The Australian "National Indigenous Reform Agreement" (Closing the Gap) aims to address inequalities in various aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' lives. Scholars have repeatedly critiqued its failure to tackle structural inequalities. The agreement was revised in 2020. The current study adopts Carol Bacchi's…

This paper examines the openings for educational change enabled by framing inequality through the concept of rights, considering how variations of this framing have emerged historically and in current debates. Taking as our starting point the 1970 publication Rights and Inequality in Australian Education, we suggest that it is important to pay…

Australia's higher education sector has seen substantial developments in equity and inclusivity as a result of initiatives which work to improve the numbers and experiences of students from a wide diversity of backgrounds. This practice report shares learnings from a recent national project about the impacts of a wide range of access and equity…

Indigenous leaders in higher education are restive, disaffected, and dissatisfied with the slow gyrations of change. Using Interest Convergence Theory, this paper will unravel the constraints inherent in institutional reform that delimit the influence of Indigenous senior leaders in the sector. Positioned amidst the burgeoning impact of…

The Australian education system features considerable socioeconomic inequality and is a frequent source of controversy in Australian public life. Yet meaningful reform to this system has proven elusive. In this article, we examine the public's fairness perceptions of educational inequality based on parental financial capacity, using an online…

We provide a high-level overview of inclusive education developments in England, Australia, the United States, and Canada, the countries within which much of our research has been completed. For each country, we discuss the work that we have each done within that context, key policy initiatives, and identified levers of system change. Despite…

The Australian education system is culpable in perpetuating, rather than alleviating, inequitable outcomes for First Nations peoples. To address this, the "Culturally nourishing schooling project (2020-2024)" involves eight high schools committed to whole-of-school change in four intertwined domains: learning from Country,…

Everybody agrees that the COVID-19 pandemic is a big disruption in education. It questions many traditional rules and structures that have organised the work of schools in the past. But not everyone agrees that the pandemic will eventually change schools. In this article, I narrow the scope of that question and ask whether the pandemic helps us…

Over the last forty years, Australasian researchers have witnessed problems and negative trends relating to academics and students from marginalised groups operating within the higher education sector. This article demonstrates that these researchers have become increasingly aware of the need for more equitable practices in higher education.…

Purpose: Much of the existing literature note how students' academic difficulties result from their background and lack of cultural capital. This paper aims to focus on internal structural inequality where people with particular backgrounds are disadvantaged within an institution. Design/methodology/approach: The authors use a case study approach…

Despite the visibility of equity, diversity, inclusion, and Indigenization (EDI&I) discourses within large institutions, such as post-secondary institutions, research has chronicled only modest advancements on these stated values. Blocks to advancements in EDI&I stem, in part, from the structural nature of racist and sexist domination, and…

Purpose: Vocational education and training (VET) in Australia has for some time been driven by an agenda of "reasonable adjustment", in which practices are modified to ensure equitable access and participation by disadvantaged students. However, the growing marketization of VET has instead encouraged the use of more flexible approaches…

This handbook provides a frame of reference for the global challenges facing higher education leadership today. Focusing on recommendations and directions for the future rather than simply a recap of measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, the contributors also delve into contexts such as the climate crisis, issues of diversity, equity and…

This response to the question about what we are angry about and what we dream of for young children reflects our work of over 30 years in Australasia. For Kylie in Australia and for Sonja in Aotearoa New Zealand and now also Australia. We direct the RECE common call, for an elevation of children's rights, to a voice, to a 'good' education, and to…

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to posit a possible reason why non-Indigenous educators are seen to be 'cautious' in their pedagogic engagement with First Nations perspectives in curriculum, why interventions and programmess around reconciliation and truth-telling have limited traction in affecting change in school culture, and why the…