Join us for the launch of Simon Gibbons' new book Harold Rosen and English in Education and the Language Arts on 15 January 2025.

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 worldwide.

Drawing on extensive research, including previously unpublished writings and interviews with Rosen’s colleagues, Gibbons meticulously charts Rosen’s multifaceted impact: his development of a new model for English teaching; his pioneering work on language, class and culture; his innovative approaches to narrative in education; and his advocacy for teacher agency.

The book illuminates how Rosen’s work at the London Institute of Education, alongside colleagues James Britton and Nancy Martin, fundamentally reshaped understanding of language across the curriculum while maintaining an unwavering commitment to educational equity. Gibbons makes a compelling case for the contemporary relevance and necessary rediscovery of Rosen’s educational philosophy.

This volume serves as an essential resource for student teachers, practicing educators and academics in English and language arts while also offering valuable insights to educators across disciplines interested in language’s role in learning. By reconnecting readers with Rosen’s enduring legacy, the book provides both historical perspective and practical guidance for addressing current educational challenges.

Meet the author

Dr Simon Gibbons is Reader in English Education Director of Teacher Education at the School of Education, Communication and Society at King's College London. His research interests concern the history of school English pedagogy and practice, and the importance of teacher professionalism and collaboration in the development of effective classroom practice in the subject.

Meet the panelists

Michael Rosen is a children's author, poet, playwright, columnist and teacher. He has written over 200 books for children and adults, and continues to deliver talks, workshop and performances across the UK. Michael is the son of Harold Rosen, who the book is about.

Andy Goodwyn has a strong research and international publication record in the field of English in Education which is well established, and has many valuable professional connections around the world.  As symbolic President of the International Federation for the Teaching of English, he has networks of colleagues around the world and has been lead editor on the five published IFTE volumes for Routledge.  he is series editor of Key Thinkers in English in Education and the Language Arts.  He is a former Chair of NATE. He is currently Emeritus Professor at The University of Reading where he was PGCE English course leader for 20 years and Head of the Institute of Education.

In 1973, John Hardcastle enrolled on the PGCE course in English at the Institute of Education (IoE), University of London. Hardcastle went on to teach English at Hackney Downs Comprehensive School in East London, where he continued his association with the IoE, partly through personal contact with Rosen. In the mid-eighties, he worked as an Advisory Teacher in the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA), supporting English teachers and developing his interest in learning in socially, linguistically and culturally diverse settings.

Hardcastle was a regular contributor to a long-running series of seminars, set up by Rosen: ‘Language in the Inner City.’ He was also instrumental in setting up a sixth-form summer school in African and Caribbean Literature to which Rosen contributed. In 1983, he visited the United States with Rosen in in pursuit of curriculum critique and reform.

In 2006, Hardcastle led a Leverhulme funded project, Social Change and English: A Study of Three English Departments, 1945-65, the starting point of which was the Walworth School, where had Rosen inspired an innovative group of young English tecahers. With Peter Medway, who had taught English at Walworth, and knew Rosen personally, Hardcastle interviewed Rosen on three separate occasions and co-wrote the article, “In his own words: Harold Rosen on his formative years with speculations on working-class language’ (2009).

Run of events

17:45 - Guest arrival
18:00 - Event start
18:45 - Q&A
19:15-onwards - Reception

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