Maxine Cooper | VMOU - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Maxine Cooper

Research paper thumbnail of Continuing education of teachers - towards 2010

Research paper thumbnail of Women and social change: a study of two groups of mothers and how they socialize their children in relation to women's role in society

Master of EducationThis study attempts an examination of women and social change. It is an explor... more Master of EducationThis study attempts an examination of women and social change. It is an exploratory study of how mothers socialize their children in relation to women's role in society. The theoretical and research literature in the area is discussed, specifically Juliet Mitchell's four structures relating to the position of women in society. The research study involved interviewing 11 mothers with a traditional ideology of women, 11 mothers with a contemporary ideology of women and 37 of their children who were aged between 14 and 17. The propositions were:- 1. That traditional ideology mothers will have children who are socialized to look forward with a greater degree of certainty towards marriage and family as a means of fulfilment than children of contemporary ideology mothers. 2. That contemporary ideology mothers will have children who are socialized to have wider educational, occupational and life aspirations than children of traditional ideology mothers. 3. That children of traditional ideology mothers have different ideas and perceptions of past and future changes in family life, especially in relation to the four structures of production, reproduction, sexuality and the socialization of children which seem essential to women's role in society. The data indicates that children are influenced by their mothers' sex role ideology but the evidence is slight and ambiguous. There were some children from both groups of mothers who had similar attitudes towards women's role in society. A major finding was that women pass on their sex role ideology in general and diffuse ways. It was apparent that by the age of 14 to 17 years the children of women with different sex role ideologies had been socialized by their mothers to some extent but their socialization had been balanced or overwhelmed by other socialization agencies, such as, the school, peer group and the mass media

Research paper thumbnail of Why are we kicking up and they are not?' Teacher education students' constructions of femininity and masculinity

This paper reports on an aspect of a longitudinal study (currently in its third year), which is p... more This paper reports on an aspect of a longitudinal study (currently in its third year), which is providing important information regarding teacher education students' beliefs and understandings concerning gender. Ways in which these constructions of gender inform the student's curriculum experiences and teaching performance in primary schools is a major focus of this paper. Findings from the data are being interpreted using concepts from feminist poststructural theory as a means to understand the various positions of the students. In this paper, we begin to explore how eight students in the third year of their B.Ed (Primary) course construct their own understandings of 'appropriate' masculinity and femininity by considering their comments during two interviews which took place in May and in September, 1994. Their observations, made during their school experiences, concerning gender relations are reported on as are their reactions to the way in which the teacher education curriculum has and should address issues of gender. We consider the implications of some of this data for feminist educators working for curriculum change.

Research paper thumbnail of Re(in)forming the Curriculum: An analysis of how gender and cultural issues are addressed in an Australian curriculum policy statement

Research paper thumbnail of Peaceable Schools, Peaceable Classrooms

Research paper thumbnail of Values in Education

Values in Education, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of TH e Australian Study

Research paper thumbnail of Critically interrogating classroom constructions of 'community' and 'difference': a case study

Frontiers in Education Conference, 2001

Within educational literature, the concept of 'community' has been problematised over the last de... more Within educational literature, the concept of 'community' has been problematised over the last decade, particularly as regards how constructs of 'community' that aim to provide 'a sense of belonging… of collective concern for each individual' (Nodding 1996: 258) can also operate to exclude, devalue or homogenise diverse groups of students. The tensions that exist between desirable features of a learning community that provides a sense of belonging and at the same time recognises and celebrates difference and diversity are suggested by Fines, et al (1997: 252) who argue that '(t)he process of sustaining a community must include a critical interrogation of difference as the rich substance of community life…' This paper reports on an aspect of an empirical research project that examined relations of power between teachers and students as these operate through explicit processes used to create classroom communities. Through a case study of one composite grade primary classroom with children of diverse cultural heritage, we critically analyse constructs of 'community' in light of current literature on difference and diversity. Specifically we address the question: what pedagogical processes create a learning community where acceptance of difference is reworked to better address unequal relations of power? Title: Critically interrogating classroom constructions of 'community' an...

Research paper thumbnail of Teacher Education: Local and Global: conference proceedings

Research paper thumbnail of Global Movements, Teachers and Teacher Education: initial investigations

Copyright in individual works within the repository belongs to their authors or publishers. You m... more Copyright in individual works within the repository belongs to their authors or publishers. You may make a print or digital copy of a work for your personal non-commercial use. All other rights are reserved, except for fair dealings or other user rights granted by the copyright laws of your country.

Research paper thumbnail of Teachers as Leaders and Mentors of Beginning Teachers

Griffith Research Online.

Research paper thumbnail of Mapping spaces and choreographing classrooms: a study of communitities of practice, learning and identity

Schools are sites, locations and spaces where multiple and diverse communities of practice are co... more Schools are sites, locations and spaces where multiple and diverse communities of practice are constituted. Through their participation in these communities individuals have opportunities to appropriate and perform particular identities. In this study, using Gordon, Holland and Lahelma's (2000) metaphor of dance, we highlight the role of spatial practices in constructing and maintaining communities of practice. We consider how relations of difference and diversity play out in the choreography of the dance as we explore the identity work of the participants in a primary school c lassroom. The concluding discussion will focus on the implications of this study for teacher education programs.

Research paper thumbnail of Pedagogical and gendered spaces: A study of communitites of Practice, Learning and Identity in the middle years of schooling

Research paper thumbnail of Supporting Pre-Service Teachers Through Intercultural Experiences: A Pathway to Socially and Culturally Inclusive Teaching

INTED proceedings, Mar 1, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of Re(in)forming the curriculum: an analysis of how gender and cultural issues are addressed in Australian curriculum policy statements

Research paper thumbnail of Keeping them in line: choreographing classroom spaces

Teachers and Teaching, Oct 1, 2008

Research paper thumbnail of Learning about the Effects of Context on Teaching and Learning in Pre-Service Teacher Education

Australian Journal of Teacher Education, Mar 1, 2013

Preparing teachers to work effectively within increasingly diverse contexts is a key goal of teac... more Preparing teachers to work effectively within increasingly diverse contexts is a key goal of teacher education programs. This study analyses the extent to which a semester unit within a teacher education course provided pre-service teachers with the understanding and practices required to teach in low socioeconomic status (SES) contexts. The results suggest that a unit, which emphasises links between theory, historical perspectives and practice, can effectively provide pre-service teachers with the key understandings and skills associated with improving equity outcomes in education. However, when the ideas being presented conflict with pre-existing, strongly held ideas about the role of schooling, practices associated with equity will not be sustained.

Research paper thumbnail of ‘Teaching Is Still a Good Job for a Woman’: the influence of gender on career and life choices

South Pacific journal of teacher education, 1995

This article reports on an investigation of primary and early‐childhood teacher‐education student... more This article reports on an investigation of primary and early‐childhood teacher‐education students’ understandings and beliefs about the influence of gender on their careers and life choices. The research was undertaken by a collaborative team from three Victorian universities. We took as our premiss that if teacher‐education students are to be effective in promoting gender inclusiveness throughout the schooling culture, they

Research paper thumbnail of Teacher Education: an integrated approach

South Pacific journal of teacher education, 1991

Research paper thumbnail of ‘Learning Together, Shaping Tomorrow’: New Teachers Try New Ways

Research in Comparative and International Education, 2009

Teacher induction programs provide the critical support that new teachers need as they move from ... more Teacher induction programs provide the critical support that new teachers need as they move from university teacher education studies to the everyday realities of teaching. Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) work through a range of new and challenging experiences as they explore their sense of themselves as professionals. Their identities are being constantly constructed and reconstructed as they work through their subjective experience of being a teacher and the objective structures of the wider educational field of the classroom, school and the local community. A high percentage of NQTs leave the teaching profession within the first 5 years of beginning teaching as they grapple with and succumb to the challenges caused by a number of stressors they encounter. New teachers frequently become dissatisfied with the outcomes of their work and decide that they are unsuited to teaching and leave the profession. This article is based on a study of beginning teachers in two Australian states. The focus is on multiple ways to meet the needs of new teachers to establish their professional identity within the context of a community of learners and to value diversity and complexity in the professional community. Key issues addressed included: teacher induction and quality teaching, changing school cultures and the culture of professional learning, teacher learning and responding to changes in the wider community.

Research paper thumbnail of Continuing education of teachers - towards 2010

Research paper thumbnail of Women and social change: a study of two groups of mothers and how they socialize their children in relation to women's role in society

Master of EducationThis study attempts an examination of women and social change. It is an explor... more Master of EducationThis study attempts an examination of women and social change. It is an exploratory study of how mothers socialize their children in relation to women's role in society. The theoretical and research literature in the area is discussed, specifically Juliet Mitchell's four structures relating to the position of women in society. The research study involved interviewing 11 mothers with a traditional ideology of women, 11 mothers with a contemporary ideology of women and 37 of their children who were aged between 14 and 17. The propositions were:- 1. That traditional ideology mothers will have children who are socialized to look forward with a greater degree of certainty towards marriage and family as a means of fulfilment than children of contemporary ideology mothers. 2. That contemporary ideology mothers will have children who are socialized to have wider educational, occupational and life aspirations than children of traditional ideology mothers. 3. That children of traditional ideology mothers have different ideas and perceptions of past and future changes in family life, especially in relation to the four structures of production, reproduction, sexuality and the socialization of children which seem essential to women's role in society. The data indicates that children are influenced by their mothers' sex role ideology but the evidence is slight and ambiguous. There were some children from both groups of mothers who had similar attitudes towards women's role in society. A major finding was that women pass on their sex role ideology in general and diffuse ways. It was apparent that by the age of 14 to 17 years the children of women with different sex role ideologies had been socialized by their mothers to some extent but their socialization had been balanced or overwhelmed by other socialization agencies, such as, the school, peer group and the mass media

Research paper thumbnail of Why are we kicking up and they are not?' Teacher education students' constructions of femininity and masculinity

This paper reports on an aspect of a longitudinal study (currently in its third year), which is p... more This paper reports on an aspect of a longitudinal study (currently in its third year), which is providing important information regarding teacher education students' beliefs and understandings concerning gender. Ways in which these constructions of gender inform the student's curriculum experiences and teaching performance in primary schools is a major focus of this paper. Findings from the data are being interpreted using concepts from feminist poststructural theory as a means to understand the various positions of the students. In this paper, we begin to explore how eight students in the third year of their B.Ed (Primary) course construct their own understandings of 'appropriate' masculinity and femininity by considering their comments during two interviews which took place in May and in September, 1994. Their observations, made during their school experiences, concerning gender relations are reported on as are their reactions to the way in which the teacher education curriculum has and should address issues of gender. We consider the implications of some of this data for feminist educators working for curriculum change.

Research paper thumbnail of Re(in)forming the Curriculum: An analysis of how gender and cultural issues are addressed in an Australian curriculum policy statement

Research paper thumbnail of Peaceable Schools, Peaceable Classrooms

Research paper thumbnail of Values in Education

Values in Education, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of TH e Australian Study

Research paper thumbnail of Critically interrogating classroom constructions of 'community' and 'difference': a case study

Frontiers in Education Conference, 2001

Within educational literature, the concept of 'community' has been problematised over the last de... more Within educational literature, the concept of 'community' has been problematised over the last decade, particularly as regards how constructs of 'community' that aim to provide 'a sense of belonging… of collective concern for each individual' (Nodding 1996: 258) can also operate to exclude, devalue or homogenise diverse groups of students. The tensions that exist between desirable features of a learning community that provides a sense of belonging and at the same time recognises and celebrates difference and diversity are suggested by Fines, et al (1997: 252) who argue that '(t)he process of sustaining a community must include a critical interrogation of difference as the rich substance of community life…' This paper reports on an aspect of an empirical research project that examined relations of power between teachers and students as these operate through explicit processes used to create classroom communities. Through a case study of one composite grade primary classroom with children of diverse cultural heritage, we critically analyse constructs of 'community' in light of current literature on difference and diversity. Specifically we address the question: what pedagogical processes create a learning community where acceptance of difference is reworked to better address unequal relations of power? Title: Critically interrogating classroom constructions of 'community' an...

Research paper thumbnail of Teacher Education: Local and Global: conference proceedings

Research paper thumbnail of Global Movements, Teachers and Teacher Education: initial investigations

Copyright in individual works within the repository belongs to their authors or publishers. You m... more Copyright in individual works within the repository belongs to their authors or publishers. You may make a print or digital copy of a work for your personal non-commercial use. All other rights are reserved, except for fair dealings or other user rights granted by the copyright laws of your country.

Research paper thumbnail of Teachers as Leaders and Mentors of Beginning Teachers

Griffith Research Online.

Research paper thumbnail of Mapping spaces and choreographing classrooms: a study of communitities of practice, learning and identity

Schools are sites, locations and spaces where multiple and diverse communities of practice are co... more Schools are sites, locations and spaces where multiple and diverse communities of practice are constituted. Through their participation in these communities individuals have opportunities to appropriate and perform particular identities. In this study, using Gordon, Holland and Lahelma's (2000) metaphor of dance, we highlight the role of spatial practices in constructing and maintaining communities of practice. We consider how relations of difference and diversity play out in the choreography of the dance as we explore the identity work of the participants in a primary school c lassroom. The concluding discussion will focus on the implications of this study for teacher education programs.

Research paper thumbnail of Pedagogical and gendered spaces: A study of communitites of Practice, Learning and Identity in the middle years of schooling

Research paper thumbnail of Supporting Pre-Service Teachers Through Intercultural Experiences: A Pathway to Socially and Culturally Inclusive Teaching

INTED proceedings, Mar 1, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of Re(in)forming the curriculum: an analysis of how gender and cultural issues are addressed in Australian curriculum policy statements

Research paper thumbnail of Keeping them in line: choreographing classroom spaces

Teachers and Teaching, Oct 1, 2008

Research paper thumbnail of Learning about the Effects of Context on Teaching and Learning in Pre-Service Teacher Education

Australian Journal of Teacher Education, Mar 1, 2013

Preparing teachers to work effectively within increasingly diverse contexts is a key goal of teac... more Preparing teachers to work effectively within increasingly diverse contexts is a key goal of teacher education programs. This study analyses the extent to which a semester unit within a teacher education course provided pre-service teachers with the understanding and practices required to teach in low socioeconomic status (SES) contexts. The results suggest that a unit, which emphasises links between theory, historical perspectives and practice, can effectively provide pre-service teachers with the key understandings and skills associated with improving equity outcomes in education. However, when the ideas being presented conflict with pre-existing, strongly held ideas about the role of schooling, practices associated with equity will not be sustained.

Research paper thumbnail of ‘Teaching Is Still a Good Job for a Woman’: the influence of gender on career and life choices

South Pacific journal of teacher education, 1995

This article reports on an investigation of primary and early‐childhood teacher‐education student... more This article reports on an investigation of primary and early‐childhood teacher‐education students’ understandings and beliefs about the influence of gender on their careers and life choices. The research was undertaken by a collaborative team from three Victorian universities. We took as our premiss that if teacher‐education students are to be effective in promoting gender inclusiveness throughout the schooling culture, they

Research paper thumbnail of Teacher Education: an integrated approach

South Pacific journal of teacher education, 1991

Research paper thumbnail of ‘Learning Together, Shaping Tomorrow’: New Teachers Try New Ways

Research in Comparative and International Education, 2009

Teacher induction programs provide the critical support that new teachers need as they move from ... more Teacher induction programs provide the critical support that new teachers need as they move from university teacher education studies to the everyday realities of teaching. Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) work through a range of new and challenging experiences as they explore their sense of themselves as professionals. Their identities are being constantly constructed and reconstructed as they work through their subjective experience of being a teacher and the objective structures of the wider educational field of the classroom, school and the local community. A high percentage of NQTs leave the teaching profession within the first 5 years of beginning teaching as they grapple with and succumb to the challenges caused by a number of stressors they encounter. New teachers frequently become dissatisfied with the outcomes of their work and decide that they are unsuited to teaching and leave the profession. This article is based on a study of beginning teachers in two Australian states. The focus is on multiple ways to meet the needs of new teachers to establish their professional identity within the context of a community of learners and to value diversity and complexity in the professional community. Key issues addressed included: teacher induction and quality teaching, changing school cultures and the culture of professional learning, teacher learning and responding to changes in the wider community.