There are 9 posts in this category
January 17th, 2019
Early childhood educators do amazing work for meagre money and sparse recognition.
I greatly appreciate the contrast between my granddaughters’ early learning and my own (lack of) education in ‘White Australia’, where women were interned at home and children had no voice.
I want educators to know their work with children is awesome, and something to be proud of for the rest of their lives.
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March 24th, 2018
Universities are under fire from both sides of politics. The right complain they fail to meet the needs of employers. The left argue they legitimise the ‘meritocracy’ and hence fuel inequality. Both arguments can be co-opted by governments intent on cutting funds. In this post, I respond in defence of universities.
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October 26th, 2017
The “International High Flyers”, we decided to call them (unofficially). They are the five winners of the 2020socialjustice Study Support Scholarships at RMIT University in Melbourne.
They came to Australia on permanent humanitarian visas from different corners of the world, and are an amazing group of young people. Whatever they are doing in ten to twenty years, I’m sure it will be impressive. Winning these Study Support Scholarships is a step along the way.
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April 9th, 2017
It seemed like a good idea at the time. A perpetual student award, for an essay related to social justice. The academic aspects were straightforward to organise, but the administrative aspects were not. Lack of overall coordination across these two arms of the university created a barrier to sustainability. The endowment has now been transferred into one-off Study Support Scholarships.
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May 7th, 2016
Why can’t Australian education be as good as the Finnish system, a teacher of 40 years recently asked, answering his own question by highlighting the politics of education, and particularly of standardised testing. I put his question to the Minister for Education, and this post records the response. It didn’t satisfy me, but would be interested in other views.
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April 5th, 2016
The neoliberal behemoth hovers over education. Saving our public system is not so much about changing our Prime Minister as about unravelling the mindset that has taken occupation within, across, and beyond party lines…A job for the people…Joan Beckwith.
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December 20th, 2013
The connection between a university graduation and social justice may not be immediately obvious, and I did not expect to be posting about my son’s ceremony, but a few things made the occasion somewhat relevant (at least for me, who connects pretty much everything to social justice)…Joan Beckwith.
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December 2nd, 2013
Guest post by Dr Jenny Ricketts
Building school community, writes Dr Ricketts, is about building connections between staff, students, and families so that each member has a voice. She discusses her research in an economically disadvantaged, culturally diverse school, and the ideas that emerged about education as collaborative and transformative.
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September 4th, 2013
There is probably no need to justify a social justice student award, but in this post I talk about some of my reasons for establishing one. I want the award to say that social justice work is valued, and valuable, and will continue to be so into the future. Eligible students are completing the third year of a (five-year) combined degree (at RMIT University) in psychology and social work…Joan Beckwith.
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