Latest Publication: A healthy dose of race? White students’ and teachers’ unintentional brushes with whiteness

Citation: Schulz, S, & Fane, Jennifer. (2015). A healthy dose of race? White students’ and teachers’ unintentional brushes with whiteness. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 40(11), 137-154. Retrieved from: http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol40/iss11/8

In 2013 myself, Dr Grant Banfield, and Dr Samantha Schulz conducted a research study into how first year student's in a health education subject engaged with socially critical understandings of health. This is the second in a series of publication relating to this project published in the Australian Journal of Teacher Education, with the first being a conference paper presented at the 2015 ACHPER International conference, see here for further details. This paper investigates the ways in which introducing to students to how rascism impacts on health resulted in a series of 'brushes with whiteness' and what teacher educators can learn from the 'sticking points' our students encountered when grappeling with new ways of thinking.

Abstract

This paper reports on efforts by three Australian academics to develop students’ sociocultural awareness (in particular, their racial literacy) during a time of mounting pressure on teacher educators to narrow and standardise their approaches. The field of health education provides a vehicle for research; however, it is not the paper’s central foci. Of key concern is the development of a critical disposition in students – a disposition geared toward teaching for social equity. Learning of this nature transcends topic domains, and therefore allows for collaboration between academics in different parts of teacher education. Specifically, the paper focuses upon ‘whiteness’ and applies a whiteness lens (a form of critical discourse analysis) to portions of the research data to explore how discourses of race circumscribe the efforts of white students and teachers, often resulting in unintentional ‘brushes’ with whiteness (or reproductions of white race privilege). A collaborative approach that develops racial literacy through direct engagement with racial representations is considered as a way forward.

The full text is available here

Linking pre-service teachers with national data and local sites - a partnership approach

The early childhood teaching team at Flinders has continued to strive to connect teacher education meaningfully to early childhood contexts and educational theory and knowledge. We were recently recognised for this work through a Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching from our Flinders University.

In order to do this work, we have re-conceptualised workplace experience in our courses and our work with very diverse early childhood sites drawing from Cochran-Smith and Lytle’s (1999) metaphor of ‘inquiry-as-a-stance’ for re-thinking the relationship between pre-service teachers, teacher educators, practicing early childhood teachers and educational knowledge (p.288). To this end, individual units/courses of study have sought partnerships with a variety of sites to create innovative partnerships that support both the pre-service teacher's learning, but also the site and their work with children.

This year, two Flinders' early childhood units/topics, Early Childhood Health and Physical Education and Literacy and Numeracy Birth-to-Four wanted to expand on this approach by working with sites in exploration of the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) data and how this information can inform our work with children and the community. The AEDC is a national data set that reports on areas of vulnerability and strength in early childhood at a community level in five areas:

• Physical health and wellbeing
• Social competence
• Emotional maturity
• Language and cognitive skills
• Communication skills and general knowledge

Further information about the AEDC, and to access community level data in Australia see this link.

We approached early learning sites whose local community had taken part in the ADEC pilot project in 2009 in an effort to find sites interested in working with our pre-service teachers to support learning and development in  areas of  vulnerability as identified by the AEDC. A local kindergarten, Mitchell Park, expressed an interest in participating and a partnership was created.

Our units/topics were developed to meaningfully weave this partnership into the units/topics assessment. In doing so, pre-service teachers are required to understand and interpret local data sets, and plan to support the site's needs through an inquiry focus, chosen by the site, that links to the the units/topics content areas. For further information about the partnership and the work being completed by the pre-service teachers, please see link.

Now in week 4 of the semester, the partnership is underway and the value of this approach is becoming clear for both the site and the pre-service teachers. Connecting pre-service teachers, early learning sites, and local community to recent and localised data is important and valuable for all involved, and valuing this approach in our work in teacher education continues to be a sometimes challenging, but worthwhile approach.

2015 Adelaide Blue Stocking Week Dinner

Tickets are available now for a great upcoming event. We sold out last year - so don't wait!

Latest Publication :“I thought it would just be about healthy eating and exercise”: What we can learn about school health education from students and its implications for teaching the new national curriculum

This paper was presented at the Australian Council of Health, Physical Education and Recreation (ACHPER) 2015 International Conference in Adelaide. It reports on a research study into pre-service teacher's reflective learning in a university health education subject conducted by myself, Dr Samantha Schulz and Dr Grant Banfield.

Abstract:

The knowledge and experience students bring of health to university is strongly shaped by societal constructions of health and healthy behaviours. This happens through interactions with family, media, and the community, but is also highly impacted by the work of schooling, or the reproduction of societal values surrounding health by schools. This paper explores the challenges of teaching health literacy to post-secondary students who come to universityhealth education with a highly individualised (and thus narrow) view of health. It reports on research involving a first year health education topic at a metropolitan Australian university, and the challenges facing students who are grappling to comprehend a social view of health. Data from the research is analysed to uncover how previous health education impacts upon students’ ability to think in health literate (i.e. socially critical) ways. This analysis seeks to further our knowledge about the understandings of health with which students come to higher education, and how their previous health education continues to shape their health literacy. Implications for health educators implementing the new national curriculum in primary and secondary schools, as well as those working in pre-service teacher education, are discussed.

Keywords: Health education, HPE curriculum, teacher education, health literacy, critical

inquiry

Here is the link to the full conference proceedings and the above paper is found on page 148.

Systematic Review for Multi-Disciplinary and Educational Research - a 'How to'

Among the many other things that keep my busy at Flinders, such as my role as an Associate Lecturer in Education and activism with the NTEU, I am also currently working towards completing a PhD in the Discipline of Public Health.

As my research question and project investigating the wellbeing of children as they transition to school effectively sits in the space between early childhood education and public health, I have had the task of trying to work in between these two disciplines and use methods and methodology that supports a multi-disciplinary research study.

In order to immerse myself in the literature pertaining to the health and wellbeing of young children across education and public health research, as well as Government reports and policy documents, I decided/was guided to embark on a systematic search and review of the literature - a strategy employed frequently in public health, but scarcely in education. As my background was in education, this process was new and challenging,  but at completion was extremely useful in guiding my proposed research study and in adding rigor to the literature review chapter of my thesis.

I had the opportunity to present the systematic search and review approach I adopted to a group of Post Graduate students and Faculty in the School of Education at Flinders last week in the weekly post-grad seminar. I received  very positive responses from colleagues and peers, as systematic reviews are rarely done in education, and this method was new and of great interest to those in attendance.

While all methodological approaches have their limitations and need to be carefully considered, my presentation attested that adding elements of systematic searching and/or review to educational research, or systematically documenting the procedures for the collection of literature used to design research studies can be an extremely effective tool for those of us engaged in educational research due to its ability to add rigor to our studies.

At the request of several colleagues and peers, I'm including a link to the power point presentation I presented outlining my systematic review in hopes that it helps to support others' work, or sparks interesting conversations about the use of this tool in education or for multi-disciplinary research.

Here it is: Systematic searching and systematic review: Adding rigour to your literature review

Adelaide May Day March and Rally - May 2nd 2015

Jennifer Fane - SA NTEU

The SA NTEU branch invites you to join the May Day March and Rally to celebrate the gains made in fairness and work rights and to highlight the work we have to do. For further information or to download a poster visit the SA NTEU website. Join us in advocating for affordable, accessible, and respectful higher education and public institutions for all.

If you value higher education, research, public healthcare a renewable future and the 8 hour day, be there on May Day 2015  

May Day is an international celebration of the campaign that started nearly 200 years ago, to achieve an eight hour day. This, and the broader campaign for fairness and rights at work that May Day has been historically linked to, are just as important today.Join NTEU colleagues, unionists from all walks of life & bring friends & family to the May Day March & Rally:

When: Saturday 2 May

Where: Meet at Torrens Parade Ground 10.30am  for 11.00am start

What: March to Light Square for speeches, food stalls, drinks & fun for the children

Hope to see you there!

New Teacher Education Initiative in Tasmania

With the proposed and controversial changes to South Australia teacher qualifications which would require all new teachers to have a masters degree to meet teacher registration requirements (see here for the government announcement) Flinders University has been vocal about the need to keep teacher education pathways open to allow for both undergraduate and masters level qualification instead of the proposed 'one sizes fits all' approach.

While in South Australia teacher educators continue to fight for programs and qualifications requirements that support our current and future pre-service teachers and the children and schools with which they will work, Tasmania has been exploring ways of elevating their pre-service teacher education programs and yesterday announced a new program designed to further equip pre-service teachers with the skills, knowledge, and experience they will need to thrive in the profession.

Here's an excerpt of the new initiative:

Tasmanian teaching students will have an opportunity to work full-time in our Government schools during their final year of study and gain a guaranteed job through the second initiative announced under the Hodgman Liberal Government’s Developing Our Workforce Strategy.

Forty positions will be available to University of Tasmania Teacher Education students in the first year of the Teacher Intern Placement Program, which is designed to give student teachers an alternative final year study option to better prepare them for work in our Government schools.

This opportunity will be on offer to our high performing students, who demonstrate a commitment to teaching in Tasmania after graduation, ensuring our brightest minds are inspiring our students.

And here's the link to the full release. Within the continued conversations about teacher education in Australia  it will be interesting to see how this adds to the conversation.