Making Sense of Mass Education

Associate Professor Nerida Spina teaches and researches at Queensland University of Technology. Her research interests include educators' work, social justice, equity, education policy and the sociology of numbers. She has a particular interest in using institutional ethnographic research. Her research explores the everyday work of school leaders, teachers and pre-service teachers, and the impact of policy on their practices and lives. In examining educators' work, she explores those practices that make a difference to the lives and long-term trajectories of young people and communities, as well as examining what gets in the way. Dr Peter O'Brien teaches and researches at Queensland University of Technology. His research draws on studies of governmentality to explore the exercise of power and freedom in educational policy and practice in contemporary neoliberal polities. Dr Annetta Cayas teaches and researches at Queensland University of Technology. Her research explores everyday life at the intersection between families and schooling. She investigates how educational policy and school requirements for parent engagement impact the day-to-day experiences of young people, parents, families and educators. Professor Jenna Gillett-Swan teaches and researches at Queensland University of Technology. Her work aims to understand and address inequity and threats to wellbeing in students' and teachers' educational experiences through participatory rights-based approaches to educational transformation and school improvement. She works with students, educators, school leaders and support staff across primary, secondary and tertiary education contexts. Jenna is also the co-leader for the Health and Wellbeing Research Program within the Centre for Inclusive Education. Gordon Tait is an Adjunct Professor of Education at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. He researches and teaches in the sociology and philosophy of education, ethics, legal decision-making and qualitative research methods.