Local and official forms of symbolic control: an Australian case study of the pedagogic work of para-educational personnel

Abstract

In this paper an analysis is undertaken of the accounts of pedagogic work provided by para-educational personnel working in two government-funded schools situated in a low socio-economic area of an Australian city. Specifically, the paper examines the accounts of two para-educational personnel who identified as Samoan/Pacific Islander and worked to improve the educational outcomes of students from the local Samoan/Pacific Islander community. It is argued that the pedagogic work of para-educational personnel may play an important role in redistributing discursive (informational) resources transmitted through schooling institutions. However, the positioning of para-educational personnel in the field of the local community and the field of education regulates the form/modality of pedagogic work, that is, what is taught and how it is taught. Moreover, the content and form of pedagogic work has the potential for realising inclusive and/or exclusive relations for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.