Jessica Holloway

Welcome to the first #AARE2023 blog of the conference

Day One, November 26, 2023.

We will update here during the day so please bookmark this page.

Our EduResearch Matters social accounts are:

Please write, comment, participate about our AARE2023 blog on social media using this hashtag #AARE2023.

Blog four!

Voices from the panel

Three amazing academics shared insights and experiences from the journeys they have travelled as early career researchers. Dr. Simon Knight (University of Technology Sydney), Dr. Eve Mayes (Deakin University), and Dr. Victoria Rawlings (University of Sydney) joined our panel to talk about those critical junctures they encountered that led them to where they are now in their research careers. 

Voice, truth, and place, as the AARE 2023 conference theme, resonated for each with the importance of amplifying voice, speaking to issues of social justice, and the challenge of addressing injustices that pervade education and society as key to their work. As Eve stated, we need to open ourselves up to “unlearning ourselves”, and Victoria went on to ask the audience to think about: 

“Who’s voices are important in your research? Who is silenced? How can we amplify their voices?”

Even further, how do we research in places that make global links without, as Eve suggests, “flattening local peculiarities.” 

Each of these academics was cognisant of understanding their purpose of research and being a researcher. 

Victoria spoke about the fact that “schools [as places] need to be bold” to make changes that will make a difference, and we, as researchers, have an important role and one in which we are given considerable trust and responsibility to support them to navigate this work.  

The panel discussed the meaning of being a researcher, and Victoria talked about the many different responsibilities that researchers have to their communities and everyone they work with, including emerging researchers. Simon raised the fact that education suffers as a marginalised discipline globally, and yet, it is such a rich and broad space.  

“It’s why I work in education… education research points to thorny and difficult dilemmas and that’s the stuff that I enjoy”.

Eve furthered this by adding a provocation about the privileging of particular actors’ research, providing a wonderful anecdote as to how deeply students themselves will theorise about schooling and education. 

“As researchers, we need to think about how we can be responsive to the questions and needs of our schools, and in helping communities to answer these questions, we all benefit”. 

When asked what message they would like to leave the postgraduates and ECRs with:

 “Work out why you are doing it” (Eve)

“Work out what are the things you care about and look at the opportunities that come to see what will help you….and there is no unswerving path to your research career, and speaking with others will help you”

Victoria likened academia to a football game in the rain- it might be scrappy and muddy, and there are very few perfect goals and just try and get some possessions along the way- it will build up partnerships and small grants, and if all else fails get a cat”. 

Blog three! Ellen Larsen reports from the Lightning Talks!

The future of education research is in good hands

The buzz was tangible and the excitement obvious as we headed into the break-out rooms for the
Lightning Talks. A highly anticipated part of the Preconference Day is the Lightning Talk session. These talks are an opportunity for postgraduate and early career researcher participants on the day to deliver a lightning-fast two- to three-minute snapshot of their research, with a chance to respond to questions and receive invaluable peer feedback from their conference colleagues.
Over the hour we heard a total of 21 Lightning Talks! We were both inspired and excited by the
breadth and depth of the education research undertaken by these emerging researchers. Their research
has challenged us to think differently about curriculum and pedagogy, issues of social justice, and
contemporary challenges facing education both in Australia and internationally.
These Talks have highlighted the considerable theoretical and methodological expertise among these
AARE members, and the quality of these presentations was reflected by the enthusiastic participation
of the audience and the discussion generated. Congratulations to all contributing researchers in this
session.

Clearly, the future of education research is in good hands.
Feedback from the session reflects the collegial ways of working of this next wave if researchers the
field:
“I couldn’t even imagine that I would see connections between my research topic and some of the
others I had the privilege of listening to, but I did. We really are working together to progress
education!”
“What an opportunity to be immersed in such a wide range of ideas and thinking about education. A
brilliant session and I am excited to keep learning about these projects over time.”

Our second contribution is from Jessica Holloway. Read Kevin Lowe’s post below.

How to be generous as a researcher – our collective tapestry

In the landscape of educational research, I find myself contemplating the collaborative nature of knowledge creation. Like the threads of a rug converging, our diverse backgrounds and expertise intertwine to create a collective tapestry of understanding. While this metaphor may sound overly romantic, it encapsulates the essence of how I see our scholarly pursuit. I shared my thoughts on educational research with those attending the AARE pre-conference. What follows are some of the ideas I discussed earlier today.

The theme was: “Truth, Voice, Place: Critical Junctures for Educational Research” so I explored the intricate interplay between expertise, knowledge creation, and the shared responsibilities within academia. 

Within the intricate tapestry, questions about individual and collective expertise come to mind. The act of citation, particularly the principle of making labour visible, plays a crucial role. Citation goes beyond mere acknowledgment; it is a deliberate choice that shapes discourse and determines whose voices and traditions are recognized in our collective knowledge creation.

At the same time, expertise is not a solitary possession; it is a mosaic formed by weaving together various ideas, traditions, and experiences. Navigating an academic landscape that oftentimes amplifies specific voices over others requires a critical examination of citation practices, recognizing their material consequences within a power-laden dynamic.

Furthermore, accepting that we each play many roles within the knowledge creation process (e.g., researcher, author, editor, supervisor) can help us not only fortify resilience in the face of rejection, but also foster a sense of unity within the academic community. I hope for a steadfast commitment to ethical research practices and a perspective that views individual contributions as integral components of a broader intellectual pursuit. In other words, the work is bigger than each of us individually.

Bearing this in mind, expertise also requires a degree of intellectual humility and curiosity. The loss of my dad to COVID-19 entirely reshaped my own perspective on matters of truth and knowledge. It forced me to accept the limitations of analytical tools in capturing the complexity of human existence. It also made me realise that not having the answers can create a valuable space for curiosity and the emergence of new insights.

Finally, I want to raise generosity as an often-overlooked aspect of academic endeavours. Fostering connections, building relationships, and creating space for others can help assuage the potential isolation in our profession. This collective effort can sustain us through the challenges and joys of our scholarly journey, and it will ultimately lead to better knowledge creation.  

As we look forward, it’s crucial to recognize that the ideas and traditions shared today will contribute to the ongoing construction of the academic fabric. Each stitch, informed by our collective efforts, adds to the rich tapestry of knowledge. Grateful to be part of this academic community, I anticipate the remarkable contributions that each of you will make.

Our first contribution is from UNSW’s Kevin Lowe, who gave the AARE Pre-Conference Keynote

The role of educational research is one of immense responsibility, both in the conceptualisation and execution of studies that aim to bring deeper understanding to the range of issues that seem to impact the life trajectories of many students in schools.

This keynote presentation showcased the foundational principles and research practices that have been underpinned by the Culturally Nourishing Schooling Project. The target audience is higher-degree research students and early career researchers.

This presentation focuses on three interrelated ideas and the projects that ensure from them, with the hope that they provide valuable insights and propose effective strategies for the education of First Nations students in schools throughout Australia.

The presentation focussed on:

Building a research platform for consequential action: A four-year project. The initial focus looks to the question of deepening our understanding of the field such that we can push back on education systems assertions on ‘research-informed’ policy and practice change. I will focus for a moment on why I and others spent three years to undertake a comprehensive review of recent Australian research on the education of First Nations students. I will discuss the purpose of this work, and then orientate my comments to the impact of this landmark project on the future development of a critically informed educational program. 

Secondly, the presentation explained how these systematic reviews were used to develop the Culturally Nourishing Schooling Project. The initial iteration of this project has been implemented in eight schools across New South Wales as a practice/research initiative between 8 researchers, 5 staff and 8 schools. Its aim is to promote a whole-school approach, where schools are seen to work with First Nations families and communities to shift schooling practices. I will briefly describe how the project works with teachers to deepen their understanding of the histories and cultures of local communities, and how this consequently impacts on their beliefs and teaching and learning practices. It also examines curriculum theories in relation to teachers and indigenous knowledge. Lastly, it provides support to teachers in developing a relational pedagogy that aligns with discipline-oriented practices.

Finally, the presentation delved into an investigation of how deeply entrenched epistemic constructs regarding Indigenous peoples, knowledge, and culture are ingrained in the fundamental constructs of educational policy. This discussion aims to uncover how these assumptions are embedded in ways that are considered normal and foundational, and therefore, persist over time to the detriment of educational opportunities for First Nations students.

Our goal is to create sophisticated programs that can tackle intricate problems effectively. We conduct research with the aim of making a tangible impact in the world.

Kevin Lowe (kevin.lowe@unsw.edu.au) is a Gubbi Gubbi man from southeast Queensland. He is a Scientia Indigenous Fellow at UNSW, working on a community and school focused research project on developing a model of sustainable improvement in Aboriginal education. Kevin has had experience in education as a teacher, administrator and lecturer. He has expertise in working with Aboriginal community organisations on establishing Aboriginal language policy and school curriculum implementation. Recently Kevin has worked with colleagues to review research across key areas of schooling and established the Aboriginal Voices a broad-base, holistic project which is developing a new pedagogic framework for teachers. 

Images by Ellen Larsen

Dear Premier, this will not work. Not now, not ever

A select number of teachers in NSW will soon be eligible for increased salaries of up to $152,000. This comes at a time when schools across Australia are facing devastating teacher shortages, while dwindling numbers of prospective teachers are pursuing teaching as a career. According to NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, “This is seismic reform that will modernise the teaching profession and ensure we have the best teachers in our classrooms to benefit students for generations to come.”

Will it, though? Fortunately, we have decades of research about the relationship between teacher pay and performance to make some predictions. Unfortunately, the research doesn’t paint a promising picture about what we can expect.

Ultimately, it all comes down to the fact that teaching is a very complex process and something that is very difficult to measure and to reward. Even though additional pay for our ‘best teachers’ seems like a logical way of improving overall teacher quality, this position is full of assumptions that are rarely (if ever) true. Below are some of the most significant assumptions that need to be addressed.  

Assumption 1: Bonus pay will increase teacher effort (and quality)

When policymakers claim that pay increases for ‘high-achieving’ teachers will lead to better outcomes, this assumes teachers are motivated by financial incentives. This is an economic argument that assumes teachers make rational choices based on the incentives in front of them. It also means that teachers either choose to be ‘high-achieving’ or not, and that money will be the deciding factor.

Should teachers earn more money? Absolutely. However, when linked to indicators of quality (like ‘high-achieving), I’m always wary of how such decisions are made. The truth is that a lot of factors affect how teachers are classified as effective, regardless of how holistically or carefully such systems are designed. Unfortunately, these measures are not always (if ever) true reflections of a teacher’s quality, which brings us to our next assumption.

Assumption 2: Teacher quality is measurable

To be fair, the current NSW proposal does not rely on the same kind of measurement tools that other countries (like the USA) use to measure teacher quality. Some, including the NSW government, even argue that the reform cannot even be considered ‘performance pay’. I disagree, and I think the reform’s title, Rewarding Excellence in Teaching, supports my assertion. 

Therefore, the assumption here is that we can actually know what teacher quality is; we can measure it; and we can reward it. This belief alone is based on many false assumptions. First, quality itself is a slippery construct that experts have been debating for decades. Not only that, but we also know that classifying teachers as ‘high-achieving’ (or not) is always susceptible to several forms of error and bias. For example, we know that teachers who teach students from advantaged backgrounds are more likely to be classified as more effective. We also know that teachers in schools with greater concentrations of disadvantage are more likely to be classified as ineffective. While the NSW reform is not based on test-based teacher evaluation, which is arguably the most susceptible to these biases, there are still concerns about which teachers will ultimately achieve this higher status. We must look at the broader conditions and question whether some teachers will be more likely to miss out, simply because they work in more challenging and unsupportive environments. This, of course, creates new concerns about whether such efforts will actually disincentivise teachers from remaining in already hard-to-staff locations, but that’s an argument for another day. 

Assumption 3: Student performance is a direct result of teacher effort and quality

First, I don’t want to suggest that teachers don’t matter when it comes to student learning and achievement. Teachers do matter, and they can make an enormous difference in the lives of students. It is also true, though, that teachers often have much less impact on student achievement (at least as measured by standardised tests) than many would like to assume. To assume that rewarding ‘excellent’ teachers will necessarily lead to better student achievement is simply not true. We do want consistency in classrooms, and we want teachers who are qualified and proficient. But, we cannot lose sight of the fact that students’ performance and achievement are affected by many factors that are entirely outside of the teachers’ or schools’ control. When it comes to standardised tests, for example, most researchers estimate that teacher differences explain anywhere between 1-14% variation in student outcomes. That means that up to 86-99% of variation in student test scores can be explained by other factors, like socio-economic status, parents’ education levels, and other out-of-school conditions. Therefore, if we really care about raising student achievement, then we must broaden our attention to think about how society is supporting student learning and growth. Continuing to narrowly focus on the teacher will not only be inadequate for raising achievement, but it will also continue to over-burden our teachers and force them out of the classroom. 

Assumption 4: Pay increases for a small number of teachers will lead to higher retention, and it will attract more teachers to the profession

In my view, this is one of the most peculiar assumptions of the reform. The profession has made it very clear that higher pay and manageable workloads are what they need. These requests are also supported by research. Quasi performance pay is not the answer to either of these. While I always want to celebrate pay increases for teachers, I am yet to be convinced that increases for a few hundred teachers will be what keeps the rest in the profession. If anything, I wonder how this will affect school culture. If teachers must compete for promoted status, then we can reasonably predict schools will suffer from decreased morale and collegiality. Even if it’s not a competitive process, we must be careful in how we balance the additional responsibilities with the increased salary. Otherwise, we run the risk of burning out teachers who are promoted to these advanced positions. 

There is still a lot we don’t know about this reform. What I do find hopeful is that teachers and school leaders are involved in developing some of the details. In an ideal world, this collaborative effort will help mitigate some of the concerns I’ve raised. I want to be hopeful. My fear, however, is that we have too many failed cases from around the world that makes it difficult to be optimistic. I hope I’m wrong. 

Jessica Holloway is senior research and ARC DECRA Fellow at the Australian Catholic University. Her research draws on political theory and policy sociology to investigate: (1) how metrics, data and digital tools produce new conditions, practices and subjectivities, especially as this relates to teachers and schools, and (2) how teachers and schools are positioned to respond to the evolving and emerging needs of their communities.

Header photo from the Premier’s Facebook page

Why is there so much talk about teachers right now? Because we are afraid of them

The federal minister for education Jason Clare convened a roundtable to solve the teacher shortage on the eve of the new government’s Job Summit. Items on the agenda? It wasn’t hard to go past working conditions, status, and a growing, chronic teacher shortage as the impetus for history-making industrial action and considerable media coverage.

Concerns about teachers’ working conditions have themselves arisen out of a context in which teacher quality, figures of the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ teacher, the fear of indoctrinating teachers, have been increasingly constructed as ‘policy problems’ to be addressed. ‘The teacher’, it seems, is becoming one of the most contested figures in contemporary education policy debates.

We have recently edited a Special Issue of the journal Education Policy Analysis Archives in which the collected papers reflect on the current positioning of teachers across a range of international policy contexts. This journal, unlike the majority of academic journals, is run by a university and is entirely open access, which means you can read the full issue. You can also watch a video introduction to the issue. 

Look at Australia, for example

In our introduction to the issue, we use Australia as an example of a country in which responsibility has been placed on teachers to ‘fix’ perceived educational crises, often through policy reform that requires teachers to be ‘better’ trained, more professional, more accountable and more standardised. Here, the past fifteen years of education policy has featured: the introduction of standardised census testing of students via the National Assessment Programme, the results of which are made public via the My School website; the introduction of national teaching standards and accreditation requirements; and repeated inquiries into initial teacher education, with the introduction of program standards and, more recently, mandated teacher performance assessments.

Why are teachers so central to education policy?

Given all this policy change, we think it’s reasonable to claim that teachers are the targets of much political and popular consternation. But what is it about teachers that makes them such a matter of attention and concern, and how does the current political climate contribute to these (often unrealistic) expectations?

According to Wodak, populism has an “appeal to the ‘common man/woman’ as opposed to the elites”. She has argued that in populist regimes, ‘difference’ is denied and the ‘common’ is valorised, creating “a demos which exists above and beyond the divides and diversities of social class and religion, gender and generation”.

We argue that it is possible to view schooling (and teaching) as a logical site of public commentary because of the common experience amongst most populations. Indeed, it is often suggested that everyone knows what it is like to be a teacher because everyone has gone to school. As Lortie put it, there is an ‘apprenticeship of observation’ in school education that means everyone, regardless of whether they become a teacher or not, forms ideas about the work of teaching simply because of their ongoing interactions with teachers throughout a significant portion of their lives. In terms of populist tendencies, this widespread experience and presumed knowledge about how schools should operate, positions teachers as a common ground upon which critique can be aimed.

At the same time, teachers increasingly bear the burden for the economic, social and political wellbeing of the countries within which they teach. As the global economy becomes understood as essentially knowledge-based, the need to track and compare student achievement within and across nation-states has taken on a broad prominence typified by, for instance, the regular Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests run by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Indeed, teachers are an increasing point of focus for the OECD, which now also runs the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) examining teachers’ work and working conditions. This, we argue, reflects a revived and rearticulated emphasis on the teacher.

The teacher as an object of fear

Yet despite this apparent importance, teaching does not often become an object of respect, but rather of fear, emblematic of growing national and international anxieties around knowledge, success and the moral character of the next generation. This puts the figure of the teacher in an uncomfortable position. Paradoxically, teaching is known to all (“anyone could do it!”), yet also unknowable (as a university-based, complex and contested form of expertise). Teachers’ success is supposedly important for global competition, but teaching is not necessarily viewed as worthy of professional status and fair working conditions. Within this context, ongoing attempts to control, standardise and responsibilise teaching and teachers becomes a rational, even urgent pursuit. So much so that the resulting hyper-focus on teachers-as-solution has created what Wodak calls a “fear ‘market’”, where teachers become the target of an expanding “cottage industry” of commercial products (e.g., professional development materials, data-tracking platforms, etc.).

It’s time to destabilise global narratives of teachers

The papers in our Special Issue explore teachers’ work across contexts including the United States, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. The journal in which the issue has been published is based at Arizona State University, meaning that the inclusion of studies from places like Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands may make somewhat unfamiliar reading for many subscribers. This was intentional.

In Australia, education policy is often developed and analysed in reference to what Lingard has termed our common ‘reference societies’ of the US and UK. As researchers and authors, we are routinely asked to make our work ‘relevant’ by situating it in relation to such dominant international reform contexts. But what would happen if this demand was reversed? Should research emanating from dominant contexts instead be required to make itself relevant to more diverse, local spaces, and what analytical possibilities might this open up? Possibly, what is needed is to reimagine teachers and schooling in ways that are less limited by the systems and structures that have led us to this point. Perhaps it is time for teachers and those who research them to truly warrant their positioning as an object of fear, by destabilising the taken-for-granted terms under which they work.


From left: Meghan Stacey is senior lecturer in the UNSW School of Education, researching in the fields of the sociology of education and education policy. Taking a particular interest in teachers, her research considers how teachers’ work is framed by policy, as well as the effects of such policy for those who work with, within and against it. Mihajla Gavin is a senior lecturer at UTS Business School. Her PhD, completed in 2019, examined how teacher trade unions have responded to neoliberal education reform. Her current research focuses on the restructuring of teachers’ work and conditions of work, worker voice, and women and employment relations. Jessica Gerrard is an associate professor at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education. Jessica researches the changing formations, and lived experiences, of social inequalities in relation to education, activism, work and unemployment. She works across the disciplines of sociology, history and policy studies with an interest in critical methodologies and theories. Anna Hogan is senior research fellow in the School of Teacher Education and Leadership at the Queensland University of Technology. Her research focuses on education privatisation and commercialisation. She currently works on a number of research projects, including investigating philanthropy in Australian public schooling, the privatisation of global school provision, and the intensification of teachers’ work. Jessica Holloway is senior research and ARC DECRA Fellow at the Australian Catholic University. Her research draws on political theory and policy sociology to investigate: (1) how metrics, data and digital tools produce new conditions, practices and subjectivities, especially as this relates to teachers and schools, and (2) how teachers and schools are positioned to respond to the evolving and emerging needs of their communities.