Keeping creativity in English education: A review of Creativity in the English Curriculum: Historical Perspectives and Future Directions

Abstract

This article provides a book review of Creativity in the English Curriculum: Historical Perspectives and Future Directions by Lorna Smith. Smith's work provides a robust chronology of how the concept of creativity has evolved across education policy documents since the inception of subject English in the late 19th century to its current state in England's National Curriculum. It also presents aspirational conceptions of child-centered and humanistic learning that both stem from the origins of subject English and can inform new generations of imaginative English education and research, for which educators and professionals within and adjacent to English education in England and in other national contexts can benefit.