Peter Medway : of his time?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the important work of Peter Medway in seeking to define English as a school subject in the period from the 1980s to the early years of this century. Design/methodology/approach The author reviews the work of Peter Medway. Findings The paper addresses the issue of how his work reflected" or not" the curriculum thinking of his time and the complexity of ideas he brought to this endeavour. Originality/value This paper is an original look at the work of Peter Medway in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.