English teaching in New South Wales since 1971 : versions of growth?

This article presents the case of the state of New South Wales (NSW) since the 1970s, as a particular account of English in Australia. The author set out to address the question, ‘How has English, in particular English in Years 7–10, been defined from the early 1970s to the present day in NSW?. He argues here that there was a particular version of the subject installed in 1971 and developed in NSW, and moreover that this was a quite specific realisation of ‘English as personal growth’. While the discussion will touch very briefly on classroom practice, it will focus mainly on constructions of the subject in syllabus documents.