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In this paper, we examine the educative significance of YouTube as a space of self-expression for transgender and non-binary youth without being hindered by pervasive cisnormative and cisgenderist ...

This study investigates the Alternative Certification Program (ACP) students’ motivations to become teachers. Fit-Choice Scale is used. Sample of the study consists of 248 participants in three groups i.e. Health, Sports and Mathematics. Descriptive and inferential statistics, and content analysis are used to examine ACP students’ reasons to want to become teachers, and to investigate differences regarding their primary career choices, age and gender. The results showed that social, intrinsic career and personal utility values are the highly rated motivation factors. Teaching is perceived as a highly skillful occupation and a high status profession by the ACP students. Relationships between ACP students’ motivations and perceptions with their primary career choices, age and gender are identified. Health group had higher motivation for time for family, and Sports group had higher motivation for ability and job security. Mathematics group’s motivation for job transferability, perception scores of salary and social status of teaching profession and career choice satisfaction were lower than the other groups. Yet their perception scores of difficulty was higher than the others. ACP students older than the mean age of 26 had higher scores of self-perceptions of ability, intrinsic career value, job transferability and work with children factors than their young classmates. Significant differences are observed between male and female participants’ motivation of having time for family. Together with contrasting findings and particular similarities with the previous research, these relationships are used to conclude that ACP students themselves have different motivation patterns. Influence of sample characteristics and contextual features are also acknowledged.

Examining the voices of English teachers regarding the extent to which Australian high schools are providing inclusive environments, this paper aims to generate deeper understandings about countering cisnormativity and heteronormativity. Drawing on a qualitative study conducted in Western Australia, the theoretical framework meshes the lenses of Bakhtin (1981) and Foucault (1995) to create an emergent model, integrating concepts such as the panoptic surveillance, dialogic utterances and heteroglossic language. Results reveal how teacher discourses concerning the provision of LGBTQI curriculum and resources, link to networks of power, and are imbued with a multiplicity of patterns, tensions and contradictions.

This special edition addresses an emerging and vital field of scholarship, which deals with transgender and gender expansive informed education, policy and practice. It is timely and pertinent, especially given that the need to address gender justice in the education system, and specifically transphobia, has been identified as a significant human rights issue, which requires urgent intervention...

In this paper, our purpose is to investigate policy informing texts and discourses referencing transgender equality and gender diversity in the Western Australian education system. Drawing on schol...

In this paper, we draw on conversations with two English teachers in an Australian government speciality arts focused school to investigate possibilities for envisaging trans-affirmative and queer pedagogies in the classroom. It draws from two studies that are concerned to investigate how gender and sexually diverse students are being supported in the education system. Our study employs queer and trans-informed epistemological insights into the pedagogical limits of heternormativity and cisgenderism in high schools. The data involved engaging with teachers who responded to a range of multi-literacy resources that addressed the politics of queer and trans representation, recognition and visibility in their classrooms. We tease out several themes which pertain to the institutionalisation of heteronormativity and cisgenderism, and how it is entwined with neoliberal governance in one particular case study school. Our purpose is to illustrate how this gender and sexuality politics works in tandem with a particular manifestation of neoliberal governance in the public education system, and plays into a specific policy discourse with particular consequences for schools, students and teachers in terms of impression management and its calculative and performative effects.

Current policies guiding literacy and teacher professional learning in Australia, tend to foreground the importance of standardised practice and assessment in classrooms and schools. However, enactments of print-oriented literacy and professional learning in alignment with this emphasis stand in contradiction with contemporary approaches, which implicate consideration of diversity and contextual relevance. This paper positions teacher problematisation and negotiation of this contradiction as key for broadening literacy learning horizons. Incorporating multiliteracies, Cultural Historical Activity Theory and sociocritical perspectives on policy and professional learning, the authors propose a multidimensional framework for exploring and supporting dynamic and conflictually sensitive teacher learning processes. Such visioning is important if teachers, school leaders, pre-service educators and researchers are to enable learners with adaptable literacy repertoires with relevance to rapidly evolving twenty first century communications and social interactions.

Discrimination against LGBT1 individuals remains widespread across Australia. Since schools continue to promote regimes of heterosexuality and cis-normativity, teachers have a crucial role in creating contexts in which LGBT young people feel accepted and safe. Drawing on North's (2006) work on social justice and Connell's (2012) discussion of curricular justice, this article explores opportunities and constraints experienced by a group of English secondary teachers attempting to practise in socially just ways. Results indicate that through the English curriculum, it is possible for teachers to find moments to achieve social justice for LGBT individuals.

Theoretical approaches to agency Informed by international scholarship, theoretical approaches in Australian childhood studies have increasingly highlighted the role of children’s agency for learning and development. Moreover,...

Agentive experiences of young people Aligned with a body of international research, Australian youth studies have taken a theoretical turn, highlighting diverse and holistic conceptions of agency that involve young people shaping...

In this article, we deal with the politics of gender embodiment and the significance of queer sociological and transgender theoretical perspectives for reflecting on the pedagogical implications of employing texts such as “My princess boy” to address questions pertaining to the livability and recognizability of differently gendered identities in the elementary school context. We draw specifically on the theoretical work of Judith Butler and Deborah Britzman to examine important questions related to the pedagogical implications for one male teacher in terms of what counts as a viable, recognizable, and legitimate gendered identity. Through adopting a case study approach, our purpose is to unravel and unpack the politics of gender embodiment, especially in terms of addressing the thinkability and admissibility of gender variant and transgender personhood in the elementary school classroom and what this might entail with regard to deploying reading practices as sites of identificatory possibilities or not.

This paper is based on research that is concerned to provide insight into the pedagogical potential for interrupting heteronormativity and addressing the politics of gender expression/embodiment in the elementary school classroom. It is informed by an engagement with queer and trans theoretical literature that raises questions about restrictive social systems governing thought regarding gendered and sexual regulatory norms. The focus is on examining pedagogical matters related to both interrupting heteronormativity and addressing what comes to be recognized as a viable gendered personhood through employing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ)-themed texts in schools. The paper concentrates on investigating the insights of one queer-identifying elementary school teacher as she reflects on the pedagogical potential of deploying literacy resources for discussing themes such as same-sex families and relationships, and transgendered and gender diverse subjectivities in the classroom. The ...

In this paper, we investigate primary school teachers’ reflections on addressing the topic of same-sex families and relationships in their classrooms. Informed by queer theoretical and Foucauldian analytic approaches, we examine teachers’ potential use of texts, such as picture storybooks, which introduce representations of same-sex relationships and desire. By employing a case-study approach, our aim is to provide insights into the pedagogical decisions and the heteronormative conditions under which three teachers in the Australian context attempt to deal with the topic of same-sex families/relationships. Attention is drawn to the regulatory surveillance of the parental gaze and the silencing and marginalization of sexual identity issues in order to illuminate the ways in which the micro politics of teaching about queer families and relationships are inextricably linked to broader macro processes governing the institutionalizing influences of heteronormativity, heterosexism and homonegativity. Implicatio...

PurposeWith particular reference to insider/outsider qualitative research, the purpose of this paper is to present new understandings about the concepts of literacy and reflexivity, which go against the grain of technical approaches currently privileged under neo‐liberal education systems.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws on theoretical considerations and empirical data from a qualitative study in literacy education to examine the concept of researcher reflexivity. With multiple methods such as focus groups, on‐line discussions, shared literacy experiences, and researcher's reflections, the qualitative approach was appropriate to unveil thick descriptions of phenomena.FindingsInformation from the literature, theoretical framework and transcript analysis is synthesized to present an innovative way of approaching reflexivity in qualitative research, to acknowledge: theory, power, discomfort; and personal, historical, political and sociocultural influences.Research limitations/implicationsGiven the small number of participants involved in the case study, results are not representative of the general population.Practical ImplicationsDeepening researchers’ approaches to reflexivity can lead to cross‐disciplinary collaboration in professional fields such as teaching, engineering and nursing.Originality/valueAn innovative approach to reflexivity, particularly after the completion of a study, can rupture the comfortableness of qualitative researchers’ reflexive processes. A rigorous concept of reflexivity can be useful to scaffold pre‐service teachers during professional internships in schools.

Aiming to extend sociocultural theory about the teaching and learning of literacies, this article reports on data from a qualitative study underpinned by a sociocultural framework (Rogoff, 1990; Vygotsky, 1986). Conducted in an Australian university community, the project tracked a group of pre-service teachers engaging in scaffolded literacy events, such as face-to-face and on-line discussions and shared reading experiences with children. Highlighting the importance of examining the teaching and learning of literacies across formal and informal settings, results offer information about how these pre-service teachers constructed understandings and situated identities (Gee, 1990, 2000-2001) through scaffolding. Pedagogical implications for pre-service teacher education are discussed., L’objectif de cet article est d’élargir la portée de la théorie socioculturelle de l’enseignement et de l’apprentissage de la littératie. Il fait le compte-rendu des données tirées d’une étude qualitative étayée dans un cadre socioculturel (Rogoff, 1990; Vygotsky, 1986). Pilotée par une communauté universitaire d’Australie, ce projet a suivi un groupe de futurs enseignants participant à des événements de soutien à l’apprentissage de la littératie, telles que des discussions face à face et en ligne ainsi que des expériences de lecture partagée avec des enfants. Soulignant l’importance d’analyser l’enseignement et l’apprentissage de la littératie dans des contextes formels et informels, les résultats présentent des informations sur la manière dont les futurs enseignants élaborent leur compréhension et situent leur identité professionnelle (Gee, 1990, 2000-2001) à l’aide du soutien à l’apprentissage. Les implications pédagogiques pour la formation des futurs enseignants sont exposées.

This paper reports findings of a project titled Engineering Education for Social and Environmental Justice (EESEJ), which was funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council. A multidisciplinary research team engaged in a range of activities, such as designing and implementing critical problem solving in undergraduate engineering courses and undertaking collaborative writing. Drawing on the writing journeys of a group of authors in the project, this paper utilizes a multi-dimensional theoretical lens to contribute to discussions for developing socially just engineering education and practice. To illustrate these developmental journeys, the analysis applies Green’s [ 1] elaborations about adult learners being scaffolded into new spaces; these spaces are explicated with Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development [2], capability theory [3, 4] and the framework of multiliteracies [5]. Data from semi-structured interviews and one co-author’s reflections emphasised the concept of co-creation as writing team members scaffolded knowledge. Results highlight the dynamic, recursive and transformative nature of cross-disciplinary learning, which dissipates the dichotomy between experts and novices. The multi-dimensional theoretical lens, which acknowledges the complexity of learning on technical, cognitive and sociocultural levels, can be useful for re-invigorating engineering education and practice for the twenty-first century. Whilst the focus of this paper is limited to the writing journeys of a group of EESEJ participants in authentic professional and informal settings, the interweaving of action, reflection, dependence, independence, rationality and emotion is relevant for the broader spectrum of adult learning. To reinvigorate tertiary curricula and graduate development, highlighting these learning principles may facilitate a reframing of engineering for social and environmental justice, which embraces collaboration, synthesis and reflection from within, and outside the profession [6].

In this article we draw on queer theoretical and critical literacy perspectives to investigate elementary school teachers' pedagogical approaches to addressing same- sex parenting and non-normative sexuality in the elementary classroom. Through undertaking case study research, we examine two Australian elementary school teachers' reflections on using literacy resources in their classrooms which include representations of same-sex families/relationships. Our overall aim in reporting on this study is to provide further insight into the pedagogical potential for interrupting heteronormativity in the elementary school classroom and within the broader context of English education. Implications of the research for pre-service teacher education and for the professional learning of teachers more generally are outlined.

Aiming to elucidate the relationship between social capital and intergenerational practice within mentoring, this article presents data from a case study of the School Volunteer Program in Western Australia. Drawing on situated learning theory and the concept of community of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998; Wenger, McDermott, & Snyder, 2002), the discussion examines benefits and limitations of intergenerational practice. Results acknowledge the potential for intergenerational practice to build social capital for both mentees and mentors. However, further research is required to examine mentoring in school-based communities of practice where complex issues of power (see Bourdieu, 1985) may empower or restrict student voices., Avec pour objectif de clarifier les relations existant entre le capital social et les pratiques intergénérationnelles lors de mentorat, cet article présente les données tirées d’une étude de cas pilotée par le School Volunteer Program en Australie occidentale. S’inspirant de la théorie d’apprentissage situationnel et du concept de communauté de pratique (Lave et Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998; Wenger, McDermott et Snyder, 2002), les auteurs font l’examen des bénéfices et des limites des pratiques intergénérationnelles. Les résultats reconnaissent le potentiel des pratiques intergénérationnelles comme générateur de capital social à la fois pour les protégés et les mentors. Cependant, les auteurs suggèrent que de plus amples recherches soient effectuées pour analyser le mentorat dans le cadre de communautés de pratique en milieu scolaire où des problématiques complexes de pouvoir (voir Bourdieu, 1985) peuvent favoriser ou restreindre les voix étudiantes.

This paper explores the concept of intergenerational exchange as a vehicle for community building in Australia. Drawing on document analysis, focus groups, and in-depth study of four intergenerational programs, the research examines the benefits and constraints of intergenerational exchange and the relationship between intergenerational programs and their potential to foster resilience, enhance social connection, and build individual and community capacity. Findings reveal that in intended and unanticipated ways, young and older Australians benefit from intergenerational exchange. The multidimensional nature of intergenerational exchange promotes broad social networks and a means for developing substantive relationships between the young and other community members.

Teachers have a central role in developing new learning models in schools. This paper describes a study that explored teachers’ confidence and competence in using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as they participated in an ICT development project conducted by an Australian education system in 12 primary schools. The project aimed to develop ICT integrated teaching practices by providing in‐class equipment and teacher professional development in ICT use, curriculum development and teaching strategies. The study used qualitative data from teacher records of Professional Development and Action Learning to identify three of four stages proposed to describe teachers’ ICT learning. Teachers moved from gaining basic ICT skills, to conducting ICT‐focused lessons and eventually appropriate ICT integration. Teachers who progressed to the third stage were able to exploit additional learning opportunities and begin to make fundamental changes to their pedagogy, but needed more time to reach the final stage of challenging existing pedagogical structures.

The need to diversify digital communications for a global twenty-first century has prompted many theorists to reimagine literacy teaching and learning. Although the new Australian curriculum acknowledges multimodality and multimodal texts, professional learning continues to privilege print-focused literacy. Utilizing a multiliteracies’ and community of practice framework, this study scaffolded seven primary school teachers in critical and collaborative professional learning. A case study explored the teachers’ evolving perspectives and knowledge work during monthly meetings in a multiliteracies book club. Drawing on a qualitative approach, this paper focuses on how the teachers, who were based in regional Western Australia, problematized conceptual and contextual issues. More broadly, the discussion highlights how the teachers perceived and (re)negotiated contradictory constructions of literacy and professional learning. Findings suggest that generating scaffolded spaces for-and-with teachers is important for innovation in professional literacy learning.

Recently, neoconservative media reporting, as well as Commonwealth initiatives, such as the Draft Australian Curriculum for English (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (2010). Australian curriculum. Retrieved September 29, 2010, from http://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum.html), has resurrected pedagogical battles surrounding the teaching and learning of literacy. Influenced by the increasing popularity of national standardized testing, public debate about literacy for Australian classrooms has focussed on comparing academic results across schools to alleviate a ‘crisis’ in student achievement. Despite a complex new millennium characterized by multiliteracies (The New London Group, Multiliteracies: Literacy learning and the design of social futures, 2000), neoconservative perspectives have encouraged a reductionist approach to literacy teacher education that emphasizes teaching reading through phonics. As a teacher educator concerned by pressures to normalize the teaching and learning of literacy, I draw on qualitative research to reflect on pedagogy for engaging with literacy in ways that promote critical enquiry and social justice (see Giroux, The terror of neoliberalism: Authoritarianism and the eclipse of Democracy, 2004).

Celebrating and responding equitably to diversity have become increasingly essential for teachers’ work in the new millennium, which is characterized by shifting local and global communities. Aiming to broaden conceptions of teacher education within a predominantly ‘back to basics’ literacy environment, this article draws on selected results from a qualitative study underpinned by the metaphor of communities of practice (Wenger, 1998; Wenger et al., 2002). Conducted in Western Australia, the project involved a small group of pre-service teachers using a pedagogy of ‘Multiliteracies’ (The New London Group, 2000) in face-to-face and on-line settings to construct understandings about literacy learning and teaching. This article focuses on one pre-service teacher, who engaged with multiple discources and communities of practice on the journey of becoming a professional teacher. Conclusions call for a re-conceptualization of teaching communities and sustainable innovation across teaching education to encourage critical and socially just literacy.

In this qualitative study, that took place in a coeducational government school in Western Australia, I adopt a social ‐ constructivist perspective of learning (Rogoff, 1990; Vygotsky, 1986) to examine reading in an elementary classroom. The focus of this article is Nicholas, a grade ‐ 7 boy, who was identified as challenged by the literacy curriculum. The analysis utilizes a multiliteracies framework (The New London Group, 2000) and the four resources reading model (Luke & Freebody, 1999) to interpret Nicholas’ progress during reading circles. Results suggest that multiliteracies, which interweave scaffolding, diverse texts, and meaningful tasks, can encourage agency for student learning. Key words: literacy identity, scaffolding, reading, pedagogy of multiliteracies, reading resources model, socio ‐ economically disadvantaged students, school literacy ‐ assessment Dans cette etude quantitative, qui a ete menee dans une ecole gouvernementale mixte en Australie ‐ Occidentale, l’auteure adopte un point de vue socioconstructiviste sur l’apprentissage (Rogoff, 1990 ; Vygotsky, 1986) en vue d’analyser l’aptitude a la lecture dans une classe du primaire. L’article porte essentiellement sur Nicholas, un garcon de 7e annee, aux prises avec des difficultes par rapport au programme de litteratie. L’analyse fait appel a un cadre de multilitteraties (The New London Group, 2000) et a un modele de lecture axe sur quatre ressources (Luke & Freebody, 1999) en vue d’interpreter les progres de Nicholas au cours des cercles de lecture. Les resultats donnent a penser que les multilitteraties, qui combinent soutien a l’apprentissage, textes divers et tâches interessantes, peuvent encourager les eleves a apprendre. Mots cles : litteratie, soutien a l’apprentissage, lecture, pedagogie des multilitteraties, eleves defavorises, evaluation de la litteratie a l’ecole

Cet article examine le phenomene actuel du decrochage scolaire qui a des repercussions serieuses pour le systeme scolaire quebecois. Une recherche-action a ete menee aupres des decideurs, des intervenants scolaires, des eleves et des parents dans quatre ecoles secondaries situees en milieu socio-economiquement faible sur l’ile de Montreal. Une analyse qualitative des donnees recueillies evalue l’impact de la mesure “technicien en assistance sociale” et suscite des interrogations afin d’ameliorer sa mise en oeuvre. Les resultants corroborent certaines conclusions d’autres etudes portant sur le decrochage et l’echec scolaire. This article looks at the current phenomenon of dropping out, which has serious repercussions for the Quebec school system. We conducted an action research project with policy makers, educational personnel (including principals, teachers, psychologists, and social service workers), students, and parents in four secondary schools in low socioeconomic areas on the island of Montreal. Our qualitative analysis of the data evaluates the impact of the “social service worker” initiative, and gives rise to questions aimed at improving its implementation. Our results corroborate certain conclusions from other studies of dropping out and academic failure.

La présente recherche examine, sous les aspects à la fois administratif et sociologique, la cohérence entre les pratiques pédagogiques et les discours idéologiques vis-à-vis de l'adaptation de l'institution scolaire québécoise à la pluriethnicité. Deux études de cas comparent les perceptions des acteurs impliqués dans le réseau scolaire aux discours officiels véhiculés par la société ambiante. Une analyse qualitative juxtapose les données recueillies dans une commission scolaire située sur l'île de Montréal aux discours publiés dans les documents officiels. Enfin, la création d'un paradigme synthétique basé sur la notion de culture organisationnelle permet de tirer certaines conclusions concernant le rapport entre l'école francophone publique et les systèmes sociostructurel et culturel de l'environnement externe., Within both an administrative and sociological viewpoint, this research examines the level of coherence between pedagogical practices and ideological discourse related to how Québec educational institutions adapt to the presence of pluriethnic society. Two case studies were used to compare the perceptions of individuals involved in the school to those perceptions transmitted through official documents representing social policies. A qualitative analysis was used to compare the data obtained form a Montréal Island school board with that of official public documents. Finally the authors propose a synthetic paradigm based on the concept of organizational culture which is then used to develop a number of conclusions regarding the relationship between French public schools and the socio-structural and cultural systems of the environment., Bajo el angulo, a la vez, administrativo y sociologico, este estudio examina la coherencia entre las practicas pedagogicas y los discursos ideologicos, y la adaptacion de la institucion escolar quebequense ante la plurietnicidad. Dos estudios de casos comparan las percepciones de los actores implicados en el sector escolar con los discursos oficiales vehiculados por la sociedad ambiente. Un anàlisis cualitativo yuxtapone los datos obtenidos en una comision escolar situada en la isla de Montréal a los discursos publicados en los documentos oficiales. Enfin, la creacion de un paradigma sintético basado en la nocion de cultura organizacional permite sacar ciertas conclusiones respecto a la relacion entre la escuela francofona pûblica y los sistemas sociocultural y cultural del ambiente externe, Aus einer zugleich verwaltungstechnischen und soziologischen Sicht untersucht dièse Arbeit die Kohârenz zwischen der pâdagogischen Praxis und den ideologischen Reden beziiglich der Anpassung des Québecker Schulwesens an die ethnische Vielfâltigkeit der Bevôlkerung. Zwei Einzeilstudien vergleichen die Sehweisen der im Schulsystem wirkenden Personen mit den von der Umwelt propagierten offiziellen Reden. Eine qualitative Analyse stellt die in einem Montréaler Schuldistrikt gesammelten Daten den in den offiziellen Schriften verôffentlichten Texten gegeniiber. Schliesslich erlaubt die Erstellung eines synthetischen, auf dem Begriff einer organisatorisch aufgebauten Kultur begrundeten Paradigmas, gewisse Folgerungen zu ziehen im Hinblick auf das Verhâltnis zwischen der franzôsisch-sprachigen offentlichen Schule und den soziokulturellen und kulturellen Systemen der Umwelt.

This paper is drawn from a mixed methods study, which examined the leadership practices of teachers in the Level Three Classroom Teachers program in Western Australia. Three archetypal characters, the Torch Bearer, Weary Juggler, and Heckler, are used to represent the diverse leadership experiences of these “expert” teachers and the extent to which they embraced or resisted policy constructions of teacher leadership. Narrative analysis and the construction of these representations provided the means of inserting teachers’ voices and problematizing dominant discourses on teacher leadership in a way that invites policymakers to reconsider the larger narrative of teacher leadership, along with the personal dimension of leadership work., Cet article présente des données recueillies grâce à une variété de méthodes dans le cadre d’une recherche explorant les pratiques de leadership d’enseignants oeuvrant en classes Level Three, en Australie occidentale. Trois archétypes sont utilisés pour représenter les différentes expériences de leadership de ces enseignants « experts » et la manière dont ils se sont engagés ou ont résisté au développement de politiques en leadership enseignant : le Porteur de flambeau (Torch Bearer), le Jongleur épuisé (Weary Juggler) et le Chahuteur (Heckler). L’analyse narrative et l’élaboration de ces représentations ont permis d’intégrer les points de vue des enseignants et de faire ressortir les problématiques présentes dans les discours dominants sur le leadership enseignant. Par conséquent, les responsables de l’élaboration de politiques sont invités à reconsidérer leur conception globale du leadership enseignant, ainsi que la dimension personnelle des efforts de leadership.