Papers by Glenda McGregor
Introduction In both pre-service and in-service teacher education there is increasing recognition... more Introduction In both pre-service and in-service teacher education there is increasing recognition of the diverse settings in which teachers work. Despite the power of default discourses of ‘what schools are’ (see Johnston & Hayes, 2008; Tyack & Cuban, 1995) the educational landscape is varied in terms of organisational structures and educational approaches. This special issue takes as its starting point the diversity of educational provision at secondary school level – and focuses on one specific set of providers: alternative and flexible education settings. These schools and programs are aimed at young people who – for whatever reason – are unlikely to complete upper secondary qualifications (‘Year 12’ in Australia) in more traditional settings but who nevertheless would like to achieve such educational credentials (Mills & McGregor, 2014; Te Riele, 2007). Recent policy and economic pressures – not only in Australia (CoAG, 2009) but also internationally (e.g. European Union, 2011) ...
ABSTRACT The central question that this research has addressed is: How do 'alternativ... more ABSTRACT The central question that this research has addressed is: How do 'alternative' schools attempt to meet the needs of young people disengaged from the mainstream schooling sector? Within Queensland there are a number of 'alternative' schools that seek to meet the needs of young people whose interests have not been met by the mainstream schooling sector. These schools are of varying types. This project was concerned with those schools that seek to cater to the needs of young people who are unlikely to return to the mainstream sector for various reasons. Such schools contrast with special centres set up to cater to young people suspended and expelled from school and that have as their purpose returning the young person to a regular school. The focus of this research was therefore on schools that were not so much concerned with changing the student, but instead concentrated on changing the environment and the kinds of teaching and learning that young people engage in. Many of the young people attending these schools do so because there are no mainstream schools that will accept them and/or because they are unwilling to conform to the expectations of such schools. For such young people, these alternative schools have become a place that meets not only their academic needs, but also their social and emotional needs. The research was conduced for Youth Affairs Network Queensland (YANQ), the peak body for youth organisations in Queensland, who, in conjunction with the researchers, was interested in determining the extent to which these alternative schools were able to engage young people, who have been failed by the mainstream sector. The project was concerned with the following issues in respect to these centres: funding, students, environment, curriculum, pedagogy, post-schooling pathways, and staffing. A key aspect of this project was thus to determine the kinds of support such schools need in order to maintain a service to young people that is not being met elsewhere. Alternative schools play an important role in the catering to the educational needs, academic and social, of young people disengaged from mainstream schooling sectors. However, some alternative schools may provide a warm and caring environment, but fail to break the cycle of reproduction of academic disadvantage. Thus, the project also considered how alternative schools can develop practices that break this cycle. Whilst these alternative schools meet the needs of some of the most marginalised young people in society, there are also other young people in mainstream schools who are disengaged from the learning process and have very little connection to their school. There is much that mainstream schools can learn from 'successful' alternative schools in order to provide an education that caters to a wide range of students. No Yes
In this paper, we draw upon the experiences of a group of young people who have been excluded fro... more In this paper, we draw upon the experiences of a group of young people who have been excluded from mainstream schools in two Australian states to provide an account of the ways in which they have found their way to education in educational sites that are variously referred to as 'flexible learning centres', 'second chance schools' and 'alternative schools'. Whilst often clashing with school authorities in their original schools, these young people described how, when given the opportunity, they were able to engage in more meaningful learning in environments that recognised and accommodated their personal circumstances, and avoided authoritarian rule. A question we address is: What kinds of educational experiences facilitate 'meaningful learning' for these students?
Discourse: Studies in The Cultural Politics of Education, 2010
Pedagogy, Culture and Society, 2011
Narratives of power that purport to represent the ‘truth’ of others need to be challenged by the ... more Narratives of power that purport to represent the ‘truth’ of others need to be challenged by the individual stories of those who are silenced by ‘authority’ and ‘expert’ opinion. This paper utilises research data from an open‐ended ethnographic study of 32 Australian high school students at the turn of the twenty‐first century. In its entirety, this research explored a range of issues in respect to contemporary youth, including globalisation, technological change and identity formation. In this paper, I present a selection of that data to invite reflection upon the notion that in order to encourage the intellectual growth and engagement of many youth whose sensibilities and behaviour have been shaped by a postmodern milieu, educators need to review the student–teacher binary and work to establish more egalitarian relationships. As educators, we cannot ignore the impact on young people of social, cultural and economic transformations. Data presented in this paper support the perspective that our pedagogical relationships with today’s students are fundamental to their engagement with schooling.
International Journal of Inclusive Education, 2012
This paper reports on research conducted in alternative schools/flexible learning centres 1 desig... more This paper reports on research conducted in alternative schools/flexible learning centres 1 designed to support young people marginalised from mainstream schooling in Australia. Many of the young people attending these centres had left school due to difficult personal circumstances and/or significant conflicts with schooling authorities. We argue that the ways in which these schools construct their learning environments, teaching programmes and pedagogical relationships are conducive to encouraging such young people to re-engage with educational processes and thus should be supported as viable alternatives within schooling sectors. Moreover, we contend that data gathered from these sites should be used to inform many of the practices within mainstream schools that currently contribute to the marginalisation of certain categories of youth.
International Journal of Inclusive Education, 2011
This paper reports on research conducted in alternative schools/flexible learning centres 1 desig... more This paper reports on research conducted in alternative schools/flexible learning centres 1 designed to support young people marginalised from mainstream schooling in Australia. Many of the young people attending these centres had left school due to difficult personal circumstances and/or significant conflicts with schooling authorities. We argue that the ways in which these schools construct their learning environments, teaching programmes and pedagogical relationships are conducive to encouraging such young people to re-engage with educational processes and thus should be supported as viable alternatives within schooling sectors. Moreover, we contend that data gathered from these sites should be used to inform many of the practices within mainstream schools that currently contribute to the marginalisation of certain categories of youth.
Pedagogy, Culture and Society, 2006
Music is central to the lives of most high‐school age boys. However, music education is a margina... more Music is central to the lives of most high‐school age boys. However, music education is a marginalised area of the school curriculum, decreasing in popularity as students approach senior school and succumb to pressures to choose subjects perceived to be more useful in the ‘real world’. While this process is common for both boys and girls, the drop‐off is greater among boys, who sometimes construct music as a ‘feminised’ subject. Attempts to engage boys in music, thus, often involve music teachers trying to adapt their pedagogies to what they perceive to be boys’ interests and learning styles. In some cases music teachers attempt to construct a ‘connected’ curriculum for boys in ways which accommodate, reinforce and reproduce hegemonic constructions of masculinity. This article argues that it is critical that the pedagogical practices music teachers deploy in order to encourage boys’ engagement with the subject take into account the cultural implications of globalisation, media and music technology and capitalise upon diversity rather than participate in the reproduction of dominant constructions of gender. The article further argues that music education, like other marginalised areas of the school curriculum, when demonstrating such nuanced understandings of youth cultures and their relationships to various constructions of young masculinities and femininities, provides an opening for the study of masculinity and gender relations in contemporary society in ways that can benefit both girls and boys.
British Journal of Sociology of Education, 2009
In Western nations, the social and economic changes of the last thirty years have facilitated a r... more In Western nations, the social and economic changes of the last thirty years have facilitated a reorientation of the focus of educational institutions. Global capitalism has placed education at the forefront of national competitiveness and governments have responded with education policies primarily designed to serve the needs of the market.
Uploads
Papers by Glenda McGregor