Vakdidactiek Geesteswetenschappen

Prescribed literature: the contents of and approaches to English literature in Dutch textbooks for havo/vwo students (1985-2020)

The learning objectives for the teaching of English literature in secondary education in the Netherlands leave much room for interpretation. Havo and vwo exam candidates are required to have read at least three literary works, but genres, lengths, and periodisation remain unspecified. English departments at Dutch schools are therefore at liberty to teach materials of their own choice to meet this objective. Literary textbooks can be seen to streamline these practices and offer guidance to teachers deciding on the contents of their classes.

This research considers textbooks as time documents that show the contemporary appreciation and approach to literary education through their selection of works and assignments. This form of endorsement makes educational publishing companies (including their editorial teams and authors) powerful institutes in the Bourdieuan field of cultural production.

This project intends to map the contents of textbooks used in English literary education in the Netherlands between 1985 and 2020, analysing them with aspects such as diversity, hierarchy, and innovation in mind (Verboord and Van Rees 2008). It considers textbooks as playing an essential role in the making of literary history, and by studying their selections, we can uncover new angles in processes of canonisation.

In a later phase of the project, the researcher will turn to didactic approaches using casestudies. How have the didactic approaches to literary works changed? In what way do they cater to a changed reading public, and what recommendations can we make for the future design of literary textbooks?

Universiteit promotieonderzoek: Universiteit Leiden