Histories of teachers in Australia and New Zealand from the 1970s to the present

Abstract

Purpose Commencing with publications in the 1970s, the purpose of this paper is to review the historical writing about Australian and New Zealand teachers over the past 50 years. Design/methodology/approach The paper incorporates men and women who led and taught in domestic spaces, per-school, primary, secondary and higher education. It is structured around publications in the ANZHES Journal and History of Education Review, and includes research published in other forums as appropriate. The literature review is selective rather than comprehensive. Findings Since the 1980s, the history of New Zealand and Australian teachers has mostly focussed on women educators in an increasing array of contexts, and incorporated various theoretical perspectives over time. Originality/value The paper highlights key themes and identifies potential directions for research into Australian and New Zealand teachers.

Culture and education with Alice Rigney (1942–2017), Australia's first Aboriginal woman school principal

“…While these critical histories “reframe previous deficit representations of Indigeneity into strength-based narratives” (Povey and Trudgett, 2019, p. 77), it is also necessary to draw on scholarship into histories of women educators in order to address Alice Rigney's professional life and activism. Historical research into women educators in Australian state schools and kindergartens has focused mostly on white teachers (Whitehead, 2019) but a handful of Aboriginal women qualified as teachers in the 1950s, including May O'Brien (Hunt and Trotman, 2002), Nancy Barnes (Whitehead et al ., 2021a) and Amy Levai (Whitehead et al ., 2021b). It was not until the 1970s, however, that governments began to systematically recruit Aboriginal people as educators in Australian state school systems, initially as paraprofessional teacher aides; and establish specific pathways to full qualification as teachers (Reid and Santoro, 2006; MacGill, 2017; Thomas, 2021).…”

“…Indeed, their identities and leadership are “inextricably connected with who one is and where she is from” (Fitzgerald, 2010, p. 98; Hunt and Trotman, 2002; Kamara, 2017; MacGill, 2017). Thirdly, working in state school systems where leadership has historically been constructed as a male prerogative (Miller, 1986; Whitehead, 2019), Aboriginal women educators' first-hand experiences of entrenched institutional and individual racial and gender discrimination is a common theme across the generations. Lastly, Aboriginal women educators' pedagogical skills and knowledge are frequently marginalised but they are expected to take responsibility for “Indigenous” matters without reciprocity on the part of white colleagues (Reid and Santoro, 2006; MacGill, 2017; Thomas, 2021; Whitehead et al ., 2021a).…”