differences. Taken with neuro-imaging data that reports that literacy
al., 2001; p.251), there is some support for the idea that literacy has direct effects
upon spoken language. It is here that the plea from participants for more balanced
forms of literacy instruction, with an equal emphasis upon spoken language, finds its
language skills, so that speaking is conceptually grouped with writing, and reading
with listening, David Keele asserts that he “can’t imagine that being a very helpful
split”. In support of this assertion he goes on to describe the way that the
interdependence between literacy and orality works in relation to one of the pedagogic
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“…you’re going through this pretty seamless process, cycle really, from
hearing story through to working on them yourself, stripping them down to their
skeleton, putting your own flesh on the bones, and then bringing them to life, so the
idea of chopping that in two somewhere, it just doesn’t make any sense.”
The use of ‘Story Skeletons’ involved pupils working in groups choosing different
parts of the oral story to write a synopsis, on a full-sized cut out skeleton that they
then went on to decorate with pictures. While this is one of the few approaches that
David used during the intervention that involved an element of literacy, the example
serves to highlight the way that spoken and written forms interweave in the
classroom. In addition, due to the very interdependence that renders S&L subservient
to literacy as the more obvious focus of pedagogic action, spoken language could
Director: CP):
one because within literacy it has a level of status, I think that if you take it out, it may
On the other hand, David Keele acknowledges that when orality and literacy “are all
merged together…there is always the danger of the one disappearing under the other
somewhat” so that “the idea of [orality] being given its own space” he can “imagine
helping”. The ease with which S&L can ‘disappear’ beneath more hegemonic literacy
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practice suggests that careful attention needs to be given to the place and position of
S&L in the curriculum. This is not as simple as it may seem: as noted by Jean Heath
(CA: CP), orality and literacy “shouldn’t be separated out, because that’s unnatural”.
Jean goes on to describe the “links and cross over points” between “speaking and
listening, into reading and writing, and then reflecting it back into speaking and
listening”. Jean further suggests that it is this interdependence that enables teachers to
deliver literate and oral forms together whilst giving each language mode its own
recognition:
“…there’s all sorts of pathways in and out and through. So it should still be
seen as integral…and the teacher should be able to separate them out and put them
back together again. So yes, but they should be given equal importance.”
Similarly, Jean emphasises the similarities between speech and writing in terms of
character of the marks and signs that are used to partition sentences and clarify
meaning, when the relationship between speech and writing is made explicit:
punctuation isn’t a paper exercise actually, it’s all about recreating on paper what
you already do and if you look at it that way round you can start to get them to see
Echoing this perspective, Roland Morris (CT: Hollytree School) suggests that the
pedagogic techniques that David Keele uses to help children “get to know the story so
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well” so they “can tell it…without looking at a piece of paper”, share similarities with
Clearly evident in participant responses is the view that spoken and written forms of
language naturally belong together as two sides of the same communicative coin. As
noted by Goodman (1986), it is when we turn literacy into something that is “separate
and apart from language and its use” (p.370) that problems arise. Similarly, spoken
and written language should, and do, ‘happily co-exist’ in the day-to-day of the
classroom. However, this is not to say that opportunities for spoken language, for the
sake of spoken language, should not be created and pursued. Children need exposure
to spoken language that is meaningful and diverse as much as they need exposure to
literacy-based practice that shares those self-same qualities. I suggest that there may
Whether such effects have a significant bearing on children’s education, learning and
the potential of literacy to produce at least some specific cognitive effects, so that we
don’t fall into the ideological trap of thinking that there are no cognitive consequences
to literacy at all. It may be that children’s learning and development is being skewed
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7.4 The primacy of orality
linguistic study of spoken and written language. Speech has primacy on numerous
“Culturally, humans spoke long before they wrote, and individually, children
learn to speak before they learn to read or write. All children learn to speak (barring
physical disabilities); many children do not learn to read or write. All culture makes
use of spoken communication; many languages do not have a written form. From a
(p.8)
Wider Inquiry) asserting that “in order to write a language you have to be able to
speak a language”. Jean Heath (CA: CP) echoes this assertion, suggesting that “you
listen, you talk, you write – it’s in that order, you can’t change that”:
“…you can’t have reading and writing without speaking and listening – that
would be my take on it...you can have speaking and listening without reading and
writing, but you can’t have reading and writing without speaking and listening
preceding it.”
However, Biber (1988) suggests that on an academic basis “the bias that speech is
primary over writing…has not been widely accepted outside of linguistics” (Biber,
1988; p.6). Instead, the dominant lay view that informs educational policy and
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practice is that “literary language is true language” (p.6). In addition to the socio-
cultural and developmental facets of speech, cognitive aspects of speech are also
pertinent to its primacy. Blaine Hogarth suggests that in the same way that orality pre-
“…when you’re writing, you’re speaking in your mind before you write it
down, so it will inevitably….if you can command your spoken language then of course
While this statement may represent something of a truism, it serves to remind us that
“…linguistic skills that are acquired by young children, and used in oral
language, [are] necessary before the mechanics of writing can come into play.”
productive tendency for schools to introduce literacy at an early age when children’s
oral language skills are not well established. She goes on to suggest that the reason “a
lot of schools are having a struggle teaching literacy” is because “they’re trying to do
stuff far too soon before those building blocks are there for the children”.
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Developmental arguments in relation to literacy practice in school are frequently
specific capacities must be in place before children can begin reading instruction,
including spoken language development. The reading readiness perspective that was
predominant within education up until the 1980’s has in more recent years come
process. The concept of emergent literacy with its belief that there is no ‘pre-reading
“All readers, at all stages, [are] meaning makers, even those who can only
The foundational skills of emergent literacy can be divided into two domains of oral
and code-related language skills (Whitehurst & Lonigan, 1998; Storch & Whitehurst,
2002). While both sets of skills are essential for reading success, there is frequently a
strong tendency to stress the importance of the latter code-related skills in emergent
predictor of beginning reading as are code skills. Moreover, language is far more
difficult to improve than are code-related skills. However, these two findings must not
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In a discussion of the NLS in relation to developmentally appropriate practice, Fisher
literacy has resulted in some cases in inappropriate teaching practices more suited to
appropriate practice for children in the early years of schooling” (p.60). She further
suggests that the lack of such practice in schools that has been as a direct result of the
NLS “is inappropriate and may be counter-productive to the long term goals of high
literacy standards” (Fisher, 2000; p.58). The International Reading Association (IRA)
and the National Association for the Education of the Young Child (NAEYC) in the
“…teach children a great deal about writing and reading but often in ways
that do not look much like traditional elementary school instruction. Capitalising on
the active and social nature of children’s learning, early instruction must provide rich
make sense to young children… In classrooms built around a wide variety of print
activities, and in talking, reading, writing, playing, and listening to one another,
children will want to read and write and feel capable they can do so.”
description are bounded at both ends by talking and listening: whether consciously or
unconsciously, the IRA and the NAEYC have highlighted the centrality of spoken
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do not preclude the idea that children develop literate behaviours from infancy, rather
1962, 1978) whereby spoken language is a primary form of meaning making, and a
precursor to more formal modes of written communication. The key, as pointed out
by the IRA/NAEYC is that such practice needs to make human sense to young
children.
Research into literacy and oral language has recently been conducted by Fricke et al.
(2012) who have demonstrated that the skills underpinning reading comprehension
difficulties were given a 30 week spoken language intervention that aimed to improve
their vocabulary, develop narrative ability and active listening skills and build
these, as well as findings on the bootstrapping of emergent literacy skills through oral
storytelling (Cassell, 2004), indicate that the foundational nature of oral language to
policy and practice than is currently the case. As suggested by Dickinson et al.
(2010):
“How do we ensure that teachers and policy makers recognize the full weight
of oral language development as they prepare children for success in reading? The
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should be viewed as Tier 1 skills that must not be neglected if we want to build strong
readers.”
(p.308)
inappropriate practice in relation to literacy and orality in school, Julia Barden reflects
upon her experience of children from disadvantaged backgrounds who struggle with
literacy. Julia suggests that such children frequently struggle because they do not have
a strong basis in oral language, asserting that “if that base line isn’t there, there’s
nowhere to go”:
“In the schools that I’ve worked with, they’ve often been schools in low socio-
economic areas, and often the kids are struggling, because often within the home
structure what I’ve found out is they’re seldom told stories and they’re not read to. So
they come to school, and it seems to me that a lot of the literacy experience literally
falls through them because they don’t have any platform on which to base speaking
and listening.”
attention in the literature on literacy. Research has demonstrated that the achievement
gap between children from low-SES backgrounds and their more advantaged peers is
apparent upon entry to nursery, and persists through school (Denton & West, 2002;
Lee & Burkam, 2002; Chatterji, 2006; Duncan et al., 2007). Overall there is a
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well below their more-advantaged peers with regard to literacy achievement” (Cabell
et al., 2012; p.608). One aspect that seems to be central to the difficulties that children
complex and monologic (Dexter et al., 1998) using past and future tense to talk about
people, places or objects that are absent from the immediate context. In contrast,
contextualised language refers to a more conversational style that involves the here
and the now, as well as talk about people and objects that are part of a speakers
immediate environment (Curenton et al., 2008). Oral language ability can therefore be
language at one end, and more abstract and descriptive talk that is de-contextualised at
United States. Heath (1983) demonstrated how children from Trackton lacked the de-
contextualised language and the “expected ‘natural’ skills of taking meaning from
books” (p.72), which was most highly valued and utilised by both school and the
middle classes:
“Trackton children seem to have skipped learning to label, list features, and
give what-explanations.”
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As a direct result of a dearth of bedtime stories or indeed “few occasions for reading
to or with children specifically” (Heath, 1983; p.71), children from Trackton did not
pick up the experience with de-contextualised language that would have provided a
foundation for their literacy learning and access to academic discourse. Similar
findings have been reported by Snow (1983) who has found that the “distinctive ways
Since Heath’s seminal study, research has demonstrated that it is only de-
contextualised language that lays the foundation for literacy ability and school
achievement (Norris & Bruning, 1988; Dickinson & Tabors, 1991; Snow, 1991;
Davidson & Snow, 1995; Reese, 1995), due to its promotion of higher order thinking
and the demands upon the imagination and memory that abstract, descriptive and
grammatically complex talk entails (Cochran-Smith, 1985; Sigel et al., 1993). In their
observed mothers engaging in three different types of narrativisation with their pre-
school children: oral storytelling, story reading and emergent story reading. The last
story context (emergent story reading) involved children pretending to read a story
from a book that had been previously read to them. Creunton et al. (2008) found that
the mothers “used more decontextualized language during the oral storytelling
interaction versus the other interactions, but children used more during the emergent
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“…mothers and children were more like partners in that they were not
different from each other in terms of literate language or type of talk. This type of
interaction fell in the middle in that mothers were not exposing children to the same
level of language sophistication as they were in the oral story, and children were not
Curenton et al. (2008) go on to suggest that “shared reading interactions that are
devoid of decontextualized talk might not result in children who are strong readers”
for both SES and literacy achievement. However, as Heath (1983) reminds us it is
and uses cannot adequately account for culturally diverse ways of acquiring
In Heath’s (1983) own study, the children from Trackton “already used narrative
skills highly rewarded in the upper primary grades” (p.72) due to the oral culture that
surrounded their community. However, they lacked the more factual and explanatory
Certainly within my own study narrative skills were not as well-developed in the
children I observed as they may have been in the children in Heath’s (1983) Trackton
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community. Indeed the teachers at Lakeside School reported a more general language
deficiency, with Kate Leech (CT: Lakeside School) describing the way that some of
the children “come in and you ask them their name and you go ‘what?’– they just
can’t say it.” Jane Smith (CT: Lakeside School) suggests that the basis of this
language deficiency originates with her assertion they are “not spoken to” or
“This room here, the children’s centre uses it don’t they? And they do messy
play and things like that, and if you come, it’s quite interesting to come and watch
them isn’t it? All the parents sit along here and the children play, they don’t interact
with them, they come to talk to one another. And they might even have a young one in
a pram, a baby, and they’ll have it facing away from them, so they can watch the
Sarah White (CT: Hollytree School) has a similar perspective on her pupils’ lack of
understanding and knowledge about the world originating with a deficit of talk in the
home:
their life experience because they don’t know these kinds of things – they don’t know
what a jackal looks like, they’ve never, you know, they haven’t understood about a
vicar marrying a person….those little things that you take for granted…They’ve got
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Overall participants emphasised the primacy of orality as a language form in terms of
development, cognition and production. They all seemed to feel that the ability to read
and write had its roots in foundational spoken language ability, and that the stability
of this foundation is dependent upon a variety of influences that children are exposed
to at home and school. I suggest that oral storytelling as a language form that is rich in
de-contextualised language would help children who have less well-developed spoken
that mainstream children would “benefit from early exposure to [Tracktons] creative,
highly analogical styles of telling stories and giving explanations” as much as children
who have strong narrative abilities would benefit from being given an opportunity to
excel in school. Similarly, children who possess neither mainstream ways of taking
and making meaning, or the kind of narrative ability that typified Heath’s (1983)
Trackton community, would also benefit from oral storytelling in significant ways,
simply because it gives them scaffolded opportunities to engage with language. In this
spoken language practice that is valuable for all children, and not just for those with
the impoverished language abilities that can result from such disadvantageous factors
as SES.
7.5 Summing up
Participant responses indicate that literacy enjoys hegemonic status in school that is
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legitimizing norms result in important misperceptions about the oral process as well
as a tendency to favour the ease with which literacy-based practices are translated into
effects to the oral storytelling process, S&L more generally and the quality of
participants also emphasise the interdependence of spoken and written forms whilst
The next section concludes this thesis and offers some policy and practice-based
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8. Conclusion
This thesis has embraced a complex and multidimensional line of argumentation that
has taken as its primary touchstones Social Constructivist conceptions of learning and
1962, 1978, 1981); and hegemonic conceptions of literacy in relation to S&L and
collaborative arts-based education in school (Gramsci, 1971). This dual focus has
been achieved by viewing these themes through the lens of oral storytelling, which
Oral storytelling is clearly valued by the participants that have contributed to this
thesis. In addition, as a researcher I was impressed by the way the children seemed to
enjoy the intervention as well as the positive terms the teachers used when talking
about the of impact of oral storytelling upon the children’s learning. One caveat that is
important to consider therefore, is the degree to which participants might have been
Similarly, there is the possibility that the effects and benefits of oral storytelling may
demonstrably enjoy the storytelling intervention, and certain children who were
both spoken and written outcomes. This latter effect can be seen from the testimonies
of Sarah White (CT: Hollytree School) and Roland Morris (CT: Hollytree School)
during the Hollytree School INSET day, in relation to the way that two particular
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children excelled at oral storytelling. Sarah White states that she was “completely
shocked” that one particular child would be “capable” of oral storytelling and she
goes on to describe the way that storytelling allowed this child to be “a completely
different character”, thereby alluding to shifts in both learner identity and teacher
perceptions of ability. Similarly, Roland Morris describes “the quietest child in the
school” for whom oral storytelling was “a break-through” due to the fact that “she
hardly speaks to me at all, or anybody” during her more typical interactions in school.
Clearly, oral storytelling provided this child with an opportunity to change the way
she engaged with spoken language, and allowed others to witness this change,
providing a perceptual change that could serve as a springboard from which future
engagement with learning and the socio-cultural environment of school could stem.
Regardless of whether such gains are due to oral storytelling specifically or good
such high-quality teaching. This is particularly the case in relation to S&L which, as
and ITT. Ultimately, further investigation into the use of oral storytelling as a
S&L has specific and individual effects over and above those of high-quality
teaching.
The degree to which generalisations can be made from this research, particularly now
that CP has lost its state funding and is a much reduced presence within education, is
another issue that requires consideration. It can be argued that there is a degree of
redundancy associated with research that examines initiatives that are no longer
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operational. However, it can be equally argued that generalisations can be made in
relation to: the literacy curriculum that retains S&L as a PoS, albeit as a diluted
presence; the formulation of the curriculum more generally in which arts education
plays a part; and pedagogic considerations that provide the springboard from which
Creswell (2005), generalising from qualitative research emphasises “stating the larger
meaning of the findings” (p.48). I suggest therefore that this research is generalizable
in terms of questions about the broader purpose of primary education; the formulation
of the primary curriculum in relation to literacy, S&L and the arts; and the qualitative
affected by a ‘phonics first and fast’ approach, the prioritisation of literacy in school is
something that I entered into this project hoping to better understand. It is up to the
reader of this thesis to decide to what extent this work can be viewed as merely a biased
relation to language learning, practice and policy is both complex and contested, but
the findings of this work reinforce the idea of the hegemony of literacy practices in
school, and the lip-service that is paid to speaking and listening skills in the curriculum
The contribution to knowledge that this thesis makes is threefold. Firstly, I suggest that
prioritise and position literacy as being central to children’s learning in school. This
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devaluation reveals itself through the tendency to engage with instrumental forms of
language learning over practice in S&L that is non-instrumental in process, aims and
engagement with both non-instrumental S&L and arts-based education that is embodied
by such initiatives as oral storytelling has the power to counter hegemonic conceptions
of learning that foreground literacy, and change perceptions of teaching and learning
theoretical gap in the literature that relates to the possibility that literacy acquisition
may have the unintended specific cognitive effect of hindering engagement with
shed light upon whether the quality of spoken language is deleteriously affected by
To return to the research questions that have driven this inquiry, it is clear that in
and creative agents in relation to the balance of literacy and S&L within primary
spoken language, it is also viewed as a constraining influence in school that skews the
curriculum, devalues S&L, and marginalises learners who struggle to read and write.
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The first sub-question that asks about the effects and benefits of oral storytelling
reveals that such effects are similarly diverse and a full consideration of them all is
beyond the scope of this thesis. The impact of oral storytelling upon intrinsic
intelligence and behaviour, to name just some of the effects and benefits that emerged
from participant responses, have remained largely unexplored within this inquiry.
inter-dependent effects between the two conceptual categories coming to the fore,
The second sub-question that asks about the best ways to utilize oral storytelling
involving engagement with spoken language practice that is non-instrumental and oral
generally.
However in answer to the third sub-question that asked what barriers exist to oral
storytelling and creative and dialogic forms of education more generally, participants
suggested that there are a number of significant stumbling blocks to the integration of
barriers as: the prioritization of literacy in school; hegemonic effects that result in oral
storytelling been taken for, and treated as, story reading; a lack of guidance and focus
curriculum due to teaching constraints associated with the standards agenda; the
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difficulty that teachers have oral storytelling themselves; and a lack of ITT in relation
to oral storytelling and S&L more generally. These barriers are representative of
hegemonic structures that exist in school and society, and they are embedded within
ways of thinking about education that can disadvantage certain learners as well as
Finally, in answer to the fourth sub-question of what the focus upon oral storytelling
can tell us about broader issues in relation to creative practice and the arts in
education, it is clear that the delivery of creative practice by educators and artists, and
the value of creative forms of education to teaching and learning in school are central
to both the observed oral storytelling initiative and participatory forms of creative
improvisational teaching styles in the classroom have emerged as two important ways
that participatory arts education can benefit the educational context and ameliorate
hegemonic educational effects in relation to literacy and S&L practices and creative
pedagogical styles, arts-based educational initiatives such as oral storytelling have the
ability and an emotional vocabulary that is necessary for telling ‘stories of self’
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(Warin, 2010). As suggested by Blaine Hogarth (Storyteller: Wider Inquiry) the
“…just to feel you’ve been heard is an amazing thing. To feel that you’ve
made people laugh or moved them is an even greater thing, that ‘I did something and
In addition, oral narratives provide children with increased scope for understanding of
self through identification with, and understanding of, story characters (Alexander et
al., 2001). Closely tied to such effects are the intra-psychological processes that
of self and others, again through identification with and understanding of story
idiosyncratic story retellings and this has important implications for children’s ‘theory
understanding of self and others through watching and listening to others storytell,
have positive effects upon the development of empathy (Gallese, 2001). Such socio-
emotional effects are complex and inter-related and can be summed up by Blaine
literacy are “huge”, and the metaphorical nature of storytelling where “all the
characters…represent aspect of our inner family, they’re all aspects of self” is a useful
way to think about how oral storytelling may operate on the socio-emotional plane.
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Relatedly, the bi-directional communication (Roney, 1991) and behaviour-reading
(Whiten, 1996) that takes place between storyteller and listening audience that is less
evident during story-reading (Malo &Bullard, 2000; Ellis, 1997; Aina, 1998; Isbell,
2004) ensures that the inherently social and dialogic character of oral storytelling is
sessions at Hollytree School, reinforcing Myers (1990) suggestion that there is more
collaborative behaviour between storyteller and listener during oral storytelling than
during story reading. Children were able to interject with questions about elements of
a story they didn’t understand (e.g. one child asked what a ‘bridle’ was) and similarly
David Keele (Storyteller, Hollytree & Lakeside Schools) was able to assess
understanding throughout each story (e.g. he asked the children if they knew what a
‘blacksmith’ was).
Other socio-emotional effects that are related to more collaborative aspects of Social
Constructivism are arrived at through the small-group work that takes places during
the pedagogic process of learning to tell an oral story, to enable children to get to
know, in David Keele’s words, ‘the world of the story’. This provides children with
the course of the inquiry, as well as being explicit within participant responses –
almost all the work that children undertook during the observation element of the
study involved them working in small groups. As suggested by David Keele, the
“…abilities to relate to each other…both at the point that they’re telling the story, and
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during the kind of working up of the story when most of the work is interactive
anyway.”
2003). There is evidence that such educational experiences may affect children’s
academic and social self-concept, and any resulting increases in specific self-esteem
may impact upon global self-esteem in positive ways (Rosenberg et al., 1995). This
perspective is echoed by Jean Heath (CA: CP) who suggests that oral storytelling
enables children to “have solid self-esteem, not based on somebody else telling them
that they’re good, but just because they know themselves that they can handle things”.
Cumulatively the results of this inquiry suggest that oral storytelling may be
understanding of self and others. It is the experiential quality of oral storytelling that
explicitly taught the skills of emotional literacy through such programmes as SEAL.
This position is at the heart of perspectives that emphasise that pro-social skills are
Related to the notions of learning and improvement, the benefits of oral storytelling to
language use (Guillot, 1999; McCarthy, 2009) being scaffolded through the structure
of narrative and pedagogic techniques that support meta-cognition (Cortazzi & Jin,
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2007). As suggested by Julia Barden (CA/Programme Director: CP), oral storytelling
really engage with the spoken word…it gives them a structure upon which to base
their speaking”. Similarly, Blaine Hogarth describes oral storytelling “creating this
thing which I believe is right at the heart of speaking, this rapid access to the
vocabulary, this rapid editing of information, this rapid shaping, this rapid
construction”. Linking the two major effects and benefits categories within this
thesis, is the observation that children who experience problems with expressive
Beitchman et al, 1989; Cohen et al., 1993, 1998; Lindsay et al, 2007). Oral
storytelling can offer a way to develop an emotional vocabulary (Warin, 2010) and
the expressive language skills that are essential for self-regulation and social
competence. The emotional content, the narrative structure of oral stories, and the
meta-cognitive strategies used to teach oral storytelling, may benefit children with
Related to academic effects of S&L more generally, research suggests that focusing
and that is therefore supportive of the literacy skills that are essential for school
success (Reese, 1995; Curenton et al., 2008). Clearly there is support within this study
and also the wider literature, for the ability of oral storytelling and spoken language
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practice more generally to: enhance socio-emotional ability and emotional literacy; to
language and associated behavioural difficulties; and to support later literacy ability
This is particularly the case now that austerity measures have resulted in CP being no
longer operational in the capacity that it enjoyed at the time of this study. In addition,
S&L skills more generally have been severely devalued in the draft version of the
curriculum through the removal of S&L as a PoS (Alexander, 2012a) and only
marginally and superficially revalued in the revised version (DfE, 2013) that is
operational in schools today after serious public criticism of the initial removal.
Participants suggested that overall “not a great deal” (Roland Morris) of time and
weight is given over to S&L and that before the Primary Framework first came out in
2006, S&L was positioned as being “more important than it is now” (Kate Leech,
CT: Lakeside School). This situation is strongly linked to constraints in relation to the
as suggested by Roland Morris the explicit focus upon literacy targets in school
means that “the government don’t look at [speaking and listening], so you can push
that to the side”. Reasons for this lack of assessment in S&L are potentially related to
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“And then, this vagueness…and I’ve asked and asked and asked, ‘what are the
criteria for assessing it?’, and it’s all terribly subjective. How do you tell – I can tell
because I’ve listened to thousands of storytellers – how somebody’s getting on, how in
control of it they are, but to a teacher who hasn’t got that experience, how do you
know?”
In addition, for students such issues as task misunderstanding, performance on the day
and confidence in speaking in front of an audience can impact upon the degree to
which speakers display their full oral ability at any one moment in time: oral work is
Compounding the devaluation of S&L in the curriculum and the difficulty that
teachers have in teaching and assessing it is the lack of training at the level of ITT: as
suggested by David Keele, during his teacher training speaking and listening simply
“wasn’t addressed”. There is a strong tendency for QTS curriculum documents (DfE,
that teaching has become in recent years in response to the centralisation of education
in a free market economy. Within this context, risk-free and easily implementable
teaching methods that foreground literacy are the stock and trade of teaching with
more creative, dialogic and exploratory pedagogies that include an element of risk
being forced to take a back seat. Ultimately, both the revaluation of S&L in school
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documents and ITT, if any kind of meaningful change in the way spoken language is
where concerns about narrative take precedence over the process of orally telling a
story: as suggested by Jean Heath (CA: CP), while storytelling may appear in the
form of “folk tales and so on, that doesn’t mean they are told orally”. In the same way
that strategies for the assessment of spoken language in the classroom are needed, so
storytelling) were of the opinion that the oral re-telling of an existing story where “the
effort of having to make up a story is out of it” (Blaine Hogarth) is one effective
method of both assessing and structuring pupils’ spoken language that emphasises
process-based concerns.
While the attachment of written aims to S&L and oral storytelling practice is
dependent upon the culture and the orientation towards literacy of individual schools,
it is the drive for written outcomes that tend to shape the way both oral storytelling
and S&L more generally are practiced in school. Participants emphasised this aspect,
suggesting that S&L skills are “much more linked to writing now than they were”
(David Keele) and that most storytelling and S&L projects “want to lead to writing”
(Jean Heath, CA: CP). This perspective is reinforced in the literature in relation to the
instrumental role of transactional talk in the classroom where S&L that emphasises
content and information over the process of spoken language practice results in bland
297
oral events with “little personal investment in the topic” (Hewitt & Inghilleri, 1993;
development (Hewitt & Inghilleri, 1993). This position is echoed in the literature
where concern is voiced for the status of talk as a dimension of literacy in the NLS
when reading and writing is seen by pupils as ‘the more senior partnership’ in relation
to orality (Haworth, 2001), and curriculum materials explicitly link talk to writing
(Fisher, 2010).
that is educationally and cognitively valuable (Wegerif, 2005), that relies on memory
and the structure of narrative over prompt, verbatim reproduction and literacy
knowledge and skill. Importantly, the process of retelling in one’s own words upon
which oral storytelling relies is the end-point of oral storytelling – there is no drive to
then write down the story for later reproduction. Instead the story is committed to
occasion for a different audience. It is here that oral storytelling’s emphasis upon
retelling in one’s own words finds theoretical support through Haworth’s (2001)
idea that the idiosyncratic retelling of oral stories using oral processes can represent
such dialogical talk over the more literacy-linked and reductionist monologic talk that
by Haworth (2001):
298
“Whilst both [monologic and dialogic talk] have a place in any classroom, it
seems clear that the second agenda needs to be urgently rearticulated if we are to
avoid carrying a reductionist model of oracy into the next millennium.” (p.22)
In the most recent version of the NC the linking of oral language to literacy with an
emphasis upon polished and discursive engagement with spoken language comes
abounds. In contrast, the type of “expressive orality” (Hewitt & Inghilleri, 1993;
storytelling is silenced. Compounding this situation is the fact that the linking of oral
scant research that explicitly examines the interrelationships between spoken and
It is this drive for written outcomes that is the most significant way that the
and society are viewed as the principal barrier to oral storytelling and engagement
299
literate model and this can result in important misunderstandings in relation to the oral
process. Such misunderstandings involve literacy exerting its effect upon ‘common
Curriculum…there is storytelling but I think a lot of people see that as read a book…
J: Yeah, I don’t think they see it as storytelling. And I don’t think I would have done if
In addition the improvisational quality of oral storytelling that many people find
contributes to the hegemony of literate forms in school. Here, the technical rationalist
enterprise (Furlong, 2006) that teaching has become in recent decades is once again
invoked: while reading a book is easy, oral storytelling requires teachers “to take
display (Bloome et al, 1989) that focus on the dissemination of information, IRE
sequences and inauthentic questions (Searle, 1969), over more dialogic and non-
‘standard’ English that are more aligned with scripted, text-based oral performance,
have been emphasised in the latest version of the NC. In addition, a ‘first, fast and
300
only’ approach to the teaching of phonics has increasingly been taken in relation in
recent years. The giving of greater value to literacy over spoken language in school is
evidenced in mandatory assessment practices that are heavily skewed towards the
acquisition of literacy in both Key Stages that “pushes towards a particular type of
learning at the expense of other types” (Hall et al., 2004; p.801). The over-emphasis
of the curriculum and associated pedagogic practice (Crocco & Costigan, 2007).
Developmental considerations are also illustrative of the way that the hegemony of
literacy practices exert their effects in relation to spoken language. The primacy of
literate behaviours from infancy (Whitehurst & Lonigan, 1998; Pearson, 2000) it is
suggested that “the recognition of emergent literacy has resulted in some cases of
inappropriate teaching practices more suited to older children” (Fisher, 2000; p.60).
Such practice may not be supportive of high literacy standards over the long-term. In
levels of oral language from those of the mainstream are generally disadvantaged in
school and less able to use and understand the de-contextualised language that
responses that focus upon the negative impact of instrumental and laborious
301
approaches to increasing writing stamina upon the quality of children’s writing. In
represents literacy instruction that positions reading and writing as unnatural language
readers: while such approaches are disadvantageous to the learning and development
abilities and identities as learners are undermined, with school failure in literacy often
being in spite of pupils’ ability in other areas. As illustrated by Sarah White in relation
to one particular child in her class “she’s perfectly eloquent, perfectly coherent in
what she says…and she’s got some brilliant ideas - but she can’t put them down on
The explication of the (im)balance between literacy and S&L in school is complicated
by the major disconfirming case of the interdependence of speaking and writing that
emerged from participant responses. Here, spoken and written forms are seen to
adding to the complexity of the inquiry, this perspective ultimately provides support
for the hegemonic status of literacy in school. This is due to the idea that despite the
upon orality are downgraded and unexplored, and positive effects of orality upon
302
writing has been strongly and convincingly upheld by NLS (Heath, 1983; Street, 1985;
Gee, 1988; Barton & Hamilton, 1998). However, the status of literacy in the
curriculum and the drive for written outcomes from S&L practice reinforces the idea
that despite their strong refutation of the literacy thesis (Goody & Watt, 1963; Ong,
1982; Olson, 1986), NLS theorists have been unable to account for the “abiding
significance of ideas about, institutions of, and practices involving literacy in modern
Western societies” (Collins and Blot, 2003; p.5). I suggest that autonomous claims
arguing for the cognitive consequences of literacy (Goody & Watt, 1963; Ong, 1982;
Olson, 1986) may have some purchase in relation to specific cognitive effects of
literacy upon spoken language. Evidence from neuro-imaging may uphold this
position (Petersson et al., 2001) as well as review of some of the findings of Scribner
& Cole (1981) that have contributed to the NLS position (Stephens, 2000). However,
it is acknowledged that separation of such effects from the more general effect of
schooling is difficult (Cole, 1990). A purely speculative suggestion is that the strong
instruction), and the corresponding impoverishment of S&L, may have resulted in the
loss or at least the degradation of certain abilities in the area of spoken language. This
possibility gains a degree of tentative support from Roland Morris when he reflects
upon the storytelling ability of one highly literate child in his class in comparison to
“…because there was a lot of ‘and er, and er’ from, you know, the lad that
didn’t do so well – maybe he was trying to think of the exact words that he wanted to
explain what he was doing, while the others just let whatever came to them flow out
…perhaps the structures they’re used to using doesn’t help them so well when it
303
comes to storytelling, you know, they’re reliant on it rather than just making bits up
as it comes to you, and having the main parts of the story in your head and just going
with it.”
Another way that the hegemony of literacy practices exert their affects is through the
dialogic, in favour of teaching and learning that prioritises the acquisition of literacy.
Shifts in perspective in relation to pedagogy and learning brought about through oral
that oral storytelling seemed to “open teachers’ eyes to this whole other area -
children can express themselves” (David Keele); allowed children “to find other
access points into their learning” (Patrick Mean); and enabled “the non-usual
“…it’s brought children on that I never thought would be able to do something like
that, so….maybe I’ve had low expectations of them, but seeing what they’ve done in
this, it just goes to show that if they can do that with the storytelling, then they can do
Such shifts brought about through deep engagement with creativity are only possible
over time, through co-delivery and the creation of discursive opportunities between
artists and educators. The notions of co-delivery and the role of dialogue in learning
off each other take a central position within participant responses and this is reflected
in the philosophical basis of CP that emphasises both dialogue and participatory forms
304
and creative practitioners through participatory initiatives such as CP:
“…we need a dialogue about what you think education is, what you think
creative learning is, what it’s got to offer, what we have to offer, and what might
happen if we play ball and put all that stuff together and throw our skills into the pot
is an important way that CP achieves its aim of transforming teaching and learning in
school (Bragg et al., 2009). At Hollytree School the children were co-producers at
every stage of the project from the initial choice they made as to which oral story they
wanted to learn to tell, the choices they were given in relation to which pedagogical
methods they wanted to use during each session, and also the collaborative choices
they made as they negotiated roles within their groups and supported each other’s
between teachers and students, and also students themselves, using improvisational
forms of teaching and learning that do not constrain classroom dialogue towards
where children were enabled to be co-producers of their own learning using dialogue,
collaboration and a strong element of improvisation during the teaching and learning
of oral stories. Educational experiences of this kind are aligned with constructivist,
learning that is less readily quantifiable enabling learners to access the co-
construction of knowledge (Forman & Cazden, 1985; Wells & Chang-Wells, 1992;
305
Palincsar, 1998; Rogoff, 1998). Oral storytelling can be understood as creative
teaching and learning that utilises both disciplined improvisation and collaborative
constructivist and dialogic forms of teaching and learning. In addition, children are
enabled to produce their own versions of stories that they work on with peers and
central feature of their creative work. It is these features that uniquely position oral
However, few opportunities exist within a heavily constrained curriculum for such a
discursive and participatory approach, as well as the fact that artists in schools
(through such schemes as CP) are reluctant to work in a manner that imposes their
practice upon others. In addition artists tend to have an intuitive approach to their
need to take place to enable teachers to re-orient their practice to more competence-
transformative potential of the arts (Hall & Thomson, 2007). The kind of joint
and educators through such schemes as CP, is proposed by Hall et al. (2007) as a
point of resolution for pedagogic differences, and is one way that such co-delivery
306
An important element of the re-orientation of practice in school in relation to the arts,
‘performance view of understanding’ (Mansilla, 2005) that values the capacity for
abductive (Berghoff, 2005) and flexible forms of thinking over the accumulation of
The twofold and heavily interrelated contribution to knowledge that this thesis makes
centres around the idea that there is an overall devaluation of S&L and arts-based
learning more generally, that is currently missing in educational policy and prescribed
practice. Cumulatively, the privileging of literacy and the devaluation of S&L and
educational principles through prescribed policy that completely eschews the very
basis of Social Constructivism. As a result, both the arts and oral storytelling suffer a
and both are subject to the curricula and pedagogic narrowing which results from
307
externally mandated agendas of accountability linked to the prioritisation of literacy
(Crocco & Costigan, 2007). Overall it is children’s enjoyment of literacy, and their
future engagement with reading, writing and school that is at stake when narrow and
foundation upon which literacy acquisition can be more firmly based. In addition
more critical approaches to pedagogy and education (Freire, 1972a, 1972b) that
lives beyond school (Paechter, 1998; Street, 1995; Knobel, 2001) are required if
I propose that oral storytelling represents such an approach through its individualised
and non-instrumental character, and its elevation of S&L and arts-based education
that challenges dominant pedagogic methods and educational ideologies. Once again,
Social Constructivist thought comes to the fore with “conscious and rigorous
(Vygotsky, 1926; Chapter 17) representing a central goal of language learning that
tries to avoid forcing every learner into the same pedagogic mould.
Clearly, balanced engagement with language and literacy is required if children are
not to miss out on important opportunities for learning and development. However, in
view of the interdependence of spoken and written forms, this is itself a matter of
complexity. School practices therefore need to incorporate the ways of taking and
308
making meaning that characterise and support the learning of disadvantaged groups,
language practice that is less explicitly focused upon literacy (Heath, 1983; Snow,
orality in school and across the curriculum (Haworth, 2001), and most notably to
While the measurement of spoken language ability is less straightforward than the
assessment of literacy, it is not impossible. This has already been demonstrated by the
work of the NOP between 1987-93, when teachers embraced the challenge of
assessment and standards in S&L briefly rose (Johnson, 1995). Explicit guidance is
needed if teachers are to feel confident in teaching, assessing and foregrounding S&L
Trust, a voluntary sector organisation that provides frameworks, targets and guidance
and this is ultimately what stymies the quality of spoken language practice in school.
I suggest that oral storytelling, spoken language practice specifically, and arts-based
educational initiatives more generally are best promoted and utilized in school
and what makes good S&L, explicit to teachers. It is suggested that oral story
309
Provide opportunities for spoken language development, for the sake of
S&L across school and parity with hegemonic conceptions of literacy in the
curriculum is to be achieved.
Locate creativity within school structures and the curriculum, rather than in
children’s work (Hall & Thomson, 2007; Hall et al., 2007). Such an approach
recognises the expertise of both educators and artists whilst acknowledging the
310
Consider experiential forms of learning and the ‘intrinsic benefits’ of the arts
such an approach. As with spoken language, opportunities for art for art’s
that value flexibility of thinking and take into account a much wider range of
profession. The ‘technical rationalist’ enterprise (Furlong, 2006) that has increasing
come to characterise ITT and the profession of teaching itself, needs to be rebalanced
with a conception of teachers as experts in their own right (Sawyer, 2004). If teachers
are only entrusted to teach in a prescriptive way using a risk-free pedagogy that is
chance in the classroom. In contrast, when teachers are entrusted with the pedagogical
process, more creative forms of education that challenge, stimulate and extend
There is wide acceptance that traditional forms of teaching that emphasise didactic
methods and an emphasis upon performance over process, can severely stifle more
creative, exploratory and dialogic types of learning that extend children’s thinking
(Mercer, 1995; Wegerif & Mercer, 1997; Mercer et al, 1999; Alexander, 2001,
311
2008b). However such perspectives focus on parity rather than association, and
therefore the third contribution to knowledge that this thesis makes is suggestive of
there being no research that specifically and explicitly addresses the effects of
for research that specifically addresses this theoretical gap to uncover the ways in
which spoken language may be deleteriously affected by outcomes that are implicitly
children are asked to write down their ideas down before speaking them, their focus
important to understand whether the attachment of a written outcome affects the way
pedagogic process may unfold in contrast to a situation where the spoken event is the
end point. Research into such specificities is essential if we are to fully understand the
language.
I suggest that if there is a cognitive effect of literacy acquisition that has the potential
important to consider what kinds of learning are sacrificed in the promotion of the
education through such initiatives as CP, that is collaborative and aligned with
312
about what constitutes teaching and learning. The interface between education and
artists creates new Communities of Practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991) in which
dynamic and engaging forms of learning can take place. Engagement with non-
instrumental S&L and creative forms of education that are embodied by such
foreground literacy.
“…we all knew that the unspoken thing was that success [of the NOP] would
be measured when there was a kid who would stand up and argue with a teacher and
hold his ground, but confidently, and fluently, and well – that was what we were
aiming at and that was not at all what the Tories wanted. But anyway, it sort of died
and got lost, and then the literacy strategy came in and there we are – writing, it’s
easy, you know, shut them all up, sit and write quietly, and it’s the exact antithesis of
It is this metaphorical and literal silencing of creative and dialogical forms of learning
the NC continues to privilege literacy over orality and the arts, children from
learners will be subject to narrow and instrumental pedagogic approaches that teach
313
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