Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemCan you Hear Their Voices? Young Australians Speak of Their Social Aspirations( 2022)Young people are both the promise and the guarantee of the future. How adults, communities, and institutions engage—or fail to engage—with young people shapes their attitudes and behaviours, and subsequently the character of future society. Yet we rarely ask young people about the kind of future society they want, and their felt capacity to reify that future. To understand young people's aspirations and how capable they feel to help their community, I undertook a series of workshops with young Australians aged 12 to 15. Participants demonstrated deep thinking about matters of social justice and well-being in relation to both close and distant others. The unique contribution to knowledge of this thesis is twofold. First, the findings highlight a correlation between the way students conceptualised equality, and social relations, the length of their participation in the research, and how capable they felt in reifying the social transformation they envisaged. Participants who saw the possibility of mutualism and cooperation, and engaged across multiple days, also expressed greater confidence in their capacity to be a positive influence in their communities; those who saw their world as characterised by selfishness, competition and individualism, and who participated in culture circles for only one day felt capable of influencing only themselves. Second, these findings would not have been possible without the unique conceptual frame drawn upon. Three theories provided insight into the relationship between participants' conception of the world and their conceptions of themselves. This theoretical framework, along with the findings, offers further evidence of the intimate connection between individuals and the world. Ideologies, hope, agency, and purpose contribute to young people's beliefs about the future and themselves. Futures literature considers how people imagine their future selves, with most reflecting positive personal futures and disintegrating social futures. Literature on community engagement, on the other hand, explores the various ways young people are contributing to their communities, and the potential outcomes of this engagement. Ongoing, systematic community engagement by young people, particularly in early adolescence, seems to be effective in building their individual capabilities at the same time they contribute to the wider community. The theoretical framework draws from three traditions. The first is equality as a quintessential aspect of social justice that supports our understanding of differences between individuals and groups, including systems of oppression which perpetuate existing inequalities. The second theory posits that a person's understanding of the world, informed by their interpretive frames, shapes their attitudes and behaviours. Finally, theories of critical pedagogy show how education can nurture more desirable ways of engaging with the world. Using Freirean culture circles as my research praxis, 81 students from three New South Wales (NSW) high schools were engaged in a series of workshops and surveys. The semi-structured workshops explored their ideals for their personal, local, national, and global futures, examining how students saw themselves contributing to its reification. Two key themes emerged: equality and social relations. In their discussions of equality, gender, race, sexuality, and income were matters of concern. Despite equality being a major theme, some students unknowingly exhibited attitudes and behaviours that perpetuate inequalities. In their discussions of social relations, they spoke about the relationship between individuals and groups. Their assumptions about people and society as either innately conflictual or mutualistic appeared to limit, shape, or create opportunities for themselves and their society. Following discussion about their ideal futures, students revealed their felt capabilities to reify these futures. Students shared the lines of action they felt able to follow, including engaging in social discourse, engaging with and building networks, educating themselves and others, creating a supportive environment, and practising virtues. Those who attended across multiple days expressed much stronger felt capabilities than those who attended for only one day. The findings highlight the importance of adolescents critically engaging in dialogue and meaningful social action. Considering adolescence only from age 15 onwards, as some do, may limit possibilities for social action initiatives, as well as the potential development of opportunities in young people. Younger adolescents also think about the world beyond themselves in meaningful and moral ways. Opportunities should be made available to these younger adolescents to nurture their burgeoning capabilities.
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ItemExploring the role of critical literacy in the early years of primary school( 2021)Despite literacy being viewed as ideological and grounded in a particular view of the world (Street, 2017), early years literacy practice has recently been impacted upon by the conceptualisation of literacy as a set of discrete skills (Clark, 2017; Ewing, 2006; 2018; Exley, 2018; Snyder, 2008). This study inquires into early years literacy education, to investigate what constitutes early years literacy teaching and learning and the place that critical literacy might hold. It addresses the gap in current research, regarding how critical literacy might be planned for and taught in the first two years of primary schooling. The qualitative study, underpinned by a postmodern epistemology influenced by the theories of Paulo Freire, Lorenzo Milani, and Hilary Janks, examined the planning, teaching and learning of critical literacy in three early years classrooms. Constructivist grounded theory methodology (Charmaz, 2014) was used to investigate the processes, problems and possibilities which arose when early years teachers approached the planning and teaching of critical literacy to teach Indigenous perspectives. Students’ understandings that resulted after a sustained focus on critical literacy were examined. Methods of data collection included audio recordings of planning and teaching sessions, observations, in-situ interviews, and document analysis of planning documents and student work samples. Discourse analysis (Gee, 2011) was used as an analytical tool, complementing constructivist grounded theory methodology and providing insights about language usage. The findings from this research revealed that teachers develop ways of being critical literacy teachers, which are reflected in their collegial discursive practices, impacting upon students’ abilities to critically engage with curriculum content involving Indigenous perspectives. The substantive topic of Indigenous perspectives and the classroom practices gave rise to student voice and agency, which at times, shifted traditional teacher-student power relationships. Contributions from this study are made to the field of research, demonstrating how a conceptual framework that brings into dialogue key theorists can support data analysis, within a constructivist grounded theory study. Additionally, the study has contributed to understandings about the ways teachers plan for critical literacy, to support young students to critically engage with complex social issues. The intersection of critical literacy, the early years of schooling and Indigenous perspectives has demonstrated new possibilities for the planning and teaching of early literacy. Further contributions from this study are made to the current discourse that exists in Australian education around curriculum reform and the importance of decolonising the curriculum. Issues of truth telling about settlement and Indigenous dispossession were raised, highlighting the need for teachers to be informed, to address Indigenous perspectives for authentic student engagement with historical and social issues.