Strong and Smart – Towards a Pedagogy for Emancipation tells the story of how Dr Chris Sarra overcame low expectations for his future to become an educator who has sought to change the tide of low expectations for other Indigenous students. The book draws upon Roy Bhaskar’s theory of Critical Realism to demonstrate how Indigenous people have agency and can take control of their own emancipation. Sarra shows that it is important for Indigenous students to have confidence in their own strength and ability to be as "able" as any other group within society. The book also compares and contrasts White perceptions of what it is to be Indigenous and Indigenous views of what it is to be an Aboriginal Australian. The book calls for Indigenous Australians to radically transform and not simply reproduce the identity that Mainstream White Australia has sought to foster for them. Here the book explores in what ways Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are "othered" by White Australians. Sarra seeks to advance the novel position that it is OK to be other to White Australia. The question becomes, "which other?" The Indigenous Student should not be treated as the Feared and/or Despised Other, nor should they be coerced into wholly assimilating into White culture.
Understanding Sociological Theory for Educational Practices introduces readers to the contemporary classroom through the lens of sociological theory. By compelling readers to think critically and reflexively this book helps future teachers create a welcoming and equitable learning environment for all students. This edition has been updated to include the latest research and resources, including links to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) to help readers connect the theory with their practice. Learning is supported through pedagogical features including key terms, case studies, end-of-chapter reflection questions and recommended resources. A new companion website features a curated suite of reading materials, extension questions and links to online resources. Understanding Sociological Theory for Educational Practices is an essential resource that enables teachers to confidently navigate the topics of diversity, disadvantage, discrimination and marginalisation in a range of educational contexts.
Changing Schools places educational and social aims at the centre of a discussion of educational change. It draws on forteen case studies to explore school change which is oriented towards social justice and democracy. In an age of global mobility, economic polarization and unprecedented environmental and cultural challenges, the education of all children and young people to higher levels has become a key issue of international policy. Educational reform in such a context requires a serious rethinking and reworking of school and classroom practices. Social justice is integral to the challenge of raising standards, since this requires removing the ongoing influence of poverty on school success. This thoughtful book presents new thinking and practice for bringing about school change, drawn from diverse contexts around the world. It distils and compares the experiences and theories-in-action of engaged teachers, school principals and academics. It seeks to challenge the dominance that human capital theories of school improvement currently hold on policy making. The authors draw on contemporary innovations in practice and theory and also long-standing traditions of alternative thinking and practice. Linking together and articulating other ways of conceiving of and implementing school change, the collection bases its findings on values of equality and global citizenship. It shows how schools can work to make different languages, knowledge, narratives, and truths integral to the mainstream curriculum, everyday pedagogy, assessment and general culture of the school. Changing Schools is directed at all who are concerned with progressive school change and the promotion of democratic citizenship and social justice. It will prove an invaluable source of inspiration for all involved in schools, including teachers, head teachers, policy makers, and those currently studying for school leadership positions.
A timely contribution to the debate on educational governance and equality, the World Yearbook of Education 2020 documents the significant changes that have occurred in the last 20 years reflecting a widespread shift from government to governance. Considering school context as well as specific school responses around the emergence of particular forms of governance, this book presents and contextualises a clear historical account of governance and accountability within schooling. Organised into three sections covering: Changing contexts of school governance; stakeholders and ‘responsibilisation’; and radical governance, carefully chosen contributors provide global insights from around the world. They consider educational outcomes and closing the inequality gap and they document radical forms of governance, at local level, which have sought to create more equitable governance, intelligent accountability and greater involvement of key stakeholders such as students. Providing a series of provocations and reminders of the possibilities that remain open to us, the World Yearbook of Education 2020 will be of interest to academics, professionals and policymakers in education and school governance, and any scholars who engage in historical studies of education and debates about educational governance and equality.
First Peoples living in remote Australia are educated in two worlds. The future of bush food enterprises in outstations in Utopia depends on the successful transfer of intergenerational knowledge. High school girls respectfully inquire about how to harvest and process important cultural materials from country. Students, senior women and young men strengthen their connections to self, kinship and culture and share responsibility to care for country. Careful collaboration with First Nations people creates opportunities to provide mathematics education which complements and is informed by the work that already exists in the local school community. Consultation with assistant teachers, students, and other community members creates opportunities to validate Indigenous pedagogies in mathematics education. Decolonising Mathematics Education explores and responds to student interest in managing and harvesting akatyerr (desert raisin). Transforming pedagogy enables the students to respond more broadly to the needs of Utopia Eastern Anmatyerr and Alyawarr people to price and sell this important bush food. Income generated from the enterprise is modest, however the skills of a small start-up business have been applied to many learning opportunities that exist in the local community.
Global interest in indigenous studies has been rapidly growing as researchers realize the importance of understanding the impact indigenous communities can have on the economy, development, education, and more. As the use, acceptance, and popularity of indigenous knowledge increases, it is crucial to explore how this community-based knowledge provides deeper insights, understanding, and influence on such things as decision making and problem solving. Indigenous Studies: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice examines the politics, culture, language, history, socio-economic development, methodologies, and contemporary experiences of indigenous peoples from around the world, as well as how contemporary issues impact these indigenous communities on a local, national, and global scale. Highlighting a range of topics such as local narratives, intergenerational cultural transfer, and ethnicity and identity, this publication is an ideal reference source for sociologists, policymakers, anthropologists, instructors, researchers, academicians, and graduate-level students in a variety of fields.
This original book is the first comprehensive integration of political theory to explain indigenous politics. It assesses the ways in which indigenous and liberal political theories interact to consider the practical policy implications of the indigenous right to self-determination. Providing opportunities for indigenous peoples to pursue culturally framed understandings of liberal democratic citizenship, the author reveals indigeneity’s concern for political relationships, agendas and ideas beyond the ethnic minority claim to liberal recognition. The implications for national reconciliation, liberal democracy, citizenship and historical constraints on political authority are explored. He also shows that indigeneity’s local geo-political focus, underpinned by global theoretical developments in law and politics, makes indigeneity a movement of forward looking transformational politics. This innovative, theoretically sophisticated and vibrant work will influence policy and scholarly debates on the politics of indigeneity and indigenous rights and will be of broad international interest to a transcultural, transnational and global phenomenon.
Educators and community-based professionals are often required to work with children and families from a range of diverse backgrounds. The second edition of this popular book goes beyond simplistic definitions of diversity, encouraging a much broader understanding and helping childhood educators and community-based professionals develop a critical disposition towards assumptions about children and childhood in relation to diversity, difference and social justice. As well as drawing on research, the book gives an overview of relevant contemporary social theories, including poststructuralism, cultural studies, critical theory, postcolonialism, critical ‘race’ theory, feminist perspectives and queer theory. It interrogates practice and explores opportunities and strategies for creating a more equitable environment, whilst covering key issues impacting on children’s lives, including: globalization, neoliberalism, new racisms, immigration, Indigeneity, refugees, homophobia, heterosexism and constructions of childhood. Each chapter provides an overview of the area of discussion, a focus on the implications for practice, and recommended readings. Providing insight into how social justice practices in childhood education and community-based service delivery can make a real difference in the lives of children, their families and communities, this is key reading for early childhood and primary educators, community-based professionals, university students and researchers. “This thoughtful, topical book addresses a considerable range of diversity issues relevant to teacher educators, their students, and other professionals who work with children and their families within and beyond Australia. Indigenous issues including language maintenance and revival have particular relevance within postcolonial nation states. Other issues of international relevance include: identities and retention of community languages, gender equity, childhood and sexuality, poverty and inequalities, and related policies. The writing is critical, scholarly, and engaging. This timely second edition draws on the authors’ longstanding teacher education experiences, and their most recent research, to revisit the challenges of diversity and difference in children’s lives”. Dr Valerie N. Podmore, former associate professor, Faculty of Education and Social Work, the University of Auckland, New Zealand “The second edition of Robinson and Jones Díaz’s Diversity and Difference in Childhood is a thoroughly welcome addition to my list of key texts for students of early childhood and childhood studies. It provides a means from the outset for educating undergraduate students from within critical postmodern and post structural perspectives – thus orienting their views of and actions within their future professions towards critical and equitable practices that value difference rather than treat is as a problem to be solved. Furthermore, for practitioners who find themselves questioning modernist constructions of children, development, difference, diversity and their work, the book provides a thorough grounding in frameworks and tools that will help them re-theorise what they are doing whilst simultaneously supporting them towards positive change.” Alexandra C. Gunn, Associate Dean (Teacher Education), University of Otago College of Education, New Zealand “This is the 21st century early childhood education text. Diversity and Difference in Childhood provides early childhood educators and scholars a powerful space for asking social justice questions in a profoundly innovative way. Diversity and difference in childhood is not a 'traditional' early childhood conversation. As the authors appropriately suggest, this book is for educators to challenge taken for granted knowledges/practices and to take “personal and professional risks for social justice”. Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw, Ph.D., Professor, School of Child and Youth Care, University of Victoria, Canada “This new edition of Diversity and Difference is both important and timely. There is a new urgency to some emerging childhood issues, including those associated with childhood sexuality, and a distinct lack of critical resources to inform the debate. This book helps fill this gap. Undertaking a major revision and incorporating new material, the authors have ensured the book’s continued relevance and renewed significance in the very dynamic context of childhood studies. The book makes an important contribution to resourcing explorations of the many difficult and complex issues associated with childhood in a globalised yet differentiated world. Readers will find the new theoretical resources and additional chapters that have been included give the book a sense of enhanced rigour and its depth and breadth of coverage make it an ideal resource for a wide variety of interests and perspectives.” Christine Woodrow, Associate Professor and Senior Researcher, the Centre for Educational Research, Western Sydney University, Australia
This book explores the experiences of early career teachers in a profession that has become highly stratified by market processes. The author presents New South Wales, Australia as a case study: a state with a long history of academically selective and private sector schooling, which has become increasingly segregated under a series of neoliberalised policy reforms since the 1980s. The experiences of teachers in this book are rich and varied, from a variety of different contexts – ranging from public schools enrolling students experiencing significant educational disadvantage to elite independent schools serving much more advantaged student cohorts. Highlighting teachers’ experiences in themselves rather than their impact on students, this timely book will be of interest and value to scholars of sociology of education, teachers’ work and education policy.
