1st Edition

Harold Rosen and English in Education and the Language Arts

By Simon Gibbons Copyright 2026
176 Pages
by Routledge

176 Pages
by Routledge

176 Pages
by Routledge

Simon Gibbons embarks on a detailed and groundbreaking study in this book, examining the profound influence of Harold Rosen, a pivotal figure who transformed English education in the latter half of the twentieth century. Gibbons offers the first comprehensive analysis of Rosen’s revolutionary contributions to progressive English teaching methodologies that continue to resonate in classrooms... Read more

Chapter 1. Introduction

Chapter 2. Harold Rosen and the Rise of the New English

Chapter 3. Harold Rosen: Class and Cultures

Chapter 4. Harold Rosen: Language and Learning across the Curriculum

Chapter 5. The Importance of Story, Narrative, Autobiography and Memory

Chapter 6. Harold Rosen: Activist and Advocate for Teacher Agency

Chapter 7. The Enduring Importance of Harold Rosen’s Work

Biography

Simon Gibbons is Reader in English Education at King’s College London, where he is Director of Teacher Education. As a teacher and researcher, he has published extensively on the development of English as a school subject for over 30 years.

Simon Gibbons has done a detailed, wide-ranging analysis of Harold, my father's, work. The book has enthused me with the will to join the dots between what I knew and what I only knew of by name. As a father, he was a hugely knowledgeable, funny, relentlessly questioning figure, jumping between earthy observation and scholarly viewpoints. This book matches my personal view in that it shows us Harold weaving his way between the concerns of the classroom teacher, the culture and language of school students and the downward pressure from those in charge of education. I'm both grateful for, and in awe of how Simon has synthesised all this into a coherent, accessible survey of Harold's life-work.

 - Michael Rosen

 

Simon Gibbons has composed an authoritative account of and personal tribute to the work of one of the most influential thinkers, writers and activists in the world of English teaching and language and learning in the second half of the 20th century. Harold Rosen’s intellectual legacy is as relevant now as his words and acts were ground-breaking in his lifetime; and, in the current context of the politics of education, yet more sorely needed.

 - John Richmond, Editor