Education Commons^™

The Politics Of Quality Teacher Discourses: Implications For Pre-Service Teachers In High Poverty Schools, Laura Scholes, Jo Lampert, Bruce Burnett, Barbara M. Comber, Lutz Hoff, Angela Ferguson

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Improving the quality of education for young people growing up in high poverty and culturally diverse communities is an escalating problem in affluent nations with increasing gaps between the wealthy and the poor. Improving the quality of teachers and improving the quality of teaching are amongst the prominent solutions offered to redress the differences between student academic performances related to socio-economic family circumstances. This article examines the different discourses of ‘quality’ in relation to the preparation of pre-service teachers to work in high poverty schools such as graduates of the National Exceptional Teaching for Disadvantaged Schoolspre-service teacher education program. Key …

Thinking With/Through The Contradictions Of Social Justice In Teacher Education: Self-Reflection On Netds Experience, Keita Takayama, Tiffany Jones, Rose Amazan

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Improving teacher quality has become the hallmark of Australian education reform with a plethora of measures introduced in teacher education to improve future teachers’ instructional competencies. This policy focus has also changed the discussion of strategies for addressing disadvantages in schools; improving teacher quality, as opposed to addressing structural inequalities in the system and larger society, has become the “solution.” This paper looks at the National Exceptional Teaching for Disadvantaged Schools (NETDS), which aims to channel high performing teacher education students to disadvantaged schools. Using the taxonomy of conservative, liberal and critical approaches to education reform, the …

English Classrooms And Curricular Justice For The Recognition Of Lgbt Individuals: What Can Teachers Do?, Jane Pearce, Wendy Cumming-Potvin

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Discrimination against LGBT[1] 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.

[1] In reference to lesbian, gay, …