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The Conversation
The Conversation
Alex Bacalja, Senior Lecturer, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne

'Nostalgic' classics, or edgy contemporary texts? What books are kids reading in Australian schools – and does it matter?

SS Australia United States Charles Dickens Pexels
Rodnae Productions/Pexels, CC BY

Debates about what books students should be reading in high school reach a crescendo at the start of each school year.

As parents make their way through school text lists, collecting books for their teen’s year ahead, they inevitably draw comparisons between their own school reading and the literature selected for their children by teachers, schools and mandated curriculum.

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