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: creativity, English, and “The Craft of Writing”

Abstract

The development of students’ creativity has become an increasingly important aspect of education systems worldwide. Creativity is now a focus throughout curriculums and throughout different subjects, but because of the creativity inherent in language, creativity in subject English is unique and of particular interest (McCallum, 2012). In the state of New South Wales (NSW), Australia, the final two years (Stage 6) of high school culminate in the Higher School Certificate (HSC), and in 2017 the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) introduced a new syllabus. The new English syllabus featured, for the first time in the history of the HSC, a module which focused explicitly and exclusively on students’ creative writing, called The Craft of Writing. This study is a critical policy analysis of The Craft of Writing module, and provides a timely and original analysis of the syllabus’ design and its implications for the learning of creativity in HSC English. The methodology used in this study was a critical policy analysis, using Rata’s (2014) three stage approach. These three stages inform the idiosyncratic form this thesis takes, which is separated into three books. These three books are not separate, but are rather books in a trilogy. Book 1 identifies “causal links between global forces and local developments” (Rata, 2014, p. 347), which in the context of The Craft of Writing module this thesis argues is evident in the neoliberal turn and its influence on the conceptualisation of creativity in education policy. Book 2 shifts to document analysis and asks “what is happening to a specific policy” (p. 350). The specific policy in question in this thesis is the NSW Stage 6 English syllabus, and the specific question asked of these documents is how has the conceptualisation of creativity changed since the HSCs inception in 1965? Book 3 involves “undertaking empirical studies to examine educational phenomena located within the larger context of political and economic forces and policies” (p. 347). This study featured interviews with teachers and students, focusing on creativity in HSC English and on the impact of The Craft of Writing module.
This study makes important contributions to knowledge about the impact of curriculum design on students’ creative development. The findings of this study result in the reflection that despite the development of students’ creativity increasingly being a major focus in the curriculum, teachers and students are increasingly restricted in their capacity to develop students’ creativity, especially in the context of high-stakes assessments. This study argues that The Craft of Writing module is an attempt to address this problem, and though it is perceived as an improvement, it is restricted by the limitations of an educational system informed by a neoliberal approach to education policy.

Date of Award	2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Western Sydney University
Supervisor	Susanne Gannon (Supervisor)