Pedagogy, Education, and Praxis in Critical Times

This book critically explores urgent questions that researchers, educators, and policy makers need to consider and address in order to better our understanding and capacity to transform education. Focusing on areas that underpin the empirical, theoretical, and strategic research of the Pedagogy, Education and Praxis (PEP) International Research Network, it discusses the following topics: the nature of educational praxis; research approaches that facilitate praxis and praxis development; changing cultural, social, political and material conditions affecting the educational practices of teachers; and how good professional practice in teaching, leading, and professional learning are understood and experienced.
Presenting findings emerging from the Pedagogy, Education and Praxis research, the book raises new questions and offers new ways of thinking about the identified issues and themes in light of current educational concerns and the prevalence of neoliberal conditions being experienced in educational settings around the globe. It provides supporting evidence and illustrative examples to help readers understand important concepts, situations, and concerns, and brings together intellectual and cultural-historical traditions that, when considered in relation to each other, open up critical opportunities and ideas orienting readers towards future educational transformation. 

• What is Educational Praxis
• Good Professional Practice in Education
• Researching Praxis in Educational Settings
• PEP International Network
• Praxis Development in Education
• Conditions for Praxis and Praxis Development in Education
• Cross-national Research Collaborations
• Leading as Praxis
• Leading as a Practice
• Praxis-oriented Education
• International Perspectives on Educational Praxis
• Transforming Education in Different National Contexts
• Educational Praxis as Response to Neoliberalism
• Professional Learning and Praxis in Education
• Professional Learning for Praxis in Education
• learning and instruction

• Department of Educational Research and Development, University of Borås, Borås, Sweden

  Kathleen Mahon

• School of Education, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, Australia

  Christine Edwards-Groves, Susanne Francisco, Stephen Kemmis

• Faculty of Education and Culture, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland

  Mervi Kaukko

• Te Huataki Waiora School of Health, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

  Kirsten Petrie

Christine Edwards-Groves is Associate Professor (Literacy Studies) at Charles Sturt University, Australia. She is a literacy educator researching classroom interaction and dialogic pedagogies, professional learning through action research and middle leading practices; and is especially interested in practice theory. She is a member of the international Pedagogy Education and Praxis (PEP) research network. Christine was chief investigator for the inaugural national Primary English Teachers Association Australia (PETAA) research grant studying dialogic pedagogies for literacy learning across the primary school.

Susanne Francisco is a lecturer in the School of Education, Charles Sturt University. She has been involved in supporting learning in organisations, schools, vocational colleges, and universities. Her research focus is in the areas of professional learning, workbased learning, Adult and Vocational Education, and mentoring. She is particularly interested in practice theory.

Mervi Kaukko is an Associate Professor (multicultural education) in Tampere University, Finland, and an adjunct fellow at Monash University, Australia. Mervi’s research has three primary focus areas: refugee studies, intercultural/global education and practice theories. Mervi has conducted participatory action research with unaccompanied asylum-seeking girls in Finland, focusing on children’s participation during the asylum process, and with teacher students and young asylum seekers in Finland, focusing on the development of intercultural competence among the pre-service teachers. At the moment, Mervi’s two main research projects investigate the practice architectures of multicultural learning environments in Finland, and the relational wellbeing of refugee youth in Finland, Norway and the UK. Mervi is also involved in a longitudinal research study exploring asylum seeking students’ experiences in higher education in Australia.

Stephen Kemmis is Professor Emeritus, School of Education, Charles Sturt University. He is interested in action research and practice theory, and has published widely on education, educational research, case study methods in education, educational evaluation, educational reform, and the theory of practice architectures as a theory for understanding and transforming educational and social practices.

Kathleen Mahon is a Senior Lecturer in Pedagogical Work, University of Borås, Sweden. Kathleen has a professional background as a secondary school and outdoor education teacher. Her research areas are educational praxis, higher education pedagogy, teacher professional learning, and outdoor education. Kathleen is a Senior Editor of the Journal of Praxis in HIgher Education.

Kirsten Petrie is an Associate Professor, Te Huataki Waiora School of Health, Sport and Human Performance, The University of Waikato, Aotearoa New Zealand. She has published and presented widely on health and physical education in primary schools on matters relating to teacher development, curriculum and policy, and the impact of external providers. She is co-editor of The Routledge Handbook of Primary Physical Education (Griggs and Petrie, 2017). Her research demonstrates a commitment to collaborative participatory action research with colleagues in university and school settings, with a view to changing policy and practice to enhance learning for all.