This mixed-methods study considers 'permanent expulsionary punishments' (PEP) from government schooling. Analysis considers the literature, available PEP data from two jurisdictions, and attitudinal data from Australian staff, in considering the contribution of policy, agency, and discourse (PAD) to the causes of PEP. It compares attitudes in a…

Arts integration in core learning domains has long been acknowledged as an engaging and effective pedagogical approach. Creative activities encourage students to take risks, make mistakes, and consider alternative perspectives, promoting curiosity and developing problem-solving capacity. Arts integration is valuable in classrooms also for…

This article shines a light on a little-known cohort of higher education participants, mature-aged students in, and from, regional and remote Australia -- the focus of a National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education mixed-methods study. Notable patterns were found in the quantitative data; for instance, compared to their metropolitan…

Students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex or somewhere else on the gender/sexuality spectrum (LGBTQI+) are among the diverse student groups in need of extra support and protection in order to succeed in education and reach their full potential. Because they belong to a minority that is often excluded by…

Since UNESCO's Salamanca Declaration in 1994, inclusive education has progressively attracted attention in international debates around education policy. While some evidence exists on the positive impact that inclusive education reforms can have on the academic and personal outcomes of diverse students -- and in particular of students with special…

This Fritz Duras lecture argues for the importance of physical educators' critical engagement with issues of race and ethnic diversity. Despite its colonial history and close relationship to sport--where racialised discourses about the body contribute to shaping commonsense ideas about race--we have yet to engage in any sustained way with issues…

This article draws on data from qualitative research that was conducted with children between 6 and 13?years of age as a part of an 18-month project that explored respectfully engaging with cultural diversity in Australian primary schools. We used persona dolls as a research tool to enable children to explore and articulate their knowledge of…

Little is known about how to appropriately adapt mentoring programs for young people from the Horn of Africa, even though they have been arriving in Australia in significantly increasing numbers. These young people face unique challenges as a result of their age, ethnicity, migration and direct/indirect trauma experiences. The results of this…

This article offers an analysis of religious education practice through the literature that informs it. It engages Derrida's critique of the "metaphysics of presence" (1982a) to develop a theoretical framework for a new look at the ways in which different approaches to religious education represent religion and racial difference. The…

Growing concerns about the experience and achievement of Black pupils (especially Black males) underpin calls for more Black people to serve as teacher and lay mentor role models in schools. Calls for increased numbers of Black teacher role models assume firstly, that Black teachers regard themselves as role models and want to perform such a role…

Incidents in two Australian secondary schools illustrate the real problems of discrimination that aboriginal students face in the Australian education system in spite of policies intended to combat discrimination and promote the needs and rights of minority students. A program to combat racism in six schools is described. (SLD)