Literature in the Australian English Curriculum: Victorian primary school teachers' practices, challenges and preparedness to teach

The introduction of the Literature strand within the Australian Curriculum requires all teachers to engage students in print and digital literature that embrace the cross-curriculum priorities and support students to examine, evaluate, and discuss literary texts. However, such curriculum change assumes that primary school teachers who have often not studied literature as a specific method, have the confidence and content and pedagogical knowledge to plan and implement programs. This paper investigates teachers’ views of their level of confidence and preparedness to teach literature, and to explore teachers’ practices, challenges and enablers in teaching literature in both print and digital environments. Results show that this group of 321 primary school teachers reported varying levels of confidence, knowledge and practices, and offers new insights into complex challenges they’ve experienced when interpreting and enacting the literature curriculum. Findings suggest the critical need for professional learning and discuss the implications for initial-teacher education programs.