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Conflicting conservative and radical impulses in English society after WWII were played out in microcosm in education. They particularly shaped English teaching, examined in three post-war London schools in a detailed study that uses oral history-interviews with former teachers and students-and documents including mark books and students´ work.

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1. Introduction 2. The Period, the Education System, and the Teaching of English 3. Hackney Downs 4. Walworth 5. Minchenden 6. The Three Schools - What We Have Learned 7. Conclusions

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"English Teachers in a Postwar Democracy is a fascinating tale of British school reform starting in the aftermath of World War II in London, when central education authority was at its nadir. I can think of no book that better elucidates the origins of education reform in the classrooms of gifted teachers than this outstanding and invaluable work. I recommend it highly and without reservation as a must read for the entire English education community, teachers, researchers, and educational authorities alike.´ - Martin Nystrand, Louise Durham Mead Professor of English Emeritus, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, and Professor of Education Emeritus, Wisconsin Center for Education Research

"This is a rare opportunity to read about the origins of English as it is practiced in classrooms today. The authors explore the memories of English teaching with interviews of teachers of the day, some notable such as Harold Rosen and John Dixon. They also consider records of the former schools, school architecture, exercise books, and interviews with former pupils. The intricate mixture of sources lends fascinating detail to the history of English teaching in postwar democracy." - Bethan Marshall, Senior Lecturer in English Education, King´s College London, UK

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Author Georgina Brewis: Georgina Brewis is a John Adams Career Development Fellow at the Institute of Education, University of London, UK.

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