Teachers, policies and practices: A historical review of literacy teaching in Australia

This article uses a historical lens to illuminate literacy teaching as it is constructed in two recent reports, Teaching Reading and In Teachers' Hands. In surveying these texts alongside 19th-century sources, we show that an autonomous view of literacy has always held sway, along with a primary focus on reading. Parents' influence over literacy instruction has been eroded since the mid-19th century and the state has increasingly been implicated in constructing literacy teaching and defining the role of the teacher. What stands out, however, are the ways in which contemporary reports decontextualize literacy teaching, downplaying students' social locations and failing to recognize the infrastructure of mass compulsory schooling. In contrast to the 19th century when students' social class and irregular attendance were seen to mediate literacy achievement, 'teacher quality' is all that counts in recent reports. Our historical perspective, therefore, not only highlights present concerns but also exposes some of the silences in these reports.