This study explores meanings of family care held by seven families that include a middle-aged adult with intellectually disability. In-depth interviews were conducted with members of each family--the person with intellectual disability, parents, siblings, and sibling spouses. Participants described care as simply getting on with their lives, as…

Higher Education is experiencing an increasingly diverse student population. Students bring a range of skills and experiences to their courses; they have different backgrounds and different needs. This fluidity requires an approach to teaching that encompasses the social aspects of learning. It has been suggested that authentic approaches to…

Attempts to bring Elsey's methodology in "Social Perspectives on Adult Education" to bear on aspects related to adult education policy and development work. Concludes that social theory perspectives help identify policy issues for adult education in Australia as it moves from random provision to a coherent system. (CH)

The discourses and practices of neoliberalism, including government policies for education and training, public debates regarding standards and changed funding regimes, have been at work on and in schools in capitalist societies since at least the 1980s. Yet we have been hard pressed to say what neoliberalism is, where it comes from and how it…

Over the past 10 years, early childhood professionals have been increasingly influenced by cultural-historical theory. In order to support professionals evolving their practice, the Australian government commissioned a set of cultural-historical resources specifically designed to build literacy and numeracy experiences for children from birth to…

Purpose: The main research aim was to investigate relationships among teachers' occupational stress, coping, teacher self-efficacy and relevant teachers' perceptions of curriculum changes in a major educational reform. Design/methodology/approach: A theoretical framework that included the attribution of responsibility for stress model, aspects of…

This paper is based on a study into the social and ethical implications of computer education in secondary schools in Queensland (Australia). The relationship between computer technology and philosophy is discussed; three curriculum orientations are described--(1) vocational, (2) liberal, and (3) socially critical; and a socially critical…

"An Enterprising Approach to Regional Growth: Implications for Policy and the Role of Vocational Education and Training" explores patterns of regional economic growth in Australia over the period 1984 to 2002 with the aim of identifying the drivers of variation in regional growth; the research also aimed to identify regional…

Discussed is a study which triangulates the relationship between the patriarchal system, capitalism, and ecology using ethnomethodology. Relates a feminine idealogical set to general environmental sensibility. (CW)

This paper examines the Australian government's Indigenous policy by interrogating the concept of partnership between governments and Indigenous communities through three examples. Increasingly, the Australian federal government is focusing attention on the poor literacy and numeracy outcomes for Indigenous children in remote and very remote…

This monograph examines the nature of ethnicity as a general feature of human society, as it functions in Australia, and how it is used in the development of policy on multicultural education in Australia. Three influential accounts of ethnicity are examined, and it is argued that, although different, the theories share common problematics and…

Uncritical acceptance of the discourses of government economic policies is counterproductive to the development of teamwork and flexible skills due to the insecurity they create. Therefore, discourse analysis should be a crucial element in adult education and training. (SK)

Attending academically selective schools is intended to have positive effects, but a growing body of theoretical and empirical research demonstrates that the effects are negative for academic self-concept. The big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE), based on social comparison theory, posits that equally able students will have lower academic…

This paper reviews sociolinguistic work which has addressed the provision of justice for Aboriginal English (AE) speakers in Australia. It questions the assumptions about cultural and linguistic diversity and inequality which underlie this work, and proposes a critical sociolinguistic approach, which draws on social theory in the analysis of how…

The theme and topic of students with special needs should be examined from social theoretical platforms, rather than special education frameworks; a sociopolitical approach based on discourse theorizing is especially useful. Recent research shows that the students with special needs concept is an invalid approach to educational equity. Includes 63…