This work focused on increasing Year 3 students' use of critical thinking and taking the "second-person perspective" (2ndPP) when interpreting and resolving life issues. Previous research indicated the Personal Viewpoints Pedagogy (PVP) elicited social thinking that exhibited strong perspective-taking and precursors to critical thinking…

Young people may face conflicting and confusing messages about what it means to respond well in relation to homophobia and transphobia. Consequently, we ask--What might it mean to respond well to homophobia and transphobia? This strategy, inspired by Anika Thiem and Judith Butler, is recognition of the ambivalent conditions which structure…

Sociocultural theory of body dissatisfaction posits that internalization of the media ideal and appearance comparison are predictors of body dissatisfaction, a key risk factor for eating disorders. However, no data exist regarding the longitudinal relationships between these variables. The aim of this study was to explore longitudinal…

The study examines how white teachers talked to children about national identity and cultural diversity by drawing on qualitative research with eight- to 12-year-old students and their teachers from four Australian primary schools with different racial, ethnic and cultural demographics. Despite a range of explicit and implicit approaches that…

This paper examines forms of boundary work undertaken by parents in a regional Australian city to negotiate social processes around the school market amidst rising economic insecurity. It outlines structural changes, which have increased economic inequality in Australia and impacted on educational reform, and the specific challenges faced by…

This article draws on data from qualitative research that was conducted with children between 6 and 13?years of age as a part of an 18-month project that explored respectfully engaging with cultural diversity in Australian primary schools. We used persona dolls as a research tool to enable children to explore and articulate their knowledge of…

Currently, parental involvement research considers parents as individuals, and gives little consideration to them as a collective body, including how, as a group, they might influence each other. This study examined the influence of parent social norms on parents' home reading behaviour with their child. Two quasi-experiments conducted in two…

This sociological qualitative study identifies reasons why female pre-service teachers believe males are underrepresented in primary education courses at Australian universities. The findings of the study suggest that the nineteenth century naturalistic discourse of nurturance continues to sustain the notion that primary school teaching is a…

In this paper, the author explores how children with impairments can act as self-monitoring, autonomous individuals in their play in a community playground. In addition, the notion of children with impairments as creative agents in their play is examined. The evidence presented in this paper is derived from the views and perspectives of children…

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…

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…

This paper interrogates the relationship between the social distance men have from children, fear, and the social expectation that men will be capable of managing student (mis)behaviours. Briefly, the central argument is that the social distance men, as a group, have from children, and child protection concerns of men working with children can…

In early childhood settings prior to school and in the early years of primary school, debate continues over the meaning of inclusion and its scope in terms of the groups under consideration. The genealogies of early childhood education and care, early primary school, special education and cultural education were examined to identify recurring and…

There is little international research focusing on parents' and teachers' roles in sexuality education during children's primary school years. This paper focuses on teachers' and parents' key experiences as sexuality educators of primary-school-age children in both Leeds, UK and in Sydney, Australia. Based on research findings from both the United…

Changing global and local conditions have given rise to complex issues of identity. Within such conditions, the challenge for educators is to help students to develop a language with which to describe the new and dynamic cultural identities and relationships constitutive of what Hall (1996a, p.223) describes as "New Times". Students need…