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English teachers in England and Wales are working with a "largely unchanged" drama text curriculum, as new research by Bloomsbury finds almost all A-Level texts are written by white playwrights.
The research, which was conducted through Bloomsbury’s Methuen Drama imprint, as part of its Lit in Colour Programme, revealed 90% of drama texts taught at GCSE and 96% at A-Level English Literature are written by white playwrights, under 2022 curriculum specifications. It also found the desire to study diverse drama and playwrights in schools not matched by the current texts on offer.
The survey found 93% of teachers who responded to Bloomsbury’s survey said they choose to teach a drama text to a GCSE class. Of that 93%, all teachers said they would like to see a more ethnically diverse range of writers offered by exam boards, while 65% said there was a demand from their students to study more ethnically diverse writers.
Other findings from the research show there are currently just two drama set texts by global majority writers available at A-Level English Literature. In England in 2019, 79% of GCSE English Literature candidates answered an exam question on a drama text. Of those 349,337 students (65%) answered a question on An Inspector Calls by white playwright J B Priestley, while 0% of students answered an exam question on a play by a global majority writer.
The 2019 assessment data was used in the research as the most reliable data, as Covid-19 interrupted live exams data and 2022 data is just being published.
Teachers who were polled in the research said they required recordings of performances, model student answers to exam questions and resources on social and cultural context in order to teach drama set texts effectively. Among them, 66% of respondents said they would like more support to teach texts that tackle issues relating to race or ethnicity. With the right support and resources in place, 84% of respondents said they would be likely to choose a new drama text for GCSE English Literature.
In feedback, teachers reported they have more freedom at Key Stage 3 to choose diverse texts, as the curriculum is not limited by exam specifications. Across the board, they felt there needs to be opportunity for playwrights to talk about their work and context, and for schools and teachers to engage with playwrights directly.
Margaret Bartley, editorial director for Literary Drama at Bloomsbury, commented: “The landscape of teaching drama in English schools has remained largely unchanged. Our research shows that there is real appetite for change and that publishers, theatre makers, examiners and teachers need to work together to deliver change to the curriculum.
"If we empower teachers to switch texts with confidence, students can continue to benefit from the positive impact and influence of studying plays. In the future, those plays will better reflect the student cohort and ensure students see themselves represented in the texts they study. Bloomsbury is committed to playing our part in delivering this change through our proactive programme of new play text publishing, supported by the resources teachers and students need to study and enjoy them.”
The online survey, carried out in June 2022, targeted teachers of GCSE English Literature in England and Wales. Of the 141 respondents, 16.3% identified as Black, Asian or of a multiple ethnic background, compared to 10.4% of teachers in England. Interviews were conducted with a sample of four teachers, selected either because they were taking part in the Lit in Colour Pioneer Pilot programme, ran in partnership with Pearson Edexcel, or because they had responded to the survey and agreed to take part.
As a response to the teacher research, Bloomsbury, the National Theatre and Open Drama UK hosted a roundtable discussion with stakeholders from publishers, awarding bodies, theatre organisations, and practitioners, authors and playwrights to discuss how the drama and theatre community could support schools with the teaching of diverse drama texts.
The report draws on research from multiple sources, including a quantitative online survey, interviews, roundtable discussion and desk research. Participation was entirely voluntary. The research was carried out by independent research company Oriel Square and supported by Insightful Research.
Efforts are being made by all five major awarding bodies in England and Wales to diversify the set texts within both GCSE and A-Level specifications for English and Drama. By 2025, English Literature students in England and Wales will have the option to choose from 10 new modern play texts by writers of colour at GCSE and A-Level.
Launched in 2020 by Penguin Books UK, alongside race equality think tank The Runnymede Trust, the Lit in Colour campaign aims to support UK schools in diversifying the teaching of English and to increase students’ access to texts by writers of colour and from minority ethnic backgrounds.
The Methuen Drama imprint’s aim is to introduce new plays to the curriculum, offering students access to more diverse, representative and inclusive work.