Focusing primarily on how curriculum theory and assessment directly impact upon learning, this study explores learners’ lived experiences of studying GCSE English at a Further Education (FE) college in London. The aim of this smallscale research is to deepen understanding of why disengagement with formal modes of the study of English language is so prevalent among learners in FE. It also analyses whether student engagement in English language learning can be increased by introducing more socially-situated literacies into vocational learning and language development activities. This approach to exploring how students respond to the dis-connect between socially-situated literacies and functional literacies is informed by Gadamer’s ‘Fusion of Horizons’ [3]. Subsequently, my interest in Gadamer’s work leads me to the respective works of Zimmerman [4], Freire [2] and Bernstein [1].

Author: Mark Hyde

Published in: Ireland International Conference on Education (IICE-2023)

• Date of Conference: 11-13 April 2023
• DOI: 10.20533/IICE.2023.0024
• ISBN: 978-1-913572-51-8
• Conference Location: Dún Laoghaire, Ireland