This paper analyses the nature of collaborative teacher learning as a form of 'public sphere', under current policy conditions. The research draws upon Habermas' notions of communicative action and public spheres, and literature on the nature of teachers' learning in the context of standardized curriculum and assessment reform, to analyse how…

This paper employs sociological literature on risk and the commodification of education to explain current schooling practices in a context of increased concerns about students' behaviour and results on standardised tests of achievement. Drawing upon teacher and student learning practices in three school sites in south-east Queensland, Australia,…

This paper explores how the strong policy push to improve students' results on national literacy and numeracy tests -- the National Assessment Program, Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) -- in the Australian state of Queensland influenced schooling practices, including teachers' learning. The paper argues the focus upon improved test scores on NAPLAN…

This article draws on Bourdieu's field theory and related concepts of habitus and capitals, to explore policy implementation in relation to a particular case of teacher professional development in Queensland, Australia. This implementation process is described as an effect of the interplay between what is called the policy field and the field of…

This article presents a case study of the sociological effects of two Australian educational policies--one federal and one state--upon the professional development practices supported by a group of teachers and administrators working together across a cluster of six schools in a rural community in south-east Queensland, Australia. The article…