The purpose of this study is to evaluate the scientific production and performance of the concept 'challenging schools' from 2000 to today through a bibliometric analysis complemented by scientific mapping. The study resorted to different processes to quantify, analyse, evaluate, and estimate the scientific output by means of specific software…

Describing various demographic characteristics of disadvantaged students, the programs they study and their employment outcomes is a significant area of research interest in the vocational education and training (VET) sector. This article offers a preliminary exploration of how groups are problematised and the consequent influence on VET research…

Improving educational performance, including narrowing equity gaps, is frequently touted as a matter of improving the quality of teachers in the lowest performing, often disadvantaged, schools. However, the assumption that teaching is of poorer quality in disadvantaged schools is largely unsubstantiated. Using the Quality Teaching Model of…

This article examines the potential contribution of social enterprise to the "wicked" problem of creativity and literacy in a performative schooling environment, drawing on an ethnographic study of Ciento, a social enterprise organization that works with under-resourced young people, families, and communities in Melbourne, Australia. In…

This study examines the historical role preparation experiences of professional staff and academics in a managerialised university field. Semi-structured interviews were used to identify the impact of these experiences on the individual's ability to 'play the game' of the managerialised university field. The Bourdieusian concepts of habitus, doxa…

In this paper, I examine the tensions that a school principal experienced in reconciling performative priorities with equitable practices in a government secondary school in a low Socio-Economic Status suburb in Victoria, Australia. I use the notion of paradox to explore how the principal navigated contradictions and tensions. I aim to provide a…

Access and usage of digital technologies is a marker of advantage in Australian schools. This study aims to identify how context impacts upon the enactment of the teaching and leading of the Digital Technologies Curriculum in schools labelled as disadvantaged. The study used a four-fold heuristic of contexts to analyse the work of educators in…

The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the shortage of teachers worldwide. Shortages have been reported globally including in countries such as the UK, Netherlands, France, Japan, New Zealand and the United States. In Australia, persistent challenges in teacher recruitment, and retention, especially in disadvantaged schools have worsened, with rural…

Teacher shortages are a significant global problem disproportionally affecting "hardest-to-staff" schools and subjects. To better understand (inter)national policy responses to teacher shortages, this paper uses a Bacchian-inspired approach to critically examine proposals suggested as solutions in policy documents from England and…

Neoliberal education reforms have altered the way social justice is imagined in relation to schooling. These reforms reframe social justice as 'equity' through conceptions of standards, evidence and teacher quality, while detracting attention from the moral and political dispositions required for socially-just teaching. Knowing more about how this…

Home-based parenting interventions foster positive parent-child relationships and parenting skills that reduce risks to child outcomes associated with social disadvantage. This article extends evidence about the value of one such program -- the Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters (HIPPY) -- through qualitative examination of a new…

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a sudden shift to online teaching and learning in higher education institutions. This abrupt transition had a significant impact on both students and staff. In this article, the author discusses how three academics identified students who were experiencing digital poverty and implemented trauma-responsive…

Drawing upon a long-term study of venture philanthropy and public schools in Australia, this paper focuses on Teach For Australia (TFA) as a major component of a venture philanthropic network, one that builds critical infrastructures and connections between non-government organisations and the state, creating a product pipeline into public…

Background: Current evidence indicates that intellectual disability and gender are both factors in differential usage of services. However, there are limited data about the demographic and service usage patterns of people with intellectual disability who use mental health services. This is particularly true in relation to women with intellectual…

Within school contexts that are socioeconomically marginalized, complex factors often lead to languages learning being devalued in ways which adversely impact students' potential, particularly their motivation to learn an additional language (L2). This paper examines the role of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in shaping students'…