Teachers' choices of and experiences with teaching English literature texts in lower secondary school classes in Trinidad and Tobago

Abstract

Existing research about English literature texts that are studied at secondary schools in developed countries suggests that teachers' choices can be determined by, for example, school policies, access to books, teachers' reasons for teaching literature, the degree of autonomy they have in choosing text and the influence that canonical literature has in their teaching contexts. Comparable knowledge about teachers' choices of English literature texts, the contexts in which literature is taught and teachers' experiences of teaching the books they choose in Trinidad and Tobago is scarce. To address this, 84 schools were surveyed, and English teachers and heads of department were interviewed. Although many of the findings echoed previous studies conducted in developed countries, several new factors emerged, which may be ascribed to the local context. Chief among these were teachers' preference for multi-genre anthologies, a high proportion of government schools choosing only one book in Year 8, the popularity of Caribbean texts and the significant impact of economic considerations on text selection. The study discusses the potentially negative consequences of some text selection criteria and questions the applicability of some contemporary research recommendations to Trinidad and Tobago.