This paper draws together academic and policy literature around the value of a culturally, linguistically and racially diverse (CLRD) teacher workforce in Australia. While Australia's population is becoming more diverse, the teaching population is significantly less so, with far fewer teachers born overseas and/or speaking a language other than…

Early childhood educators are key to delivering early childhood education and care (ECEC) for the benefit of children, their families and society alike. For the benefits of ECEC to be realised, however, the educators who deliver these services need to be well. Despite growing attention to attracting and retaining a high-quality early childhood…

There has been extensive research conducted into the plight of casual academic staff, the precarious nature of their work, their limited academic development opportunities, and their heightened risk of being positioned on the periphery of the workforce in academia. Institutions have attempted to mitigate this risk through the provision of academic…

In an attempt to control the spread of COVID-19 in Australia in 2020 state and territory governments mandated the closing of schools for all but vulnerable children and the children of frontline workers in various parts of Australia for various lengths of time. In what follows, five English teachers from across Australia reflect on the everyday…

Teacher collaboration continues to be deeply grounded within effective professional development. Teacher teams, where small groups of teachers work together in teaching and learning, have become progressively more popular and are considered one of the most effective approaches to improvement and growth. However, teacher teams are situated within a…

There is a growing divide between ongoing and precarious academics in Australia. Precarious academics are often exploited, underpaid, and have little hope of gaining permanency. In this article we offer suggestions to ongoing academics on how to improve the working lives and conditions of precarious colleagues. Our suggestions range from easy and…

The global pandemic crisis has significantly affected music educators around the world. In Australia, higher education institutes and schools had to swiftly move from face-to-face teaching to online classes. The authors draw on narrative reflection to show key challenges and opportunities that have affected their teaching in Melbourne. Author one…

Casual academics form the backbone of learning and teaching practice in higher education in many developed countries and in many respects can be considered the norm around which academic policy and practice might be formed. Yet a narrative inquiry into the lived experience of women casual academics within Australian universities reveals that…

Classrooms have become increasingly diverse places where students from various backgrounds share their learning experiences. To promote inclusive school settings for all, building teacher capacity for inclusive teaching represents a key policy area. Education systems need to ensure that teachers are adequately prepared for inclusive teaching and…

Pre-service teachers need to be prepared to teach in both rural and urban contexts. Preparation to teach multi-grade classes in rural schools is excellent preparation for teaching any class, including urban single-grade classes. Based on our previous research and experience, we designed a unit to prepare our pre-service teachers for the issues…

Principals play key roles in creating the conditions in which teachers can teach effectively and students can learn. Principals are increasingly being held accountable both for teacher quality and for student learning and development so that young people can become 'successful learners, confident and creative individuals and active and informed…

Drawing on various secondary sources and direct encounters with casual academic staff, this article examines the emergent context and lived experiences of casualisation in Australian universities, with specific reference to on-going developments in teaching arrangements across the sector. Particular attention is paid to the challenges associated…

Currently, there is a radical shift in the manner in which teachers are expected to perform their duties because of economic, social and political forces that are impacting on education. It is not uncommon to find teachers working within rigidly defined policies; being subject to accountability mechanisms; involved with processes associated with…

This article is concerned to respond to recent UK governments' attitudes to teachers, who are predominantly women, and who are denied a voice and sense of professionalism. It looks to the role of teacher research in school decision-making, including school improvement, historically in England, which set a pioneering example in years before the…

This study focuses on aspects of the Changing Academic Profession survey of 2007-08 that describe the place of faculty in their institutions. The authors examine the following aspects of institutional life: (1) the faculty role in institutional governance; (2) who evaluates their teaching and research; (3) the locus of their loyalties as between…