Postmodernist-feminism and education : a textual performance

This dissertation is performed as a self-reflexive postmodernist-feminist text that is rather like a work in progress. The relationship between feminismS and postmodernismS is investigated to reveal some of the possibilities that might result from their conjunction, whilst some critical disjunctions which may need to be bridged are recognised. Throughout this dissertation, I have explored how, as well as challenging traditional paradigms of gender, postmodernist-feminism acts to challenge traditional views of meaning, knowledge and text, and, further, how this challenge opens up possibilities for all those entrapped by the paradigms of power, whether outside or Inside. When 'reality' and 'knowledge' are revealed as constructions (not unlike fiction), new possibilities of/for postmodernist-feminist multilinearity emerge. This text practises, then, what I have nominated as three important areas of postmodernist-feminism: jouissance (pleasure and playfulness as in feminist poetics); bricolage (making the text work as a one-off); and deconstruction (an admission that the text is neither seamless nor AUTHORitative). In doing so, it emphasises the practice of what Roland Barthes calls 'writerly-reading', in which the reader is revealed as having power over the text according to the way(s) s/he enters it. In this praxis I suggest that the writer may also abdicate AUTHORity over the text by what I have called 'readerly-writing'. Taking up Gregory Ulmer's challenge to construct a 'mystory', it is my story of my journey as a woman, parent, writer mid teacher who is becoming a certified scholar. My lifelong practical interest in education thus reaches a theoretical self-understanding in this text, which is itself a praxis. Thus I introduce the practice of a non-seamless horizontality in which reflections and stories show themselves to be temporal and cultural constructions. The implications of this for school/educational experiences are central to this praxis.

Transnational feminism, globalisation, human rights and education

The article demonstrates how neo-liberal ideologies and market forces of
globalisation have produced new discourses in education, which have created new sites of political action and require a radical rethinking about feminist theorizing concerning gender equity in education. The article, in analysing the transformation of the social relations of gender and social stratification, draws from feminist, poststructuralist and postcolonial theories. The author concludes that there is need for redefining
feminist paradigms in global pedagogies. Such a new paradigm in feminist pedagogy, based on discourses of power, human rights and social justice should provide a foundation for improving the equity for girls and women in education and society globally.

De(con)struction of feminist solidarity and the question of environmental education reform

This thesis critically examines the implications of normative models of science, gender and feminism for environmental education. It examines issues relating to unequal power relations between the masculine and the feminine ways of knowing, the power relations between women - in particular between feminist educators. Pivotal to the analysis is an exploration of self empowerment and the identification of the author's own subjectivity.

The nexus between feminism and postmodernism: still a central concern for critical social work

 In this paper, we provide a critical review of the literature that discusses the nexus between feminism and postmodernism. Further, we argue that the current debates about using postmodernism to enhance structural theories such as feminism are often polarised, and continue to limit the potential for developing critical social work practice and theory. In transcending these dualistic debates, we have explored what the possibilities are for postmodernism to contribute to critical objectives such as those espoused by feminism and why this is particularly important for social work at this point in time. We have contended that engaging with postmodernism critically has significant potential to enhance feminist practice. We begin the article with a justification for the importance of re(visiting) the nexus between postmodern and structural theory in the current context.

Gender inequality and education: changing local/global relations in a ‘post-colonial’ world and the implications for feminist research

This chapter explores the relationship between education reform and gender equity, both within and between nation states. Utilising feminist critical policy analysis and post-colonial theory, it examines how education reform over the past decade has impacted on gender equity and how educational reform is itself gendered. It considers the nature of gender restructuring, maps significant shifts in gender equity policy in the wider context of educational and social inequality debates and, through an analysis of recent research on gender identity, schooling and leadership, argues that gender can no longer be privileged when identifying and responding to educational inequality. Key assumptions underpinning how social change and education reform deliver equity are questioned, concluding with feminist theorising about how social justice may inform equity policy and practice in culturally diverse educational contexts.

New criminal sanctions-inflicting pain through the denial of employment and education

Imprisonments and fines are the standard sanctions employed by most western countries in punishing offenders.  Where neither of these penalties is appropriate, the courts normally have a variety of indeterminate sanctions at their disposal.  However the general effectiveness of these sanctions is questionable.  This paper argues that the criminal justice system has been too slow and unimaginative in developing efficient and effective methods of punishing offenders.  There are ways of inflicting pain on offenders that do not encroach on their liberty or affect their material wealth.  It is suggested that new sentencing options should include the annulment or suspension of an offenders academic qualifications and the making of orders preventing an offender from working or being enrolled in an educational or vocational pursuit.

Design, format, validity and reliability of mutiple choice questions for use in nursing research and education

Multiple choice questions are used extensively in nursing research and education and play a fundamental role in the design of research studies or educational programs. Despite their widespread use, there is a lack of evidence-based guidelines relating to design and use of multiple choice questions. Little is written about their format, structure, validity and reliability of in the context of nursing research and/or education and most of the current literature in this area is based on opinion or consensus. Systematic multiple choice question design and use of valid and reliable multiple choice questions are vital if the results of research or educational testing are to be considered valid. Content and face validity schould be established by expert panel review and construct validity should be established using ‘key check’, item discrimination and item difficulty analyses. Reliability measures include internal consistency and equivalence. Internal consistency should be established by determination of internal consistency using reliability coefficients while equivalence should be established using alternate form correlation. This paper reviews literature related to the use of multiple choice questions, current design recommendations and processes to establish reliability and validity, and discusses implications for their use in nursing research and education.

Race, identity and education achievements among Arab-Australian students

This paper discusses the challenge of managing cultural diversity in secondary schools, focusing on key structural, ideological, cultural, attitudinal and identity factors affecting the educational experiences and outcomes of Australian students from Arabic-speaking background (ASB). Recent research indicates that there are complex processes at play that hinder the ability of non English-speaking background (NESB) students to access constructive and meaningful education, and that such processes need further systematic investigation. It has also been argued that Australian schools are failing the test of social equity and that the dominant approach to curriculum and pedagogy does not meet the needs of the growing numbers of students from divergent cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. This paper focuses on identifying the social, cultural and attitudinal factors that affect the educational achievements of ASB students within a broad multidimensional approach to multicultural education. By linking thorough empirical research and innovative theory with practical, tested plans of action, this study proposes an in-principled approach to multicultural education that is extendable to a variety of schooling contexts while retaining its core focus on effecting positive learning outcomes. The key objectives of the larger study upon which this paper is based are to (a) address the disadvantages and barriers faced by NESB young people, particularly ASB young people, in achieving positive educational outcomes; (2) increase their chances for better life opportunities and self fulfilment; and (3) develop a good practice model for diversity management in Victorian schools. This latter objective will complement Victorian Government policies on cultural diversity and multicultural education.

Understanding requirements engineering process: a challenge for practice and education

Reviews of the state of the professional practice in Requirements Engineering (RE) stress that the RE process is both complex and hard to describe, and suggest there is a significant difference between competent and "approved" practice. "Approved" practice is reflected by (in all likelihood, in fact, has its genesis in) RE education, so that the knowledge and skills taught to students do not match the knowledge and skills required and applied by competent practitioners.

A new understanding of the RE process has emerged from our recent study. RE is revealed as inherently creative, involving cycles of building and major reconstruction of the models developed, significantly different from the systematic and smoothly incremental process generally described in the literature. The process is better characterised as highly creative, opportunistic and insight driven. This mismatch between approved and actual practice provides a challenge to RE education - RE requires insight and creativity as well as technical knowledge. Traditional learning models applied to RE focus, however, on notation and prescribed processes acquired through repetition. We argue that traditional learning models fail to support the learning required for RE and propose both a new model based on cognitive flexibility and a framework for RE education to support this model.