Join us to explore how English literature teaching can foster reflection, inclusivity, and student engagement in diverse post-16 classrooms

Are you an English teacher, examiner, or educator interested in ideas of empathy, diversity, and inclusivity?

Do you wonder how we can help students develop confidence as readers, create space for reflection and different perspectives, and make English literature teaching more inclusive and supportive -- particularly for students who may not always see themselves reflected in the classroom?

Join us for an Education Symposium, where researchers from the Empathy, Narrative and Cultural Values (ENCV) project will be sharing findings from the three-year AHRC-funded work, led by the University of Birmingham and University of Exeter in partnership with Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College.

Working closely with students from diverse and BAME backgrounds, the project has explored how cultural values, personal experience and identity shape the ways young people read, interpret and connect with literature.

We will share key findings, student insights and practical approaches developed through three years of research and classroom engagement, offering new ways of thinking about empathy, reflection and inclusivity in English literature teaching.

The symposium will also feature a pilot run of the ENCV Education toolkit, a ready-to-use set of resources designed to support reflective and inclusive literature teaching. These will allow attendees to:

Discover reflective reading methods, including Unseen Reflection and Perspective Shift exercises.

Explore story exchange activities and student journal entry insights.

Gain practical, adaptable strategies for English literature classrooms.

Facilitate the shift from GCSE to A Level, as well as fostering a supportive examination resit space for students.

This event is ideal for English teachers, examinders, curriculum leaders, educators and researchers. It will be of interest to educators of both post-16 students and any key stage.

Come along to discover practical, adaptable approaches that can be taken directly into your classroom!

Refreshments will be provided.

Description supplied by the event organiser.