Educational policies and practices must be made more fair through the questioning of dominant ideas, and advocating for, and highlighting the experiences of underrepresented groups. Our collaborative research approach, grounded in care, supports social justice in education to inform better policies and practices.
Challenging assumptions and perspectives
We critique education policy and practices in ways that shift perspectives and enhance social equity. We deconstruct policy and practices and challenge assumptions that are powerful or dominant.
We seek to empower those who are marginalised or disempowered, advocating for, and using research evidence, to inform and improve policy and practice outcomes for all people.
As a collective, our members are dedicated to raising awareness about important issues in education policy and practice that impact under-represented groups.
Collaborative, innovative, and inclusive
We build research capacity to meet social justice and equity goals, by collaborating within, and across disciplines, and on national and international levels.
We are committed to ongoing learning and impactful networking that supports researchers, HDR students and community partners who are committed to social justice and equity principles in education.
We do this through research that is innovative and inclusive, grounded in kindness, generosity and care for, and support of, groups and communities in need in education.
We aim to make education policies and practices fairer by questioning dominant ideas, advocating for under-represented groups, sharing knowledge and using research to drive meaningful change with kindness and care.
Our work
Research areas
Our research interests include:
- Social justice and equity issues in the curriculum and in curriculum policy and practices
- Anti-racist practice
- First Nations and transcultural education
- Inclusion, disability, and trauma-informed practices in education
- Advocacy for children’s participation rights
- The generational digital divide,
- Under-represented equity students.
Innovative approach and methodology
Our work involves sharing our collective theoretical and practical knowledge including research methodologies, to strengthen individual capacity and to develop unique and cooperative synergies within the group.
As well as more traditional approaches to research, we aim to capture the voices and experiences of marginalised groups through innovative methods, such as: Critical Discourse Analysis, Post-Qualitative Inquiry, Post-Feminist Theory, Video Ethnography, Autoethnography and Narrative Inquiry.
Publications
Devi, A., Palmer, E. E., Ganguly, R., & Barua, P. D. (2024). Teachers’ Educational Experiences and Preparedness in Teaching Students with Autism. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 33(1), 71–81.
Dwyer, R., Jacobs, R., Tuxworth, J., Qi, J., Harris, D. X., & Manathunga, C. (2024). Schools as inclusive workplaces: understanding the needs of a diverse teaching workforce in Australian schools. The Australian Educational Researcher.
Heck, D. (2022). Teacher educators as public intellectuals: exploring possibilities. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 50(2), 118-129.
Hicban, C., Theobald, M., & Mascadri, J. (2024). A New Approach for Investigating Children’s Participation Rights in Early Childhood Education: Listening to Voices in Interaction for Participation (LViIP). The International Journal of Children’s Rights, 32(4), 910–944.
Manathunga, C., Davidow, S., Williams, P., Willis, A., Raciti, M., Gilbey, K., Stanton, S., O’Chin, H., & Chan, A. (2022). Decolonising the school experience through poetry to foreground truth-telling and cognitive justice. London Review of Education, 20(1).
Singh, P., Heck, D., Heimans, S., & Ambrosetti, A. (2024). Decolonising Teacher Education. Springer.
Raciti, M. M., Manathunga, C., & Qi, J. (2024). The “problem” of Australian First Nations doctoral education: a policy analysis. Journal of Social Marketing. Journal of Social Marketing, 14(2), 264–279.
Rüsselbæk Hansen, D., Heck, D., Sharpling, E., & McFlynn, P. (2025). Resisting positive universal views of the OECD politics of teacher education: From the perspective of ‘negative’ universality. In G. Magnússon, A. M. Phelan, S. Heimans, & R. Unsworth (Eds.), Teacher education and its discontents: Politics, knowledge and ethics (pp. 46-61). Routledge.
Sempowicz, T., & Carrington, S. (2023). Advancing the inclusion agenda in Australia: A multi-case study of the school experiences of children adopted from overseas. International Journal of Educational Research, 117, 102124-.
Willis, A., Manathunga, C., OChin, H., Davidow, S., Williams, P., Raciti, M. M., & Gilbey, K. (2023). Listen with your heart: auto-ethnographic reflection on the Wandiny creative gathering. Discourse (Abingdon, England), 44(4), 607–623.
Resources
“Singing Kabi Kabi” project brings Aboriginal language into local classrooms
Primary school children can now learn to sing in Kabi Kabi language, thanks to a new teaching resource developed by the University of the Sunshine Coast and Kabi Kabi Elders.
Children's voices matter
Dr HicBan's work with Play Matters Australia advocates for children’s participation rights and gives a voice to children in early education.
Resources
- Playgroup Handbook for Play Matters Australia. Written by children for children (facilitated)
- Children's voices matter blog post
- Queensland Family and Child Commission (QFCC) Annual report. Submission of children’s perspectives. Government report.
- Media engagement as expert in the field
Interested in research or collaboration?
Contact the theme leads.