Critical Perspectives on Educational Policies and Professional Identities

Richard Waller is Professor of Education and Social Justice in the School of Education and Childhood at UWE.Jane Andrews is Professor of Education in the School of Education and Childhood at UWE.Timothy Clark is Director of Research and Enterprise in the School of Education and Childhood at UWE.

Critical Perspectives is a vibrant addition to the academic literature, echoing the spirit of Bathmaker and Harnett’s influential work while carving its own distinct path. Within its pages, a chorus of practitioner-researcher and established academic voices offer a refreshing perspective on doctoral education that extends far beyond the confines of traditional school or college settings.This book is a must-read for anyone with a stake in doctoral education, providing a rich tapestry of insights into policy and professionalism across diverse landscapes. From Higher Education to the National Health Service, Further Education, and Early Years, the authors unravel the complexities with meticulous detail. What emerges is a vivid portrayal of local concerns with a resounding impact that transcends boundaries, resonating across phases, settings, and sectors.What sets this volume apart is its innovative approach to co-production, seamlessly weaving together emerging and established academic voices in each chapter. This dynamic collaboration opens a portal for the researching-professional, inviting them to seamlessly transition into a professional-researcher role. The book balances academic rigor with a grounded practitioner focus, effortlessly straddling theory and practice, conceptual and empirical realms, honouring the individual of voice entangled within an extensive ecology of agency.At its core, Critical Perspectives will captivate academics and practitioners with a detailed exploration of the 'messiness and situatedness' inherent in the experience of being and becoming an educational professional. The authors skillfully navigate the intricate landscape of constructing, interrogating, and challenging professionalism, unveiling the limitations of a one-size-fits-all approach with poignant clarity.This volume is more than a departure; it is a welcome revelation. It serves as a powerful reminder that doctoral training goes beyond providing the technical skills required to manage small scale research project, urging us to embrace knowledge generation that is applied, transdisciplinary, and deeply contextualized. It serves as a catalyst for change, reminding us that engagement with policy is not restricted to interpretation and enactment but includes the invisible activism of not only inevitable but welcome disruption. Critical Perspectives is a vibrant affirmation of the landscape of doctoral education as a realm of endless possibilities and transformative potential.

• Chapter 1. Educational Policies and Professional Identities: Showcasing Lessons from Doctoral Practitioner Research; Richard Waller, Jane Andrews, and Timothy Clark Section 1 - Constructions of the Professional and Society Chapter 2. Hierarchies of Professionalism in Interprofessional Partnerships for Inclusion: Mapping the Role and Professional Identities of Early Years Educators; Alex Morfaki, Helen Bovill, and Nicola Bowden-Clissold Chapter 3. Professional Identity within changing healthcare roles: exploring the third or hybrid space; Sally Moyle and Richard Waller Chapter 4. The impact of symbolic violence on the perceived choices of trainee primary school teachers: a poetic perspective; Laura Manison and Catherine Rosenberg Chapter 5. Further Education (FE) Sports Lecturer Professionalism: ‘Freedom to Play’, or ‘Do as I Say?’; Jake Bacon and Tessa Podpadec Section 2 - Interrogating Approaches to Becoming, Being and Developing as Education Professionals Chapter 6. Teaching and learning as complex phenomena: Implications for policy and teacher professional identity; Ben Knight and Neil Harrison Chapter 7. Mastering Professional Practises: Primary School Science Teacher Identity and Development; Juliet Edmonds Chapter 8. Voices from the staffroom: impacts of further education policy on CPD in the sector; Andy Goldhawk Chapter 9. Teacher Training in England: Exploring trainee teachers’ perspectives on their professional identity formation; Karan Vickers-Hulse and Marcus Witt Chapter 10. Convergence, Change, Consciousness and Confidence: the impact of initial teacher training policy on confident, career changing practising teachers; Nicholas Garrick and Jane Andrews Section 3 - Challenging Education Policy and Practice Chapter 11. Changing the Narrative of mental and emotional health training in an FE context; Explorations of transformational Learning; Georgie Ford and Richard Waller Chapter 12. ‘It’s our job to take the limits away’: Exploring the beliefs and practices of high expectation teachers; Julie Smith and Richard Waller Chapter 13. Context, Consciousness, and Caution: Teachers of history in England and the exploration of sensitive and controversial issues in practice; Sarah Whitehouse and Verity Jones Chapter 14. Counter Terrorism Measures in the Classroom: The Importance of Professionalism, Agency and Autonomy when Enacting the Prevent Duty; Max Weedon, Kathy Mansfield Higgins, and Ciaran Burke Chapter 15. Home Language Literacy Learning as an Extracurricular Activity by Pupils and Parents: Do the Findings Warrant a Case for Introducing Home Language Policy for Primary Education in England?; Shamsudin Abikar, Helen Bovill, and Jane Andrews Chapter 16. Reviewing the collection's contribution and value of practice-based doctoral studies; Meg Maguire