Focusing the gaze: teacher interrogation of practice

Abstract

Within an Australian context of diminishing opportunities for equitable educational outcomes, this paper calls for teacher engagement in a 'politics of resistance' through their focused gaze in relation to the ways in which they are positioned in their everyday practice. Our belief is that the resultant knowledge might equip teachers to see more clearly the managerial and economic rationalist discourses that constrain them in their pursuit of more equitable educational outcomes. Through the interpretative lenses of feminist poststructural theory, the paper presents snapshots of the practice of three Australian teachers. These snapshots, along with an analysis of them, highlight pedagogy as a political activity that is partial, interested and potentially oppressive. It is not argued that reflection alone will challenge inequities in educational outcomes for the diverse range of students, but that teacher interrogation of practice might better position teachers to exert their voices and take action in the challenging and complex times associated with neo-liberal reforms. The politics of resistance argued for here proposes an awareness and action beyond the micro-politics of the classroom to alliances that work towards transformation of inequities within economic and social power relations.