In this theoretical article, we respond to a common education policy discourse that represents community participation in educational policy-making as an essentially rational solution to policy problems and as inherently progressive and democratic. We propose that conceptualising participatory politics as 'publics' challenges this discourse and…

Purpose: Through discussion of research about the leadership of two schools, this paper explores the complexity of school leadership and how various contextual elements interact with the work of principals in schools that are attempting to create inclusive, rich, worthwhile and unique schools. A systems thinking leadership and context model is…

Much historical scholarship on Indigenous education policy focuses on attempts to assimilate Indigenous peoples. Meanwhile, educational policy debates tend to focus on achievement, framed by deficit. Rarely considered are strategic political actions by Indigenous groups to remodel schooling. This paper examines how Indigenous groups have embraced…

This timeline focuses on the main developments in the field of Adult and Community Education (ACE) in Australia from the formation of the first national association, Australian Association of Adult Education, (AAAE) in 1960 to the present association, Adult learning Australia (ALA). It is based primarily on documentary evidence available in the…

Within an Aboriginal community in so-called Australia, conversations of education sovereignty are being held. These conversations, as part of my doctoral research, are envisioning an educational future outside of colonial-controlled schooling, an educational future grounded in Indigenous knowledges. In recognition that education has been occurring…

Purpose: This paper explores the context within which experimental, pedagogically progressive schools were established in Australia during the first decades of the 20th century. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents a case study of the establishment of Rosbercon Girls' Grammar School. It draws on educator accounts, archival documents and…

This study dives deep into the evolution of research on teacher emotions (TE), teacher agency (TA) and their role within higher education institutions (HEIs) from 1975 to the present. Combining a meticulous bibliometric and content analysis, the paper has painted a detailed picture of how the academic conversation has developed over nearly half a…

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, both the Gosford Training School for Boys in New South Wales and the Westbrook Farm Home for Boys in Queensland were well-established institutions. Both were state-run facilities that ostensibly existed to incarcerate, educate and reform boys convicted of criminal offences. Gosford and Westbrook had total…

In 2023, researchers from the Batchelor Institute worked with staff, students and families from the Nawarddeken Academy in West Arnhem Land, which offers bicultural, community-driven education. Together, they engaged in a series of yarning circles as interviews with staff, students and families. The focus of the study was on retention, attendance…

The progressive democratisation of Australian higher education has numerous causes including the increase in the number of universities and therefore university places across the later 20th and into the 21st century, as well as initiatives by governments of different ideological hues to increase the total percentage of the population with a…

School systems and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have long acknowledged the levels of social, cultural and epistemic conflict that has historically existed between teachers and schools, and Aboriginal students, families and their local communities. This relationship is both symptomatic and causal of the broader and highly complex field of…

While some international histories of English education are inclined to characterise the 1966 Dartmouth seminar as initiating some kind of revolution, other accounts have positioned it as one important conversation amongst many. Using Raymond Williams' notion of a "long revolution", this short essay characterises Dartmouth as making a…

In this paper, I use an ecologies approach to present reflections on the history of disability and deaf theatre in Australia, in light of the distinctive local policy, industry, and production frameworks that have supported or failed to support its development in particular directions. After tracing and categorising developments in the field to…

Adult community Education (ACE) is a recognisable education sector that offers accessible lifelong learning opportunities that are learner-centred and needs based. The Australian ACE scan profiles the sector in terms of its programs, features and provider types. The scan outlines ACE program participants, outcomes and the policy areas they…

The conundrum of Indigenous education in Australia is that there are multiple, highly contested and polarising narratives that vie to inform both public and policy debate about how to construct effective schooling of Aboriginal students. Two of these contested discourses, which are seen to drive much of this debate, highlight the complexity of…