‘Making do’, understanding the economic ‘possible’: social positioning,money and mother’s economic habitus in the school context

This paper is a qualitative consideration of how working-class mothers manage money, daily life, their children’s education and, in the process, internalise a particularistic economic position. It is uncommon that educational sociology incorporates a critical engagement of the daily drudge of extending money, and the implications of managing the varied and frequent costs of keeping children at school. I draw on Bourdieu’s model of practice and particularly that of the economic habitus. For these mothers, ‘making do’ refers not only to stretching the economic but to mental dispositions that emerge out of negotiating the economic, ‘not as a universe of possibles … but rather … impassable barriers’. The data reveals in wider and narrower cycles how economic conditions are foregrounded in the doing of ordinary life and in lives of heightened economic difficulty planning, or calculating dispositions towards the future are curtailed.     

‘Supportive’, ‘real’, and ‘low-cost’: implicit comparisons and universal assumptions in the construction of the prospective college-based HE student

This paper first argues for the importance of continued analysis of marketising discourses in Higher Education (HE), both despite and because of their ubiquity. Secondly, the paper looks specifically at college-based HE provision in English Further Education (FE). Using the ‘possible selves’ concept alongside critical discourse analysis, the paper analyses the representations of prospective students on marketing web pages for HE provision in FE colleges. Arguing that the web pages reveal more than just the limited language of HE marketing strategy, the paper highlights common representations of the college-based HE student across policy, research and marketing sources. By exploring both the celebratory and the limiting nature of these representations, the paper therefore asks what the pages’ projections of future or prospective students can tell us about current understandings of English college-based HE.     

‘You are a Flaw in the Pattern’: Difference, Autonomy and Bullying in YA Fiction

Though portrayals of bullying in children??s books stretch back to Victorian public school stories, this article sees a new subgenre about bullying in young adult novels emerging in the post-Columbine years. Selected works by Jerry Spinelli, Walter Dean Myers, Jaime Adoff, Carol Plum-Ucci and Rita Williams-Garcia are examined, although the article begins by looking at a precursor of this subgenre, Robert Cormier??s classic The Chocolate War. In this subgenre, it is argued that bullying is not presented as dysfunctional adolescent behavior, but as a tool for addressing issues of difference and discrimination on the grounds of race, class, sexual orientation or personality; issues that filter into adolescent culture. High schools are thus portrayed as totalitarian microcosms where bullying functions as a means of social control, curbing deviance from masculine, heterosexual, middle-class and white norms. The narrative techniques and themes of these books??around homophobia, jock culture, rampage shootings and girl-on?Cgirl violence??will be examined.     

‘Creative destruction’: knowledge economy policy and the future of the arts and humanities in the academy1

Policy conceptualizations of the global knowledge economy have led to the channelling of much Higher Education and Research and Development funding into the priority areas of science and technology. Among other things, this diversion of funding calls into question the future of traditional humanities and creative arts faculties. How these faculties, and the disciplines within them, might reconfigure themselves for the knowledge economy is, therefore, a question of great importance, although one that as yet has not been adequately answered. This paper explores some of the reasons for this by looking at how innovation in the knowledge economy is typically theorized. It takes one policy trajectory informing Australia’s key innovation statement as an example. It argues that, insofar as the formation of this knowledge economy policy has been informed by a techno‐economic paradigm, it works to preclude many humanities and creative arts disciplines. This paper, therefore, looks at how an alternative theorization of the knowledge economy might offer a more robust framework from within which to develop humanities and creative arts Higher Education and Research policy in the knowledge economy, both in Australia and internationally.     

‘Teaching’ the path towards university: understanding student access through storied-futures and meritocratic grand narratives

The notion that the stories of our lives shape dispositions towards imagined futures is another lens through which university underrepresentation should be viewed. A storied lens attends to how futures, like university attendance, are storied during childhood to the extent that some youth imagine, and therefore plan, these futures as natural progression. Such was the case for study participants, indicating that childhood stories contain answers for mitigating social reproduction connected to parental education and cultural forces within the home. Examining social mobility through the underexplored storied-futures grand narrative presents unique solutions that lay hidden within the dominant meritocratic grand narrative.     

The deviant university student: historical discourses about student failure and ‘wastage’ in the antipodes

The emergence of academic development in Anglophone higher education was linked to post Second World War massification and concerns about student failure. These concerns were driven by increasing statistical investigations into student attrition and degree times to completion, particularly in Australia and Aotearoa, New Zealand. There was a dominant discourse about student ‘wastage’ (the deviant student). However, if we fast-forward to the late 2000s, we can see that these discourses have been replaced by discourses about university responsibility and teaching quality. Drawing on Foucauldian discourse analysis, this paper aims to trace the historical roots of contemporary teaching and learning dilemmas and to show how the responsibility for student failure was gradually shifted from perceptions of deviant students to perceptions of teacher ‘deviance’, which academic development units were designed to ameliorate.     

Bullying, ‘cussing’ and ‘mucking about’: complexities in tackling homophobia in three secondary schools in south London,UK

In countries such as the UK, schools have a responsibility to prevent all forms of bullying, including those related to sexual orientation. However, relatively little is known about how schools go about this work successfully. This study aimed to identify how three secondary schools in south London, England, were addressing homophobia. Three different kinds of schools – a co-educational, boys' and girls' school – were selected, each known to have conducted work to counter homophobic bullying. In each school, interviews were conducted with staff and pupils. Work on homophobia and homophobic bullying was said by most staff respondents to be part of a general commitment to countering bullying. Pupils stated that they were keen that homophobic bullying should be tackled – and distinguished bullying from ‘cussing’, ‘taking the mick’ and ‘mucking about’. Work carried out in schools had influenced pupils to consider homophobia and its effects – although the media as well as personal and family relationships were also important in this respect. Findings are discussed with regard to ways in which schools might better align what they do with regard to pupils' own values and understandings about how best to address homophobia and bullying.     

‘It's more flexible’: persistence of women engineers in the academy

The under-representation of women in engineering is an issue of concern for policy-makers. While much of the existing literature has focussed on understanding reasons for women's under-representation in engineering and related technical fields, there is a paucity of research that examines why women who are already in engineering persist. This study aims to answer the question, why do women engineers in academe persist in a discipline that is generally perceived to be inhospitable to women. Three main challenges, namely gender discrimination, lack of institutional and disciplinary support, and the rigid nature of the workplace, emerged as key impediments to women engineers in the private sector. In contrast, women engineers in the academy identified the flexibility offered by academic environments, the presence of personal support networks, and a passion for teaching and students as critical factors that influenced their decision to remain in academia.     

Making friends in the ‘electronic student lounge’

An important characteristic of computer conferencing in the context of distance teaching is that there is no requirement for all participants to interact at the same time. Individual users can participate at times which suit them. In an educational context, computer conferencing can provide for a variety of interactions between students, and between students and teaching staff. The .’electronic student lounge’ is a conference for socialising, for making friends, and for forming special interest groups. The 1989 extramural telecommunications (EXTEL) project at Massey University, New Zealand, provided a group of Computer Science students with such a facility. The project was based on an innovative, cheap, easy‐to‐use electronic messaging system developed at Massey.

This paper describes the EXTEL project, including the messaging system employed and the data gathering methods used to evaluate it. An analysis is presented of a sample of the more than 2000 messages exchanged over the trial period. The results of surveys of the participating students both before and after the trial are also presented. A significant proportion of the interactions were found to consist of ‘general chat’ thus supporting the notion that this type of facility helps reduce the isolation often experienced in distance teaching.     

Defining the ‘good mother’ and the ‘professional teacher’: parent–teacher relationships in an affluent school district

This article examines the challenges of parent–teacher relationships in an affluent school district, drawing on 30 in‐depth interviews of mothers and elementary school teachers in the USA. Professional women who have put their careers on hold to care for their children are apt to define being a good mother in terms of the academic achievement of their children. This results in extreme amounts of involvement and advocacy in their child's education, even when such actions have questionable effects on the larger school population. Enhancement of ‘good mothering’ was found to be done at the expense of teacher professionalism. A small number of entitled‐minded mothers were able to make a large impact not only on teacher job satisfaction but on the climate of the entire school due to their extensive networks, levels of advocacy, and critical examination of school processes.     

‘We need a woman,we need a black woman’: gender,race, and identity taxation in the academy

In 1994, Amado Padilla used the phrase ‘cultural taxation’ to describe the extra burden of service responsibilities placed upon minority faculty members because of their racial or ethnic background. In this paper, we expand upon Padilla's work and introduce the concept of ‘identity taxation’ to encompass how other marginalised social identities (such as gender, race and gender, and sexual orientation) may result in additional non-academic service commitments for certain faculty. Using qualitative interviews with faculty members at a large, public university in the Midwest, we examine identity taxation involving gender and the intersection of gender and race to demonstrate how women faculty (in general) and women of colour (specifically) feel their gender and racial group memberships influence their experiences in academia.     

‘Forgotten’ democracy,student activism,and higher education in Myanmar: past,present, and future

Asia Pacific Education Review - This paper is a historical examination of higher education in contemporary Myanmar, and its relationship to the students, the most important and visible actor in...     

Between the estate and the state: struggling to be a ‘good’ mother

The paper draws on an ESRC‐funded study of 70 families in two London locations. It focuses on a set of contemporary and contradictory political discourses that work on and through the lives of working‐class mothers and thereby create tensions and impossibilities within their lives. We illustrate the ways in which these women are positioned by and within these discourses in ways that leave them vulnerable to political and media criticisms.     

Citizenship and inclusion in the early years: understanding and responding to children’s perspectives on ‘belonging’

This paper argues for, and demonstrates the effectiveness of, including young children in commenting on and improving their learning environments. It reports the experiences gathered from of 16 setting‐based, small‐scale, practitioner‐led projects. Taking a view of citizenship as ‘participation’ the paper shows how practitioner‐research can support the evolution of inclusive environments for all children. Following a critical review of the literature on citizenship, young children, and ‘inclusion’ the paper considers the usefulness of the participant methodology of practitioner action research and the concept of ‘voice’ in educational research and report. Examples of practitioner‐research projects involving children aged three to six years identify and illustrate key themes from the data. Thus, they demonstrate: (1) the range of factors which excited or worried the children; and (2) the ways in which children’s concerns and ideas were listened to and action for change was developed. The children’s ideas and extracts from their comments are included alongside the practitioners’ responses in the cases which are discussed. Four main points are considered in conclusion: (1) children’s views can contribute to the development of inclusive practices; (2) children’s voices are central to studies of their perspectives and the methodological challenges of listening to children’s voices in research must be addressed; (3) identity and self esteem are key to the successful promotion of young children’s positive sense of inclusivity and belonging in their early years settings; and (4) supported practitioner‐research can enhance inclusive early years practices. The paper argues that including children in the identification and exploration of issues important to them promotes a positive sense of inclusivity and that such approaches to developing pedagogies of citizenship and belonging constitute a practical enacting of ‘voice’.     

‘Hardworking,determined and happy’: first-year students’ understanding and experience of success

While all agree student success in higher education is important, there is less agreement on what it means to be a successful student. Student success is often measured by institutional reports of grades, student retention and qualification completion. More recently, broader definitions have emerged; however, these do not incorporate student perceptions of success. The current study addresses this gap by exploring how first-year students talk about their success. Drawing from weekly interviews of students at an Australian regional university, the data are analysed through the lens of a conceptual framework of student engagement. The findings demonstrate that success is inextricably linked with student engagement as well as other dimensions of the student experience. As expected, students assess their success extrinsically with institutional measures such as grades and feedback. In addition, their behavioural engagement was seen as a more immediate measure of their success, while happiness and satisfaction were necessary for some students to feel successful. Perceptions of success have important consequences for students in terms of increased positive emotions, self-efficacy and course belonging. Success for these students has multiple dimensions. These findings give rise to suggestions for a staged approach to supporting first-year student success. However, the student experience is complex and multifaceted and further research is needed with different student cohorts who may define and experience success in other ways.     

Theology in Australian higher education: the ‘Newcastle Model’ brings theology home to the academy

This article investigates the movement of theological education away from diocesan controlled theological colleges in the Anglican Church of Australia into the mainstream curriculum of public universities. Particular reference is made to the establishment of Theology as an area of study at The University of Newcastle. Other models of theological education based on particular hermeneutic interests of Anglicanism are examined. Comparisons are drawn between those institutions seeking to maintain partisan control over theological education and those who cede control, in part or entirely, to the public university. Discussion of some historical material leading to the implementation of the ‘Newcastle Model’ is presented as this relates to church and public policy on Theology in higher education. The article argues that the place of theological education is in the academy or public university since it is there that Theology, like other public knowledge, best develops and maintains a critical intention.     

Academic alignment to reduce the presence of ‘social loafers’ and ‘diligent isolates’ in student teams

The acquisition of effective teamwork skills is crucial in all disciplines. Using an interpretive approach, this study investigates collaboration and co-operation in teams of software engineering students. Teams whose members were both homogeneous and heterogeneous in terms of their members' academic abilities, skills and goals were identified and compared. We describe the occurrence of ‘social loafing’, a well-reported phenomenon, in these teams. We also observed a phenomenon which we termed ‘diligent isolation’. Our assumption was that both of these can cause team dysfunction. Additional causes which became apparent during the research are listed. The article includes suggestions for improving team functionality.     

Difficulties of Hong Kong teachers’ understanding and implementation of ‘play’ in the curriculum

Play is a characteristic behaviour of young children. It is a vital way through which children reconcile their inner lives with the outside world. It is a central activity in kindergarten and nurseries. ‘Learning through play’ is recommended as the mode of learning and teaching for young children. In Hong Kong, it was documented in an official education report in 1986 and is the key guideline for the implementation of the aims of early childhood education for the next millennium. A case study of two kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong was conducted to investigate the understanding and implementation of play in the kindergarten curriculum. The findings showed immense difficulties in understanding the concept ‘learning through play’ and a gap between the practitioners’ espoused theories and practice. The study reflected the complex nature of learning and teaching and highlighted the core issue for reform, namely, the need for bridging the gap between theory and practice.