The history of Australian mass schooling has seen contestations over school and curriculum purposes, zig-zagging across conservative and progressive directions. In this paper, we examine how possibilities for students to have 'voice', 'participation' and 'leadership' in their learning are currently limited in Australia. Policy framings, we argue,…

Regardless of the commitments that universities and teacher education programs (TEPs) have publicly stated regarding equity, diversity, inclusion, or decolonization (EDID), rarely do these commitments impact their admission policies or practices. Through examining a small program's efforts at implementing EDID change over a three-year period, this…

Black individuals have been disproportionately involved in the criminal justice system in the United States ("Federal Bureau of Prisons," 2022). Because of their criminal justice involvement, Black individuals are perceived as "second-class citizens" making their quest for "freedom" an endless journey impacted by…

This paper is about the politics of policy knowledge production. It calls for spaces to be forged to allow teachers' voices to have centre stage in knowledge creation and production. Specifically, this paper discusses the need for alternative ways of conducting educational research so that power in research design is utilised as a capacity for…

This paper reports on the findings of an Erasmus project entitled 'ReHaRe' (Reaching the Hard to Reach). The aim of this project is to develop more inclusive learning environments. The project adopts an action research approach and gives school pupils a role as researchers who plan, evaluate and develop lesson plans in collaboration with their…

From the Americas to Asia, neoliberal policy restructuring continues to present major challenges to educational equity. In Hong Kong, teacher educators grapple with training students in pedagogy they believe in, versus the daily status quo of high-stakes exam prep, privatized "shadow education," and a system seemingly pushed to the brink…

Most practitioners and scholars agree that critical and reflective early childhood and elementary teachers are foundational for children's holistic growth and development. Yet current policies focused on elevating testing and performativity are contributing to student and teacher anxiety and alienation. This book offers a counternarrative to…

This paper explores the meaning of praxis through the personal and professional journey of the author, emphasizing the thoughts of major proponents of praxis and their contributions in the field. What emerges through this exploration is that praxis is not knowing but putting the knowing into action for the betterment of all humankind through…

Headteachers working under conditions of severe hardship in Africa face tremendous challenges, often exacerbated by a sense of hopelessness and lack of agency to effect improvements within their school. This paper focuses on notions of leadership agency and "social justice" within an African educational context, with a specific focus on…

The authors discuss how participatory action research (PAR) informs the pedagogy and epistemology of the social justice education. PAR facilitates students' engagement in their social context and acquisition of knowledge to initiate personal and social transformation. The scope of research contains knowledge about social justice issues negatively…

This article discusses the theoretical relationships between inclusion in education and social justice. It draws on Martha Nussbaum's use of the capability approach is given as one of the few philosophical and political theories that places disability/impairment in the social justice debate. The article goes on to present findings from the initial…

There is a tradition of knowledge production connected to schools and social justice, for more than a half century, that has been in place in schooling around the globe--action research. While action research is not a singular methodology, many of the most influential developers of this approach have suggested a link with social justice. Inherent…

This article explores youth participatory action research as a promising instructional practice with the potential to reverse the depoliticizing and "softening" of multicultural education. It demonstrates how, with its explicit commitment to action, youth participatory action research can help to improve the educational experiences and…

This volume of transformed research utilizes an activist approach to examine the notion that nothing is apolitical. Research projects themselves are critically examined for power orientations, even as they are used to address curricular problems and educational or societal issues. Philosophical perspectives that have facilitated an understanding…

This article highlights important and enduring contributions of the text to the development of action research, while also pointing to the need for attention to theories informed by a politics of difference. The re-examination of "Becoming Critical" (Carr & Kemmis, 1983) is set against the backdrop of rereading Doris Lessing's…