Feminist pedagogies in a time of backlash

ABSTRACT

Gender equity in Australian schooling is no longer the policy focus that it once was. Within the contemporary secondary schooling system, teachers can find it challenging to enact feminist pedagogies. Using a narrative approach, we explore the experiences of two secondary teachers in Queensland. These teachers articulate the realities of using feminist pedagogies in a time dominated by reactionary politics and market-based schooling. Their stories suggest that their use of feminist pedagogies: is shaped by their feminist identities; has made them attuned to the gender politics of their school context; and can generate safe classroom spaces. The struggles and successes that they describe, as well as the confrontations and uncertainties that they face, reveal that while not easy, it is possible to utilise feminist pedagogies in a time of backlash.

KEYWORDS:

• Feminist pedagogies
• secondary school teaching
• teachers
• narrative inquiry

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Alice Elwell is a PhD candidate at School of Education, Deakin University, Australia. She is researching the ways in which feminist secondary English teachers teach for social justice, and the affective dimensions of doing so. Alice is also a secondary school teacher in Queensland. She can be reached @AliceElwell on Twitter or via [email protected]

Rachel Buchanan is a senior lecturer in Education at the University of Newcastle, Australia. She teaches educational foundations, and has published in the areas of educational philosophy, pedagogy, technology, policy and politics. Her research area is equity in education with a focus on the use of educational technology and how this impacts the practice, education and identities of educators and students. Rachel can be reached @rayedish on Twitter or via [email protected]