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Re-thinking Teacher Quality in High-Poverty Schools in Australia

  • Chapter
Education, Equity, Economy: Crafting a New Intersection

Part of the book series: Education, Equity, Economy ((EEEC,volume 1))

Abstract

As is the case globally, Australian schools that serve high-poverty communities most often employ the least experienced, least prepared teachers. Beginning with a discussion of poverty in Australia this chapter draws on 6 years of learnings from Australia’s National Exceptional Teachers for Disadvantaged Schools [NETDS] program to examine how social justice can be taught within a mainstream Initial Teacher Education program in an increasingly neoliberal climate where teacher education curriculum around social justice struggles to find a place within the current discourses of quality teaching and its preoccupations with standards, accountability, and high-stakes testing.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    These are largely social events, held at one of our houses after each practicum. We’ve found these events to be crucial to the success of the program, playing a large role in bonding relationships and building a sense of community among participants. Some of the best reflective practice takes place at these safe, informal events.

  2. 2.

    The median income of Indigenous households in 2006 was 65 % of non-Indigenous median household income. Australian Council of Social Service (2011). Poverty and its Causes. Canberra, ibid.

  3. 3.

    Bob Hawke has more recently expressed regret over this pledge, calling it unrealistic. Hawke regrets child poverty comment. (June 16, 2007). The Age. Retrieved from http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Hawke-regrets-child-poverty-comment/2007/06/16/1181414583336.html.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Bruce Burnett & Jo Lampert

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  1. Bruce Burnett
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  2. Jo Lampert
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Correspondence to Bruce Burnett .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

    George W. Noblit

  2. College of Education, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

    William T. Pink

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Burnett, B., Lampert, J. (2016). Re-thinking Teacher Quality in High-Poverty Schools in Australia. In: Noblit, G., Pink, W. (eds) Education, Equity, Economy: Crafting a New Intersection. Education, Equity, Economy, vol 1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21644-7_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21644-7_3

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