Critical literacy, genre and the National Curriculum dilemma

At one time or another most of us have probably been involved in processes we dislike whose outcomes we fear simply to subvert what we assume to be someone else’s agenda. We become involved, for example, in national curriculum planning because we believe we might be able to alter outcomes for the better. We might even believe we can subvert attempts to reinforce cultural norms in the name of ‘standards’ by ensuring that ‘access’ includes access to the ‘genres of power’. If, however, there is no direct relationship between stylistic control and access for marginalised groups to real power, if current approaches to ‘genre literacy’ actually tend to reinforce traditional pedagogical practices and even, in doing so, threaten to reconstitute the cultural deficit model our participation may actually reinforce the agendas we seek to subvert. Is there a possible, positive response to this sort of dilemma? It is argued here that in seeking a healthy fusion of power, applied linguistics is in a position to discover the appropriate response.