In Australia, like many western countries, there has been a convergence of education policy around a set of utilitarian and economistic approaches to vocational education and training in schools. Such approaches are based on the assumption that there is a direct relationship between national economic growth, productivity and human capital…

Introduction of the advanced skills teacher (AST) classification into Australian schools is a poignant example of how discursive practices shape the lives of teachers through patterns of reward, processes, and criteria. In recognizing certain skills as advanced (and devaluing others), the AST process has encouraged, even mandated, their…