Why We Must Inspire Students to Study English Beyond A-Level*
English feels like part of the fabric of educational life. It is a subject that has been drawing young people through schools and into universities worldwide for more than a hundred years.
But these are precarious times. A series of enrolment declines for English over the last decade in the UK look like they may have may have levelled out, but the subject has emerged smaller and more vulnerable. Trends in other countries have been more marked. In the US, more college students today major in Communications than English.
So it is a good moment to reflect on our subject, and confront some myths that might play on the minds of students and those who advise them about their choices. It is time for #EnglishCreates, led by University English, which represents university English departments throughout the UK.
English can appear a traditional, even an insular subject. Perhaps its name doesn’t help, while some of the changes to GCSEs and A-Levels in recent times have arguably made it appear less flexible and open to the world than teachers would wish.
But at universities, nothing could be further from the truth. In past decades the discipline has exploded. ‘English’ students now read literature from all over the world, and make connections with other disciplines and textual forms. Students can still study Chaucer and Austen, of course, but might also encounter graphic novels, video games, and maybe even Taylor Swift.
Most universities offer creative writing as an optional pathway through an English degree. Many provide modules that directly face the workplace: for example, digital humanities, publishing, and placement experiences. And a shift towards combined honours degrees has been a feature of past years, as students seek to curate expertise and skills that fit with their goals for the future.
So where might an English degree take a graduate? Even some students who make it to university worry that their only option will be teaching. Of course, some English graduates do become teachers: it’s a great career, and they will always be needed. But the majority go in all sorts of different directions: the cultural industries, media and publishing, the civil service, consulting, law. An English degree turns out to be a passport to nearly everywhere.
Employers value the skills that English graduates develop. Just last month, the Chief Operating Officer of global investment firm Black Rock said his company needs ‘people who majored in history, in English, and things that have nothing to do with finance or technology’. English students develop skills of creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration, among others. These are not only attractive to employers today, but are vital in helping to future-proof graduates for the flexible workplaces of tomorrow.
#EnglishCreates is a campaign produced by and for our subject community. We’re asking teachers and lecturers to download our poster for classroom walls, promote our materials on social media, get involved in campaign week events this week, and just spread the word about our vital subject. See more at the #EnglishCreates website.
* This piece, co-authored with Robert Eaglestone and Gail Marshall, was published in the TES, 3 June
Andrew McRae is Dean of Postgraduate Research and the Exeter Doctoral College and blogger on issues effecting HE and the English discipline. Read Andrew’s blog on many of the recent issues effecting HE and studying English.
