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Teachers' Choices of and Experiences with Teaching English Literature Texts in Lower Secondary School Classes in Trinidad and Tobago

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Title: Teachers' Choices of and Experiences with Teaching English Literature Texts in Lower Secondary School Classes in Trinidad and Tobago
Language: English
Authors: Krishna Seunarinesingh (ORCID 0000-0002-1055-9962)
Source: Literacy. 2025 59(2):229-241.
Availability: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 13
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Secondary School Teachers, English Literature, Literature Appreciation, Teaching Methods, English Teachers, Preferences, Anthologies, Reading Material Selection, Textbook Selection
Geographic Terms: Trinidad and Tobago
DOI: 10.1111/lit.12399
ISSN: 1741-4350
1741-4369
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.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1470713
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0185030886;0lo01may.25;2025May12.02:21;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0185030886-1">Teachers' choices of and experiences with teaching English literature texts in lower secondary school classes in Trinidad and Tobago </title> <p>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.</p> <p>Keywords: anthologies; Caribbean; Caribbean literature; English B; literacy; literature text selection; teacher agency; teaching literature; Trinidad and Tobago</p> <hd id="AN0185030886-2">Introduction</hd> <p>Trinidad and Tobago is an English‐speaking Caribbean country. It is also among the most multicultural of all Anglophone Caribbean countries with a historically large population of descendants of African slaves and indentured Indian labourers and small numbers of Chinese and Middle Eastern migrants. Given this social and historical context, it is unsurprising that the curriculum document that guides the teaching of English Language Arts (ELA) in lower secondary school, Years 8–10[<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref1">1</reflink>] (Key Stage 3), has identified several instrumental objectives for studying literature: (a) promoting enjoyment of reading; (b) promoting values, such as 'empathy, kindness, integrity, respect and understanding of self, others and the environment' (Curriculum Planning and Development Division, [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref2">11</reflink>], p. 30); (c) developing critical thinking; (d) increasing students' 'capacity for cultural understanding' (p. 30); (e) understanding writers' purpose and craft; and (f) 'gaining insight into the human condition and appreciating diverse cultures' (p. 30).</p> <p>In Trinidad and Tobago, there are no prescriptive lists that specify which texts should be chosen to meet these objectives in Years 8–10. However, teachers must choose from lists of set texts for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC), which students prepare for in Years 11 and 12.</p> <p>Despite the significant burden that the national curriculum places on literature for achieving the identified personal and societal goals, research on literature teaching has received scant attention save for three studies situated in the Caribbean since 1996. James' ([<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref3">19</reflink>]) inquiry into the status of literature in Trinidad and Tobago through a survey of 20 secondary schools revealed that literature was compulsory in two of the four denominational schools of her sample and only compulsory up to Year 10 in the other two. In contrast, less than 20% of students at government‐run schools were doing the subject. Indeed, in some schools, no literature was done at any level. James also found that after the age of 14+, when they begin preparing for the CSEC examination, the vast majority of students only encounter literature as excerpts in English language textbooks. Additionally, English teachers cited students' lack of interest, their low reading skills, poor critical thinking and limited school infrastructure as major issues they faced in teaching the subject.</p> <p>Felicien's ([<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref4">15</reflink>]) study of the status of literature in secondary schools of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States revealed that teachers were dissatisfied with students' attitudes, administrative support, teaching materials they received and poor teaching methodology in lower forms. Additionally, administrative arrangements—such as timetabling and subject choices in Year 11—suggested that literature was not enjoying high status despite administrators claiming that they valued it. Finally, Wade ([<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref5">37</reflink>]) proposed that the goal of literature instruction in lower secondary school should be to promote enjoyment and response to text that focuses on imaginative recreation of what is read. He also advocated for the adoption of a reader‐response approach to pedagogy.</p> <p>Although each of these studies has contributed to discourse on the teaching and learning of literature in schools in the Caribbean generally, they offer little information on (a) what motivates text choice, (b) teachers' experience of teaching those texts and (c) school‐specific contextual details, such as the degree of teacher autonomy at different school types and the time available for teaching literature, especially as it relates to Trinidad and Tobago. The present study was designed to fill that gap in the research literature, because such information can initiate the process of mapping text selection practices (McLean Davies, [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref6">24</reflink>]). This can improve our understanding of the textual experiences students encounter across school years and the reading community that is created through the collection of texts teachers choose. As Scorer and Vardy ([<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref7">31</reflink>]) observed, the books that children engage with can shape their knowledge and understanding of the world they live in. This is an important consideration for teachers working in the Caribbean, which is a relatively small, postcolonial space that is still defining its place in the world.</p> <hd id="AN0185030886-3">Review of literature</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0185030886-4">Influences on teachers' choice of texts</hd> <p>The concept 'literature text' discussed in this paper is taken to mean the range of literature studied in secondary schools. This encompasses, for example, fiction and nonfiction works, the range of literary genres, as well as anthologies, which contain whole works or extracts from stories, poems and plays.</p> <p>Teachers' choice of literature texts may be motivated by factors such as familiarity with texts, which means they may already have resources to support it (Friese et al., [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref8">16</reflink>]; McLean Davies, [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref9">24</reflink>]), resulting in less preparation time needed for teaching. This is important in contexts where teachers have heavy workloads and little non‐instructional time for reading new texts and evaluating their suitability for students. There is also the personal taste argument (Jogie, [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref10">20</reflink>]; Watkins & Ostenson, [<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref11">38</reflink>]; Worrell, [<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref12">40</reflink>]), which derives from teacher sentiment that they (teachers) need to connect with a text, understand its issues and engage with it before adding it to a reading list. Relatedly, Watson et al. ([<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref13">39</reflink>]) refer to the impact of teachers' personal identities as readers and consumers of fiction on their professional identities as English teachers and how this influences their choice of texts.</p> <p>Theoretically, teachers have the freedom to choose any text for study in lower secondary school, unlike what obtains in examination‐bound classes where there are often set texts and lists of books from which to choose. However, such decisions are constrained by contextual factors. For example, Peel ([<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref14">28</reflink>]) and Watkins and Ostenson ([<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref15">38</reflink>]) reported that in the United States, where the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSI, [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref16">9</reflink>]) exists, policymakers had presented example lists of texts that met criteria relating to discourses such as text complexity, inclusiveness, diversity and equity. Ostensibly, these were not prescriptive lists; however, teachers selected from them rather than going through the process of applying qualitative and quantitative dimensions of text to determine if they met the CCSI standard. For other teachers, choosing texts from the district‐approved list was a safe way of insulating themselves from parent and community criticism (Watkins & Ostenson, [<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref17">38</reflink>]).</p> <p>In the United Kingdom, Watson et al. ([<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref18">39</reflink>]) described 'structural pressures' on text selection as arising from the washback effect that preparation for the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examination has on decision‐making at Key Stage 3. They also pointed to the intention of a Multi‐Academy Trust to standardise teaching across its schools by specifying which texts were to be taught, creating standard schemes of work and specifying the sequence and timing of such schemes.</p> <p>Freedom to choose is also constrained by issues surrounding access to books. In some cases, this is due to budgetary constraints, which forces teachers to use what is in the cupboard (Watson et al., [<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref19">39</reflink>]). In other cases, it is an issue of availability of books in classrooms and school libraries (Bliss & Bacalja, [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref20">6</reflink>]; Friese et al., [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref21">16</reflink>]; Jogie, [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref22">20</reflink>]; Kneen et al., [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref23">21</reflink>]; Watkins & Ostenson, [<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref24">38</reflink>]; Worrell, [<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref25">40</reflink>]).</p> <p>Teachers' purposes for teaching literature can also impact on their choice of text. These aims can include engaging students with reading by choosing books that they relate to and enjoy (Bliss & Bacalja, [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref26">6</reflink>]; Jogie, [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref27">20</reflink>]; McLean Davies, [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref28">24</reflink>]; Morgan & Wagner, [<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref29">26</reflink>]; Watson et al., [<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref30">39</reflink>]) and exposing students to diverse ideas, cultures and people that reflect the latter's lives and the wider society (Little & Aglinskas, [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref31">22</reflink>]), thereby helping them access experiences beyond their own (Farrell et al., [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref32">14</reflink>]; Sundorph, [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref33">33</reflink>]). Cox Report ([<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref34">10</reflink>], p. 60) characterised this as a 'personal growth' discourse. Other aims include developing empathy (Alsup, [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref35">1</reflink>]; Louie, [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref36">23</reflink>]) and helping adolescent readers work through their struggles and make sense of themselves (Glenn, [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref37">17</reflink>]). Ultimately, the expectation is that study of literature will contribute to the formation of future citizens (Farrell et al., [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref38">14</reflink>]) because it 'transmits' values that potentially alter readers' lives (Glenn, [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref39">17</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0185030886-5">Methods</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0185030886-6">Research context</hd> <p>There are three main types of secondary school in Trinidad and Tobago: fee‐paying private schools; government‐assisted schools—which are run by denominational boards but where the state pays teachers' salaries and assists financially with running the schools; and government schools, which are completely funded by the state. Most assisted schools are single‐sex, and a minority are co‐ed. All but two government schools are co‐ed.</p> <p>Although universal secondary education exists, pupils sit the Secondary Entrance Examination (SEA) at the end of their seventh year of elementary school to gain entrance to a high school of their choice. Historically, government‐assisted schools have been preferred choices of children and their families, but spaces are limited because there are significantly fewer of them compared to government schools. Consequently, placement at these schools typically requires that students score in the 90th percentile (Anderson et al., [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref40">2</reflink>]) to secure their first choice. Conversely, many government schools serve students whose test scores range from less than 30% to less than 80% (Rampersad et al., [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref41">29</reflink>]). Using SEA test data for the period 2002–2009, Beuermann et al. ([<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref42">3</reflink>]) estimated the test scores of in‐coming students at government‐assisted schools to be 1.19 standard deviations higher than for government schools.</p> <p>This study was conducted to understand what motivates text choice, what are teachers' experiences of teaching those texts and what are the school‐specific contextual details in which text selection decisions are made in Trinidad and Tobago. To this end, a descriptive case study (Denton et al., [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref43">13</reflink>]; Tobin, [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref44">35</reflink>]) design was chosen because the intention was primarily to document what exists. Participants comprised ELA teachers who teach English literature in Years 8–10 at public secondary schools in Trinidad (see Table 1).</p> <p>1 Table Schools that were interviewed.</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead valign="bottom"><tr><th>School</th><th>Type</th><th>Approximate school size</th><th>Gender</th><th>Age range</th></tr></thead><tbody valign="top"><tr><td>School A</td><td>Government‐assisted</td><td>700</td><td>Mixed</td><td>11–18</td></tr><tr><td>School B</td><td>Government‐assisted</td><td>560</td><td>Female</td><td>11–18</td></tr><tr><td>School C</td><td>Government‐assisted</td><td>700</td><td>Mixed</td><td>11–18</td></tr><tr><td>School D</td><td>Government‐assisted</td><td>600</td><td>Male</td><td>11–18</td></tr><tr><td>School E</td><td>Government‐assisted</td><td>700</td><td>Male</td><td>11–18</td></tr><tr><td>School F</td><td>Government</td><td>1000</td><td>Mixed</td><td>11–18</td></tr><tr><td>School G</td><td>Government</td><td>500</td><td>Mixed</td><td>11–16</td></tr><tr><td>School H</td><td>Government‐assisted</td><td>700</td><td>Female</td><td>11–18</td></tr><tr><td>School I</td><td>Government</td><td>600</td><td>Mixed</td><td>11–16</td></tr><tr><td>School J</td><td>Government</td><td>1000</td><td>Mixed</td><td>11–18</td></tr><tr><td>School K</td><td>Government</td><td>400</td><td>Mixed</td><td>11–16</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <hd id="AN0185030886-7">Data collection</hd> <p>Data were collected in two stages. In stage 1, an email containing the requisite permissions for conducting the study from the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the ethics committee at the author's institution, a letter of request to each school's principal and the link to an online survey was sent to all schools in Trinidad. The survey asked respondents to identify their school and choose from a pre‐populated list (Kneen et al., [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref45">21</reflink>]) which texts they taught in each of the first 3 years of secondary school. In addition to this list, an open response option for each year was provided to survey respondents, so that they could add titles of texts that were not in the list. This proved to be useful because several schools listed texts that were unique to their context.</p> <p>Subsequently, two 'waves' of follow‐up emails and phone calls were made to encourage participation in the study. This resulted in a 66.6% response (84 of 126 schools). The highest participation rate was among government‐assisted schools. Five of the six (83%) co‐ed denominational schools, 12 of 19 (63.2%) girls' government‐assisted schools and 11 of 15 (73%) boys' government‐assisted schools responded. Of the 85 government secondary schools, 56 responded (65.8%). Thereafter, a final follow‐up of emails and phone calls was made to schools that had not responded, 2 weeks after the last response was recorded (Ogle et al., [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref46">27</reflink>]). However, this was unsuccessful in increasing the response rate. At the end of stage 1, and after the survey data were analysed and text selection patterns were displayed in tables, the findings were emailed to all schools that had responded to the survey.</p> <p>In stage 2, purposefully selected English Heads of Department (HoDs) and English teachers were interviewed via Zoom to discuss questions that arose from analysis of the survey results. These questions pertained to, for example, why they had chosen to study only one book either for that year or multiple years, what was it like teaching the texts they had chosen in that school context, what challenges they encountered, how much time was spent on a text and why they preferred anthologies. Therefore, participants were recruited from schools that were likely to answer these questions.</p> <p>Interviewees received via email a link to the confidentiality form as well as the interview questions the researcher proposed to ask. All 17 interviewees were female. Average teaching experience was 22 years. At School A, the HoD requested that she and three English teachers be interviewed because she taught only one year group. At School B, the HoD was relatively new to the school and was unable to account for text selection decisions; therefore, four long‐serving teachers from that department were interviewed. At all other sites, only the HoD was interviewed. Through the semi‐structured interviews, the researcher sought to understand what criteria teachers used for selecting texts, what were their experiences of using those texts and what were the contextual conditions in which literature was taught.</p> <hd id="AN0185030886-8">Data analysis</hd> <p>After survey data were collected, frequency counts of each text used were generated for each year group using Microsoft Excel. Results were filtered by school type to construct tables comparing text selection choices. The Zoom‐generated interview transcripts were edited to correct errors and then imported into MAXQDA 24 (VERBI Software, [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref47">36</reflink>]) for coding. As part of this process, the 'code co‐occurrence' feature in the software program was used to identify patterns of co‐occurring codes (such as <emph>curriculum requirements</emph>, <emph>value of literature</emph> and <emph>economic constraints</emph>), which suggested a 'nexus' or interplay of factors acting in concert. Themes were identified mainly through writing of reflective and analytical memos (Salmona et al., [<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref48">30</reflink>]) in the software program as the researcher reviewed coded segments. For example, the theme, <emph>knowing the reality</emph>, seemed to capture one aspect of interviewees' decision‐making that was associated with the co‐occurring codes <emph>curriculum requirements</emph>, <emph>value of literature</emph> and <emph>economic constraints</emph> and the experiences out of which they arose.</p> <hd id="AN0185030886-9">Ethical considerations</hd> <p>Permission to conduct the study was obtained from the research ethics committee at the author's institution, from the MoE and from interviewees. The latter signed consent forms prior to participating in the recorded interviews and had the option of withdrawing from the study at any point. No one exercised this option. Following Kneen et al. ([<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref49">21</reflink>]), schools and interviewees were anonymised in presenting the findings by identifying them simply with an upper‐case letter. Thus, School A in this paper refers both to the school and the interviewee(s) from that school.</p> <hd id="AN0185030886-10">Findings</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0185030886-11">Contexts of literature teaching</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0185030886-12">Reading difficulties</hd> <p>A major difference between sites was that government secondary schools served many students who were reading below grade level. This fact emerged from interviewees' reports of the number of students that they had received from the MoE with the word 'remedial' next to their name and extremely low marks in the ELA component of the SEA examination. The proportion of such students within and across schools differed though. Of the government schools interviewed, School F had the most in Year 8 (approximately 60%). Of that, 38 had 'severe reading difficulties'. Even the ones not categorised as 'remedial' had significant comprehension issues based on the school's internal assessments. School G had the least in Year 8 (none). However, the HoD reported that approximately 50% of Year 9 and 60% of Year 10 students had been categorised as 'remedial'. At School J, 60 of the 180 students (33%) who entered in 2023 were categorised as 'remedial', and the HoD indicated that they were 'teaching literature to children who can barely read'. In contrast, interviewees at the other school types did not report facing this issue.</p> <hd id="AN0185030886-13">Time allotted for literature</hd> <p>Schools differ in the way they timetable literature classes. Some schools operate instructional cycles that last 6–8 days; others simply follow a Monday‐to‐Friday sequence. At some schools, English teachers are allocated seven or eight teaching sessions of ELA per week or cycle, and they decide how to divide the time between teaching of literature and teaching of English language. In other schools, literature is timetabled separately from language and taught by different teachers. The average time devoted to literature across schools is approximately 105 min in 5 days. At some government schools, such as School J, a minimum of one instructional session, out of the 105 min, was allotted for a teacher with training in teaching of reading to work with 'struggling readers who are not reading at Form 1 (Year 8) level'. This did not occur at other school types.</p> <hd id="AN0185030886-14">Teacher autonomy</hd> <p>All but one interviewee reported having autonomy when choosing texts. For the majority, this meant having the freedom to deviate from the list of stories and poems chosen by their department and select others from the same anthology if they felt those texts were more suitable for their students; the proviso here was that the alternatives should facilitate teaching of themes and skills agreed upon by the department. Autonomy also meant departmental freedom to choose whole texts, such as <emph>The Graveyard Book</emph>, that teachers deemed to be important for their context even though no other school had selected it.</p> <p>The interviewee who reported having less autonomy worked at School G. She indicated that although her department was free to choose texts, the school's principal, a former English teacher and HoD, vetted the list before decisions were finalised. The HoD at School D faced the unusual issue of teaching books from a list that she said had been 'handed down' to her since she joined the staff more than a decade previously. As HoD, she found it difficult to get teachers to change texts in response to students' reading interests: 'they've been doing <emph>The Pearl</emph> forever and ever, Amen. And I, I think it's just the comfort level of the teachers. They've been doing this. They know this, and they want to continue doing it.'</p> <hd id="AN0185030886-15">What texts are being read in Years 8–10?</hd> <p>Overall, as Table 2 shows, there is a clear preference for Caribbean literature in Years 8 and 9. <emph>Literature for the Caribbean</emph> is an anthology of poems, stories and drama extracts; <emph>Bite In</emph> and <emph>A World of Poetry</emph> are anthologies of Caribbean and international poetry in English; <emph>Three Comic Sketches</emph> and <emph>Carray!</emph> are collections of Trinidad and Tobago plays; <emph>Miguel Street</emph> is a collection of short stories by Nobel laureate V. S. Naipaul; <emph>A World of Prose</emph> is a collection of Caribbean and international short stories; <emph>Anansi</emph> is a Caribbean play based on the slave trade; and <emph>Green Days by the River</emph> is a young adult novel set in Trinidad and Tobago. As the following sections will show, school context, especially student characteristics, exerts a powerful influence on what is read, how much is read and teachers' experiences of teaching the books they chose.</p> <p>2 Table Most frequently selected books across schools, Years 8–10.</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead valign="bottom"><tr><th>Year 8</th><th>Frequency</th><th>Year 9</th><th>Frequency</th><th>Year 10</th><th>Frequency</th></tr></thead><tbody valign="top"><tr><td>Men and Gods</td><td>19</td><td>Bite In 2</td><td>19</td><td>A World of Poetry</td><td>44</td></tr><tr><td>Literature for the Caribbean 1</td><td>18</td><td>Miguel Street</td><td>16</td><td>A World of Prose</td><td>39</td></tr><tr><td>Bite In 1</td><td>12</td><td>A World of Poetry</td><td>15</td><td>Animal Farm</td><td>17</td></tr><tr><td>A World of Poetry</td><td>11</td><td>A World of Prose</td><td>10</td><td>Anansi</td><td>12</td></tr><tr><td>Three Comic Sketches</td><td>10</td><td>Literature for the Caribbean 2</td><td>9</td><td>Twelfth Night</td><td>10</td></tr><tr><td>The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe</td><td>9</td><td>Carray!</td><td>9</td><td>Miguel Street</td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td>Carray!</td><td>9</td><td>Shakespeare's Plays: A Dramatic Anthology</td><td>8</td><td>Green Days by the River</td><td>6</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <hd id="AN0185030886-16">Texts chosen in Year 8</hd> <p>Respondents identified 39 texts that were being studied in Year 8. As Tables 2 and 3 show, literary classics accounted for 30% of text selection at all school types except government schools. Here, the preference was for Caribbean stories and poetry. Overall, the most frequently used texts exposed students to Greek mythology and compilations of poetry and short stories. However, only approximately 5% of students at government schools read classics, such as <emph>Men and Gods</emph> or C. S. Lewis's <emph>The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe</emph>. Notably, young adult fiction, such as <emph>Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief</emph>, <emph>Diary of a Wimpy Kid</emph> and <emph>Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone</emph>, were very infrequent choices, but C. S. Lewis's classic, published in 1950, was read in 9 of the 78 schools (12%).</p> <p>3 Table Texts selected at least twice, by school type, Year 8.</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead valign="bottom"><tr><th>Girls' schools (N = 12)</th><th>Boys' schools (N = 11)</th><th>Denominational co‐ed (N = 5)</th><th>Government schools (N = 56)</th></tr><tr><th>Text</th><th>Frequency</th><th>Text</th><th>Frequency</th><th>Text</th><th>Frequency</th><th>Text</th><th>Frequency</th></tr></thead><tbody valign="top"><tr><td>Literature for the Caribbean 1</td><td>6</td><td>Men and Gods</td><td>5</td><td>Men and Gods</td><td>3</td><td>Bite In 1</td><td>11</td></tr><tr><td>The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe</td><td>6</td><td>Bite In 1</td><td>4</td><td>Bite In 1</td><td>2</td><td>Literature for the Caribbean 1</td><td>10</td></tr><tr><td>Men and Gods</td><td>4</td><td>Carray!</td><td>4</td><td /><td /><td>A World of Poetry</td><td>9</td></tr><tr><td>Bite In 1</td><td>3</td><td>All Over Again</td><td>2</td><td /><td /><td>Backfire: A Collection of Caribbean Short Stories</td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td>Vintage</td><td>3</td><td>Sunsong 1</td><td>2</td><td /><td /><td>A World of Prose</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td /><td>The Wooing of Beppo Tate</td><td>2</td><td /><td /><td>Vintage</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td /><td>The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe</td><td>2</td><td /><td /><td>The Wooing of Beppo Tate</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td>Carray!</td><td>5</td></tr><tr><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td>Three Comic Sketches</td><td>5</td></tr><tr><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td>Miguel Street</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td>The Enchanted Island</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td>Men and Gods</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td>The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td>Bend Foot Bailey</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td>The Silver Sword</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td>Starting Shakespeare</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td>Sunsong 1</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td>The Pearl</td><td>2</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>On average, students explored three books for the year. However, there were interesting variations in selection choices. Students at 18 out of the 56 government schools read only one literature book in Year 8. As Table 4 shows, this was either an anthology of Caribbean literature or a collection of Caribbean stories. Where schools reported reading only two books, the preferred texts were anthologies of Caribbean literature (<emph>Vintage</emph> being the popular choice) and an anthology of poetry (<emph>A World of Poetry</emph>). These choices suggest that there are staples of Caribbean literature, such as V. S. Naipaul's <emph>Miguel Street</emph> and Everard Palmer's <emph>The Wooing of Beppo Tate</emph>, which teachers identified as core reading because 'the children do enjoy that' (School C) and teachers want students to get 'the Caribbean flavour' (School E).</p> <p>4 Table Texts chosen at schools reading only one book in Year 8.</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead valign="bottom"><tr><th>Text</th><th>Frequency</th></tr></thead><tbody valign="top"><tr><td>Literature for the Caribbean 1</td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td>A World of Prose</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>Act of God</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Boboy and the Douens</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Charlotte's Web</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Cricket in the Road</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Miguel Street</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>The Silver Sword</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>The Jungle Book</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Vintage</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>The Wooing of Beppo Tate</td><td>1</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <hd id="AN0185030886-17">Texts chosen in Year 9</hd> <p>The major change in text selection during Year 9 is the introduction of Shakespeare study, although schools still provide a diet of mainly Caribbean prose, poetry and drama. Within this general pattern, though, 19 of the 82 schools reported using only one text in Year 9. In six cases, this text was the anthology, <emph>Literature for the Caribbean 2</emph>. One school reported using an ELA textbook, <emph>English for All</emph>, instead of English literature texts. The teacher who was interviewed explained that hers was a 'School of Focus' for 'remedial students'. Consequently, they used elementary school books to teach Years 6 and 7 students and '<emph>English for All</emph> text to teach Lit. as best as possible'.</p> <p>In Trinidad and Tobago, Schools of Focus are secondary schools that have a high enrolment of students reading below grade level who continuously perform below the national average in terminal examinations and that are 'targeted for support and intervention' (The Joint Select Committee on Human Rights, Equality and Diversity, [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref50">34</reflink>], p. 21). Indeed, the HoD at School F revealed that she too had been using her children's primary school ELA textbooks to teach reading, fundamentals of grammar and mechanics at the school where she worked.</p> <hd id="AN0185030886-18">Texts chosen in Year 10</hd> <aug> <p>By Year 10, the influence of the CSEC, which is written in Year 12, is noticeable in text selection choices. A total of 36 texts were identified as being studied across schools. Of this, 13.9% (5 titles) were what most interviewees referred to as 'CXC texts' (because they are the texts students study for CSEC exams). Each of the texts listed with an asterisk in Table 5 is an option from the list of set texts that the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has published for exams in the Caribbean until 2026.</p> </aug> <p>5 Table Texts selected at least twice, by school type, Year 10.</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead valign="bottom"><tr><th>Girls' schools (N = 12)</th><th>Boys' schools (N = 11)</th><th>Denominational co‐ed (N = 5)</th><th>Government schools (N = 56)</th></tr><tr><th>Text</th><th>Frequency</th><th>Text</th><th>Frequency</th><th>Text</th><th>Frequency</th><th>Text</th><th>Frequency</th></tr></thead><tbody valign="top"><tr><td>A World of Poetry*</td><td>11</td><td>A World of Poetry</td><td>8</td><td>A World of Poetry</td><td>3</td><td>A World of Poetry</td><td>27</td></tr><tr><td>A World of Prose*</td><td>11</td><td>Animal Farm</td><td>5</td><td>Anansi</td><td>3</td><td>A World of Prose</td><td>26</td></tr><tr><td>Twelfth Night*</td><td>4</td><td>A World of Prose</td><td>4</td><td>A World of Prose</td><td>2</td><td>Animal Farm</td><td>10</td></tr><tr><td>Animal Farm</td><td>3</td><td>Twelfth Night</td><td>4</td><td /><td /><td>Anansi</td><td>9</td></tr><tr><td>A Brighter Sun</td><td>2</td><td>Anansi*</td><td>3</td><td /><td /><td>Miguel Street</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td>Carray!</td><td>5</td></tr><tr><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td>Green Days by the River</td><td>5</td></tr><tr><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td>Backfire: A Collection of Caribbean Short Stories</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td>Bite In 2</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td>Twelfth Night</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td>Macbeth</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td>Shakespeare's Plays: A Dramatic Anthology</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td>For the Life of Laetitia</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td>The Enchanted Island</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td>The Pearl</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td>Three Comic Sketches</td><td>2</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <hd id="AN0185030886-19">Long‐tailed distribution of texts</hd> <p>A noticeable pattern emerging from the survey data was the presence of long‐tail distributions (Zhao & Marcus, [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref51">41</reflink>]) of texts, especially in Years 8 and 9. Figure 1 illustrates this for Year 9 text selections. There were 21 unique titles selected in Year 8, 21 in Year 9 and 18 in Year 10. That distribution of unique titles indicates the significant variety and diversity of books in use across the 84 schools and suggests the efforts teachers were making to customise text selection to their school context in Years 8 and 9.</p> <p> <img src="https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/rdk/0LO/01may25/lit12399-fig-0001.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMNXb4kSepq84yOvqOLCmsE6epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS" alt="lit12399-fig-0001.jpg" title="1 Long‐tail distribution of texts, Year 9." /> </p> <p></p> <hd id="AN0185030886-21">Text choice and teacher experience</hd> <p>When asked how satisfied they were with their text choices, most interviewees were positive, primarily because they felt students could relate to the choices and because the texts aligned with what had to be covered in the syllabus. However, more nuanced experiences existed beneath these positives.</p> <p>It is important to note too that though this study asked about teachers' choices and experiences as separate questions, suggesting that choice preceded experience, in actuality they were intertwined. Indeed, choice was frequently based on prior experiences.</p> <hd id="AN0185030886-22">Knowing the reality</hd> <p>Anthologies such as <emph>Literature for the Caribbean</emph>, <emph>Vintage</emph> and <emph>Voyage</emph> were popular choices and offer a large selection from each genre, though in each text, readers are presented with drama extracts instead of whole plays (Goodwyn, [<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref52">18</reflink>]; Kneen et al., [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref53">21</reflink>]). Blikstad‐Balas and Skaug's ([<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref54">5</reflink>]) survey of Norwegian language arts teachers highlighted continued use of extracts, as opposed to whole works, by the majority of respondents. Teachers' primary motivations related to opportunities for exploring a very wide range of authors and texts as well as illustrating literary eras, which could not be achieved through the study of whole texts.</p> <p>In contrast, interviewees in the present study positioned their decision to choose anthologies as arising from knowledge of the economic reality of their situation. Some interviewees reported that parents preferred to purchase textbooks for mathematics and ELA because they perceived those subjects as more 'valuable'. This is exemplified in the assessment made by the HoD of School G, 'The biggest challenge is probably the economics of it. The students, the parents, don't value literature as a subject. They don't see that subject as being important, so they don't buy the texts (if there are multiple books).' Similarly, the HoD at School I referred to <emph>Literature for the Caribbean</emph> as being 'cost effective for parents' and satisfying the objective of exposing students to the major literary genres.</p> <p>Additionally, some English departments responded to the economic constraints by (a) 'using what's already there' in the departmental cupboards. Usually, this comprised books that had been obtained from the MoE for the textbook rental program several years before; (b) using a textbook, such as <emph>Literature for the Caribbean 1</emph>, which was intended for Year 8 students, in Year 9 or even Year 10 (e.g., School J); and (c) starting the CSEC English 'B' examination texts, usually <emph>A World of Prose</emph> and <emph>A World of Poetry</emph>, in Year 10 instead of Year 11 so that parents would have fewer books to purchase.</p> <p>This latter practice, of choosing 'CXC texts' in Year 10, was itself a decision arising from consideration of multiple factors, in addition to those previously described. First, interviewees spoke of managing the volume of work to be covered. The typical reading load students carry as they prepare for examination is 10 stories, 20 poems, and either a novel or a play (School C prepared two plays). Therefore, beginning the reading in Year 10 leaves teachers more time for preparing students to write essays. Second, the interviewees at Schools A, B and C stated that they wanted to 'ease' students into the examination syllabus by moving at a slower pace (to 'space it out') and aiming for enjoyment as opposed to rushing through from Year 11, which was similar to Kneen et al.'s ([<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref55">21</reflink>]) finding in the United Kingdom.</p> <hd id="AN0185030886-23">Relatable texts</hd> <p>English teachers were keen to meet curriculum objectives, such as increasing students' 'capacity for cultural understanding' and 'gaining insight into the human condition and appreciating diverse cultures' (Curriculum Planning and Development Division, [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref56">11</reflink>], p. 30). For example, the HoD at School E hoped that by engaging with the chosen texts, 'Hopefully you'll learn something that will help navigate you in life.' The HoD at School G hoped students would see 'Where literature is so relatable to life', and the HoD at School F said her teachers persevered, despite the challenges, 'So, they (students) can see that human experience, irrespective of wherever we are in the world, we have similar concerns.'</p> <p>In practice, though, teachers were constrained by the need to choose texts that students found 'relatable' (Bliss & Bacalja, [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref57">6</reflink>]; McLean Davies, [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref58">24</reflink>]; Watson et al., [<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref59">39</reflink>]). This meant choosing texts that students could identify with and that would maintain their interest, based on their age, experience and language. For example, two interviewees defined texts as relatable if they contained Trinidad and Tobago language, which was seen as 'accessible'.</p> <p>Relatability also applied to the time when a story was set. For example, the HoD of School E recounted her department's decision to change from the classics, <emph>Shane</emph> and <emph>Of Mice and Men</emph>, when they realised students were bored. As she put it, 'They don't like to read anything that's old.' The HoD at School K recounted struggling to teach <emph>Miguel Street</emph> because students 'refused to immerse themselves in that era'. Similarly, at School A, interviewees stated that students responded more favourably to the more modern Caribbean story <emph>Savi's Trial</emph> than to Katherine Mansfield's 1921 story, <emph>Her First Ball</emph>. Interestingly, though, as was pointed out earlier, Lewis's <emph>The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe</emph>, published in 1950, was frequently chosen because there is a modern movie version of it, and there are online resources comprising notes, activities and questions, which teachers can use. Many interviewees expressed surprise that these texts, which they themselves had enjoyed reading as teenagers when the books were already 'old', were unappealing to students (perhaps unsurprising given that the average teaching experience of interviewees was 22 years). In stark contrast to what is described here are Blikstad‐Balas and Skaug's ([<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref60">5</reflink>]) findings from their Norwegian sample where works from the 19th century were read most frequently.</p> <p>Even when teachers chose 'relatable' texts, they realised that literature has low value in the curriculum: 'It is that they (male students), they're not excited about literature as they are with other subjects. Right?' (School E). This experience was shared at School D, 'I have found for the literature Form 4 (Year 11), you could work with them. The interest is there, and by the time they get to Form 5 (Year 12) and all their labs and so become demanding, literature just goes out the door.' This was true also of very high‐performing girls' schools. One teacher lamented that though her students are 'real book worms', many who enjoy the subject are 'forced to sacrifice it for their long‐term career goals' because it clashes on the timetable with Additional Mathematics and Economics.</p> <p>Related to this was the interviewees' statement that they chose books in Year 8 that were simple, concise and 'not tedious' (School E). A version of this rationale was offered by an interviewee from a government school that was the only one studying a particular text, who spoke of students being 'intimidated' by words on the page, hence the department's decision to choose a book with many illustrations. Interviewees at very high‐performing girls' schools did not voice this as an issue.</p> <hd id="AN0185030886-24">Shakespeare endures</hd> <p>Although it is a curriculum requirement that students study drama, there is no prescription regarding the nationality of the dramatist or the setting of the play. However, the two most popular choices were Caribbean drama and Shakespearean plays (Table 6). Most of the latter comprised retellings in modern English. Except for Year 8—where Shakespearean texts account for only 23% of drama texts selected—in Years 9 and 10, they comprise almost 50%. This is similar to Kneen et al.'s ([<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref61">21</reflink>]) finding that teachers are still enthusiastic about studying Shakespeare. Interviewees in the present study selected Shakespeare in Years 9 and 10 for three main reasons: first, to prepare students for reading the plays in the original language in Years 11 and 12; second, because teachers and students enjoy the text. This referred specifically to <emph>Macbeth</emph>, which interviewees declared was popular among both male and female students. Indeed, two interviewees specifically referenced female students' enjoyment of the play, 'Girls love the gore of it!'; and third, because of his centrality to a perceived canon. Regarding this latter reason, interviewees at government‐assisted schools converged on the perspective expressed by School C that, 'You must always still do Shakespeare, to say that you have done literature', despite struggling through the language. At government secondary schools, where there are more reading issues, however, one HoD cited students' struggles with Shakespeare's language as what motivated her department to choose the Caribbean play, <emph>Anansi</emph>.</p> <p>6 Table Years 8–10 drama selections.</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead valign="bottom"><tr><th>Year 8</th><th>Year 9</th><th>Year 10</th></tr><tr><th>Text</th><th>Frequency</th><th>Text</th><th>Frequency</th><th>Text</th><th>Frequency</th></tr></thead><tbody valign="top"><tr><td>A Midsummer Night's Dream</td><td>1</td><td>Tales from Shakespeare</td><td>1</td><td>Macbeth</td><td>5</td></tr><tr><td>The Enchanted Island</td><td>8</td><td>Macbeth</td><td>1</td><td>Romeo and Juliet</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Starting Shakespeare</td><td>2</td><td>Romeo and Juliet</td><td>1</td><td>The Merchant of Venice</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>Shakespeare's Plays: A Dramatic Anthology</td><td>4</td><td>Shakespeare's Plays: A Dramatic Anthology</td><td>8</td><td>Shakespeare's Plays: A Dramatic Anthology</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>Literature for the Caribbean 1</td><td>18</td><td>Starting Shakespeare</td><td>6</td><td>Twelfth Night</td><td>12</td></tr><tr><td>Three Comic Sketches</td><td>10</td><td>Stories from Shakespeare</td><td>2</td><td>A Midsummer Night's Dream</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>Carray!</td><td>9</td><td>The Enchanted Island</td><td>7</td><td>Anansi</td><td>13</td></tr><tr><td>Literature for the Caribbean 2</td><td>6</td><td>Twelfth Night</td><td>2</td><td>Carray!</td><td>5</td></tr><tr><td>Caribbean Drama for Secondary Schools</td><td>3</td><td>Caribbean Drama for Secondary Schools</td><td>3</td><td>Plays for Today</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Sheer Genius: The One Act Plays of Zeno Obi Constance</td><td>2</td><td>Carray!</td><td>8</td><td>Moon on a Rainbow Shawl</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Play Me: Three One‐Act Plays</td><td>2</td><td>Literature for the Caribbean 1</td><td>5</td><td>Caribbean Drama for Secondary Schools</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td /><td>Literature for the Caribbean 2</td><td>9</td><td>Ti Jean and His Brothers</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td /><td>Three Comic Sketches</td><td>2</td><td>Three Comic Sketches</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td /><td /><td /><td>Old Story Time</td><td>1</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <hd id="AN0185030886-25">Discussion</hd> <p>The present study took up McLean Davies' ([<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref62">24</reflink>]) assertion that it is important to map text selection practices so that we gain an understanding of the textual experiences students encounter across school years and the reading community that will be created through the collection of texts teachers choose. Many of the findings mirror what was reported in studies done in more developed societies, which suggests a degree of commonality in the factors influencing text selection choices across national contexts. Also, some of the findings confirmed what James ([<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref63">19</reflink>]) reported two decades previously. What is new, though, is that the present findings show that teachers across schools found themselves in a quandary as they balanced competing interests. On the one hand, they needed to fulfil curriculum requirements by exploring major literary genres. They wanted to enrich students' cultural capital, to nurture a love of reading and to shape their value system (Glenn, [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref64">17</reflink>]). On the other hand, they experienced the effects of student disinterest in reading, under‐valuing of literature as a subject, as well as the demands of the high‐stakes terminal exam in Year 12. Additionally, teachers at government secondary schools worked with significant numbers of students reading below grade level.</p> <p>A key issue arising from this study is whether teachers, except those at the very high‐performing girls' denominational schools, are being placed/have they been placed in a situation where English literature is read primarily for entertainment because it is perceived as having low exchange value (Skeggs, [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref65">32</reflink>]). So, teachers seem to have been positioned in a space where, as interviewees reported, if students cannot 'relate' to texts that do not mirror their local experiences, identities and language, they become bored and disengaged. While relatability is an important consideration in text selection (Bishop, [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref66">4</reflink>]), it may also be a double‐edged sword: While it can connect readers to texts because children may more likely be motivated and interested in books that feature protagonists they can identify with (Scorer & Vardy, [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref67">31</reflink>]), it may also constrict opportunities for teachers to achieve curricula goals that involve perspective taking beyond readers' parochial experiences and participating in 'personal growth discourse' (Cox, [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref68">10</reflink>]). That is, the texts are excellent 'mirrors', but there are few 'windows' (Bishop, [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref69">4</reflink>]) into the lives and experiences of peoples of other cultures.</p> <p>Is the over‐riding concern with 'relatability' a growing threat to the power of good literature to present novel perspectives, experiences and possibilities that can unsettle readers' worldviews? This is a dilemma teachers face: On the one hand, they risk alienating and losing students, who they describe as unwilling to read books that are 'old' and 'long', if they do not choose texts with 'relatable' characters, situations and experiences; on the other hand, if they use relatability as a chief criterion, then this rules out a significant body of world literature that is potentially enriching to young readers.</p> <p>In the UK context, where White British are the major ethnic group, Scorer and Vardy ([<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref70">31</reflink>]) argued for increased inclusion of the voices of what they term the 'Global Majority' in text selection, as part of efforts to promote equality and fairness. However, in Trinidad and Tobago, the Global Majority is the demographic majority. Consequently, the 'reading community' (McLean Davies', [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref71">24</reflink>]) created in local school contexts, where Caribbean texts are privileged almost to the exclusion of world literature (especially at government schools), constitutes a closed loop of experience about Caribbean life. One wonders then about the place of literature as a source of vicarious experience that aims to 'temporarily transcend distinctions of race, class or species' (Britton, [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref72">8</reflink>], p. 8) in such contexts. A challenge then is to find contemporary texts that will bridge these divides, just as Bright ([<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref73">7</reflink>]) advocated for using contemporary adolescent literature to make intertextual links to canonical works. However, unlike in the United Kingdom where English departments can adjust their reading lists to take students' interests into account, schools in Trinidad and Tobago have been temporarily (from academic year 2023–2024) prohibited from making changes to their existing text selections (MoE, [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref74">25</reflink>]). This arose because of parents' complaints about the escalating cost of school textbooks and their desire to have their older children pass down books to younger siblings.</p> <p>In some respects, the findings of this study may be interpreted as a statement about social and economic status and acquisition of cultural capital. De Lisle ([<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref75">12</reflink>]) has shown that an unintended outcome of placement of students at secondary schools in Trinidad and Tobago based on their SEA scores has been the concentration of poverty and low‐performing students in many secondary schools. The reality that English teachers at government schools experience is qualitatively different from that lived by their colleagues at government‐assisted schools primarily because of differences in students' literacy levels. As the HoDs at Schools F and J pointed out, their students struggle to read and write proficiently and are studying a subject that treats these skills as prerequisites. This raises issues of text readability (Friese et al., [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref76">16</reflink>]; Watkins & Ostenson, [<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref77">38</reflink>]) and motivation to read (James, [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref78">19</reflink>]) that are endemic to these sites. It also calls into question whether the study of literature at government secondary schools can achieve the curricula goals identified earlier.</p> <p>Finally, when one looks at the list of texts teachers selected for study, it is apparent that, even with the limitations imposed on them as described earlier, teachers at government‐assisted schools are better placed to increase their students' cultural capital. For the most part, students at these schools are exposed to a less parochial literary world than their peers at government secondary schools. Unfortunately, these contextual characteristics have significant consequences for children's literacy futures.</p> <hd id="AN0185030886-26">Conflict of interest statement</hd> <p>I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.</p> <hd id="AN0185030886-27">Data availability statement</hd> <p>The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.</p> <ref id="AN0185030886-28"> <title> Footnotes </title> <blist> <bibl id="bib1" idref="ref1" type="bt">1</bibl> <bibtext> Year 8—age 11–12; Year 9—age 12–13; and Year 10—age 13–14.</bibtext> </blist> </ref> <ref id="AN0185030886-29"> <title> References </title> <blist> <bibtext> Alsup, J. (2013) Teaching literature in an age of text complexity. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 573, pp. 181 – 184.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib2" idref="ref40" type="bt">2</bibl> <bibtext> Anderson, J. O., George, J. and Herbert, S. (2009) Factors impacting on student learning: a preliminary look at the National Test of Trinidad and Tobago. Caribbean Curriculum, 16. 2, pp. 99 – 126.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib3" idref="ref42" type="bt">3</bibl> <bibtext> Beuermann, D.W., Jackson, C.K. & Sierra, R. (2015) Privately managed public secondary schools and academic achievement in Trinidad and Tobago: evidence from rule‐based student assignments (No. IDB‐WP‐637). IDB Working Paper Series.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib4" idref="ref66" type="bt">4</bibl> <bibtext> Bishop, R. S. (1990) Mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. Perspectives: choosing and using books for the classroom, 6. 3, pp. ix ‐ xi.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib5" idref="ref54" type="bt">5</bibl> <bibtext> Blikstad‐Balas, M. and Skaug, S. (2019) Whole texts versus excerpts—which texts do Norwegian teachers choose? Nordic Journal of Literacy Research, 5. 1. https://nordicliteracy.net/index.php/njlr/article/view/1566/3374 (English translation from Norwegian).</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib6" idref="ref20" type="bt">6</bibl> <bibtext> Bliss, L. and Bacalja, A. (2020) What counts? Inclusion and diversity in the senior English curriculum. The Australian Educational Researcher, pp. 1 – 18.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib7" idref="ref73" type="bt">7</bibl> <bibtext> Bright, A. (2011) Writing Homer, reading Riordan: intertextual study in contemporary adolescent literature. Journal of Children's Literature, 37. 1, pp. 38 – 47.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib8" idref="ref72" type="bt">8</bibl> <bibtext> Britton, J. M. (2019) Vicarious narratives: a literary history of sympathy, 1750‐1850. Oxford : Oxford University Press.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib9" idref="ref16" type="bt">9</bibl> <bibtext> Common Core State Standards Initiative (2010) Common Core State Standards for English language arts and literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects. Available from: <ulink href="http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI%5fELA%20Standards.pdf">http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI%5fELA%20Standards.pdf</ulink></bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Cox, B. (1989) English for ages 5 to 16: a report of the Committee of Inquiry into the Teaching of English. Department of Education and Science. Available from: https://education‐uk.org/documents/cox1989/cox89.html#07</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2015) Secondary school curriculum. English Language Arts. Available from: https://wpuploadstorageaccount.blob.core.windows.net/corporate/2022/07/1‐SCR‐ELA‐Curriculum‐Guide‐1.pdf</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> De Lisle, J. (2022) Insights into beliefs on 11+ testing in Trinidad and Tobago through an interpretation/use argument. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 73, pp. 101141.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Denton, C. A., Hasbrouck, J. E. and Sekaquaptewa, S. (2003) The consulting teacher: a descriptive case study in responsive systems consultation. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 14. 1, pp. 41 – 73.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Farrell, L., Eadie, T., McLean Davies, L. and Sandiford, C. (2022) Literacy education for citizenship across the lifespan. The Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 45. 3, pp. 309 – 323.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Felicien, A.E. (2008) Status of literature in secondary schools of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Friese, E. E., Alvermann, D. E., Parkes, A. and Rezak, A. T. (2008) Selecting texts for English Language Arts classrooms: when assessment is not enough. English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 7. 3, pp. 74 – 99.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Glenn, W. (2008) Gossiping girls, insider boys, A‐list achievement: examining and exposing young adult novels consumed by conspicuous consumption. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 52. 1, pp. 34 – 42.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Goodwyn, A. (2010) The status of literature in a national curriculum: a case study of England. English in Australia, 45. 1, pp. 18 – 27.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> James, C. (2003) The status of literature in six types of Trinidad secondary schools: issues, implications, and recommendations. Caribbean Curriculum, 10, pp. 1 – 36.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Jogie, M. R. (2015) Desperate shadows of ' Belonging ': revealing pedagogical issues with teaching prescribed English texts in the NSW Higher School Certificate (HSC). The Australian Educational Researcher, 42. 3, pp. 335 – 352.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Kneen, J., Chapman, S., Foley, J., Kelly, L., Smith, L., Thomas, H. and Watson, A. (2022) Teaching Key Stage 3 literature: the challenges of accountability, gender and diversity. Literacy, 56. 4, pp. 371 – 385.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Little, E. and Aglinskas, K. (2022) Broadening your students' horizon: a case study of text selection in the diverse and changing world. English in Australia, 57. 1, pp. 15 – 27.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Louie, B. (2005) Development of empathetic responses with multicultural literature. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 48. 7, pp. 566 – 578.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> McLean Davies, L. (2012) Auditing subject English: a review of text selection practices inspired by the National Year of Reading. English in Australia, 47. 2, pp. 11 – 17.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Ministry of Education (2022) Matters relating to schools' book lists for next academic year‐2023/24. https://storage.moe.gov.tt/corporate/2022/09/Media‐Release‐Matters‐Relating‐to‐Schools‐Book‐Lists‐for.pdf</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Morgan, D. N. and Wagner, C. W. (2013) "What's the catch?": providing reading choice in a high school classroom. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 56. 8, pp. 659 – 667.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Ogle, K. Y., Hill, J., Santen, S. A., Gottlieb, M. and Artino, A. R., Jr. (2023) Educator's blueprint: a how‐to guide on survey administration. AEM Education and Training, 7. 5, e10906. https://doi.org/10.1002/aet2.10906.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Peel, A. (2017) Complicating canons: a critical literacy challenge to common core assessment. Literacy, 51. 2, pp. 104 – 110.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Rampersad, A., Ali, S. and Ali, N. (2020) Improving literacy in secondary school geography. Caribbean Curriculum, 27, pp. 156 – 189.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Salmona, M., Lieber, E. and Kaczynski, D. (2020) Qualitative and mixed methods data analysis using Dedoose: a practical approach for research across the social sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA : Sage.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Scorer, M. A. and Vardy, E. J. (2024) Children need to see themselves in their reading material: parental perspectives on the importance of ethnically and culturally diverse reading material. Literacy.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Skeggs, B. (2004) Exchange, value and affect: Bourdieu and 'the self'. The Sociological Review, 52. 2, pp. 75 – 95.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Sundorph, E. (2020) Missing pages: increasing racial diversity in the literature we teach. Teach First. Available from: https://<ulink href="http://www.teachfirst.org.uk/sites/default/files/2020‐09/English%20Curriculum%20Diversity%20Report..pdf">www.teachfirst.org.uk/sites/default/files/2020‐09/English%20Curriculum%20Diversity%20Report..pdf</ulink></bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> The Joint Select Committee on Human Rights, Equality and Diversity (2021) Inquiry into the right to equal access to education with specific focus on the underperformance of schools in the Port‐of Spain and Environs District with respect to performance in terminal examinations. Government of Trinidad and Tobago. Available from: https://<ulink href="http://www.ttparliament.org/wp‐content/uploads/2021/11/p12‐s2‐J‐20211112‐HRED‐R1.pdf">www.ttparliament.org/wp‐content/uploads/2021/11/p12‐s2‐J‐20211112‐HRED‐R1.pdf</ulink></bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Tobin, R. (2010) ' Descriptive case study ', in A. J. Mills, G. Durepos, E. Wiebe (Eds.) Encyclopedia of case study research. Sage, pp. 289 – 290.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> VERBI Software (2024) MAXQDA 24 [computer software]. Available from: https://<ulink href="http://www.maxqda.com/">www.maxqda.com/</ulink></bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Wade, C. A. (1999) Reader‐oriented theories and some implications for teaching imaginative literature in the Caribbean. Caribbean Curriculum, 7. 1, pp. 21 – 35.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Watkins, N. and Ostenson, J. (2015) Navigating the text selection gauntlet: exploring factors that influence English teachers' choices. English Education, 47. 3, pp. 245 – 275.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Watson, A., Kelly, L., Foley, J., Kneen, J., Chapman, S., Smith, L. and Thomas, H. (2022) Teacher agency in the selection of literary texts. English in Education, 56. 4, pp. 340 – 356.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Worrell, T. (2022) Profiles of practice: influences when selecting texts to include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in English. English in Australia, 57. 1, pp. 5 – 14.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Zhao, Q. & Marcus, M. (2012) Long‐tail distributions and unsupervised learning of morphology. Proceedings of COLING 2012. pp. 3121 – 3136. Available from: https://aclanthology.org/C12‐1191.pdf</bibtext> </blist> </ref> <aug> <p>By Krishna Seunarinesingh</p> <p>Reported by Author</p> </aug> <nolink nlid="nl1" bibid="bib11" firstref="ref2"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl2" bibid="bib19" firstref="ref3"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl3" bibid="bib15" firstref="ref4"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl4" bibid="bib37" firstref="ref5"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl5" bibid="bib24" firstref="ref6"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl6" bibid="bib31" firstref="ref7"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl7" bibid="bib16" firstref="ref8"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl8" bibid="bib20" firstref="ref10"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl9" bibid="bib38" firstref="ref11"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl10" bibid="bib40" firstref="ref12"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl11" bibid="bib39" firstref="ref13"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl12" bibid="bib28" firstref="ref14"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl13" bibid="bib21" firstref="ref23"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl14" bibid="bib26" firstref="ref29"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl15" bibid="bib22" firstref="ref31"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl16" bibid="bib14" firstref="ref32"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl17" bibid="bib33" firstref="ref33"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl18" bibid="bib10" firstref="ref34"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl19" bibid="bib23" firstref="ref36"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl20" bibid="bib17" firstref="ref37"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl21" bibid="bib29" firstref="ref41"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl22" bibid="bib13" firstref="ref43"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl23" bibid="bib35" firstref="ref44"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl24" bibid="bib27" firstref="ref46"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl25" bibid="bib36" firstref="ref47"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl26" bibid="bib30" firstref="ref48"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl27" bibid="bib34" firstref="ref50"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl28" bibid="bib41" firstref="ref51"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl29" bibid="bib18" firstref="ref52"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl30" bibid="bib32" firstref="ref65"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl31" bibid="bib25" firstref="ref74"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl32" bibid="bib12" firstref="ref75"></nolink>
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  Data: Teachers' Choices of and Experiences with Teaching English Literature Texts in Lower Secondary School Classes in Trinidad and Tobago
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  Data: English
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Krishna+Seunarinesingh%22">Krishna Seunarinesingh</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1055-9962">0000-0002-1055-9962</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Literacy%22"><i>Literacy</i></searchLink>. 2025 59(2):229-241.
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  Data: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
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  Data: 13
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  Data: 2025
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  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
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  Label: Education Level
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Secondary+Education%22">Secondary Education</searchLink>
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  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Secondary+School+Teachers%22">Secondary School Teachers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22English+Literature%22">English Literature</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Literature+Appreciation%22">Literature Appreciation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teaching+Methods%22">Teaching Methods</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22English+Teachers%22">English Teachers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Preferences%22">Preferences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Anthologies%22">Anthologies</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Reading+Material+Selection%22">Reading Material Selection</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Textbook+Selection%22">Textbook Selection</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Trinidad+and+Tobago%22">Trinidad and Tobago</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.1111/lit.12399
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  Data: 1741-4350<br />1741-4369
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  Data: 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.
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        PageCount: 13
        StartPage: 229
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Secondary School Teachers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: English Literature
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Literature Appreciation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Teaching Methods
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: English Teachers
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      – SubjectFull: Preferences
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Anthologies
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Reading Material Selection
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Textbook Selection
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Trinidad and Tobago
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: Teachers' Choices of and Experiences with Teaching English Literature Texts in Lower Secondary School Classes in Trinidad and Tobago
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