Carmen Mills – författare

Against the backdrop of equity-sensitive approaches within education policy and practice, inequalities in student attainment remain a persistent problem; in response, this book advances the concept of social justice dispositions (SJDs), offering a new perspective by shifting the focus to what operates between the values and beliefs of policy makers and educators, and the actual everyday practice evident within classrooms.

In this intermediary space between belief and practice, this book conceives of social justice dispositions being one part of a larger collection of dispositions that constitute one’s habitus, drawing from the work of French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. Bringing this together with methodological insights from cultural-historical activity theory, the authors seek to identify a spectrum of social justice dispositions that influence the pedagogic work of schooling – dispositions evident in both the pedagogic authority of school leadership, and which intersect with the pedagogic action of classroom teachers.

The book contributes new lines of inquiry, conceptual tools, and novel methodological approaches to advance social justice research and outcomes in education. As such, it is essential reading for academics, scholars, and postgraduate researchers working in the space of critical research and sociology of education.

Against the backdrop of equity-sensitive approaches within education policy and practice, inequalities in student attainment remain a persistent problem; in response, this book advances the concept of social justice dispositions (SJDs), offering a new perspective by shifting the focus to what operates between the values and beliefs of policy makers and educators, and the actual everyday practice evident within classrooms.

In this intermediary space between belief and practice, this book conceives of social justice dispositions being one part of a larger collection of dispositions that constitute one’s habitus, drawing from the work of French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. Bringing this together with methodological insights from cultural-historical activity theory, the authors seek to identify a spectrum of social justice dispositions that influence the pedagogic work of schooling – dispositions evident in both the pedagogic authority of school leadership, and which intersect with the pedagogic action of classroom teachers.

The book contributes new lines of inquiry, conceptual tools, and novel methodological approaches to advance social justice research and outcomes in education. As such, it is essential reading for academics, scholars, and postgraduate researchers working in the space of critical research and sociology of education.

Based on a study of one secondary school located in a disadvantaged community in Australia, this book provides a different perspective on what it means to ‘play the game’ of schooling. Drawing on the perspectives of teachers, parents and students, this book is a window through which to explore the possibilities of schooling in disadvantaged communities. The authors contend that teachers, parents and students themselves are all involved in the game of reproducing disadvantage in schooling, but similarly, they can play a part in opening up opportunities for change to enhance learning for marginalised students. Rather than only attempting to transform students, teachers should be also be concerned to transform schooling; to provide educational opportunities that transform the life experiences of and open up opportunities for all young people, especially those disadvantaged by poverty and marginalised by difference. The book is also designed to stimulate understanding of the work of Bourdieu as well as of a Bourdieuian approach to research. Seeing transformative potential in his theoretical constructs, it airs the possibility that schools can be more than mere reproducers of society.