Losing our way? Challenging the direction of teacher education in Australia by reframing it around the Socially Just School

Social Justice and Teacher Education: Context, Theory, and Practice

“…The result, known as 'neoliberalism,' is characterized by free markets, privatization, and increased national and individual competition-a social Darwinist, individualistic rather than collective approach (Apple, 2010 ;Bates, 2006Bates, , 2010Dahlstrom, 2007 ;Kumashiro, 2010 ;Schafer & Wilmot, 2012 ;Sleeter, 2008Sleeter, , 2009Smyth, 2006Smyth, , 2013Tatto, 2006 ;Zeichner, 2009a ). This movement, prevalent in 'Western' countries since the 1980s-Australia, New Zealand , South Africa , the United Kingdom, and the United States (Apple, 2010 ) -is being imported into 'third world' and rising nations such as Ethiopia and Brazil, with destructive effects (Dahlstrom, 2007 ;Hypolito, 2004 ).…”

“…Curriculum shifts from broad exposure to liberal arts and sciences, where students are encouraged to grapple with multiple perspectives and critical analyses, to 'productive' knowledge -skills and discrete information, at times even scripted-that produces higher test scores and meets competitive demands (Bates, 2010 ;Ravitch, 2010 ); Schafer & Wilmot, 2012 ;Sleeter, 2009 ). Pedagogy shifts from constructivist, student centered methods to didactic, authoritarian approaches designed to raise scores and, often, teach compliance (Bates, 2010 ;Chubbuck & Buck, 2015 ;Smyth, 2013 ). Education can become a utilitarian tool serving economic forces and competing cultural narratives, with the teacher and teacher educator reduced to monitoring and facilitating the system (Apple, 2010(Apple, , 2011Bates, 2006, Bates, 2010Dahlstrom, 2007 ;Kumashiro, 2010 ;Zeichner, 2010 ).…”

“…see Boylan & Woolsey, 2015 ;Cochran-Smith , 2010 ;North, 2006North, , 2008Reynolds & Brown, 2010 ). This economic dimension is illustrated by segregated schools and tracked/streamed schools/classrooms that differ radically in curricular, pedagogical, and resource quality: 'de facto' resegregation in the USA, apartheid in South Africa and its lasting effect on school segregation, apartheid era remnant of racial divisions in Australia, vestiges of colonialization in Bolivia and others, and class divisions in virtually every nation (see Bates, 2006 ;George & Clay, 2008 ;Lopes Cordozo, 2013 ;Nieto, 2000 ;Schafer & Wilmot, 2012 ;Smyth, 2013 ;Wang & Gao, 2013 ). Similarly, these studies describe the vast inequalities in the distribution of funding in schools within a country and the failure of many educational systems around the world to develop policies and practices that guarantee access to quality education all perpetuating an already inequitable system of schooling.…”

“…Many education scholars (e.g., Bates, 2006 ;Boylan & Woolsey, 2015 ;Cochran-Smith , 2010 ;Garratt & Piper, 2010 ;James-Wilson, 2007 ;Kaur, 2012 ;Lopes Cordozo, 2012Lynch & Baker, 2005 ;North, 2006North, , 2008Reynolds & Brown, 2010 ;Smyth, 2006Smyth, , 2013Westheimer & Suurtamm, 2009 ;Zeichner, 2009a ) have built on Nancy Fraser's theory of justice-both her initial theorization (Fraser, 1997 ;Fraser, 2003 ) and her recent reframing (Fraser 2005a(Fraser , 2005b(Fraser , 2008(Fraser , 2009(Fraser , 2012. We suggest that Fraser's theory may provide a theoretical starting point suffi ciently inclusive to house the various theoretical strands and support needed dialogue .…”

Design and Intervention of an Educational-Leadership Program: Student Voice and Agency, Expectations and Internationalization

“…The data demonstrate that transforming higher-education courses and improving the quality of teacher-education programs can be supported by collaboration as well as by an awareness of the value of student voice and agency. Smyth (2013) further accentuates the value of collaboration between teacher-education and the school to develop the "socially just school" (p. 114), in which "socially" implies equal attention to the multiplicity of voices. Giroux (1986) claims that voice refers to the various measures through which students and teachers actively participate in dialogue.…”