Teachers' Work and Lives

Aims:

Our SIG aims to enliven understandings about teachers' and school leaders’ work and lives through research that is conducted by/with/for teachers. We recognise teachers as educators and educational team leaders working in diverse settings including early childhood, primary and secondary schools, skills training institutions, universities (in particular Initial Teacher Education), and other discrete or alternative settings. We use a range of theoretical and methodological frameworks to contribute to understandings of the teaching profession that are personal/local/national/global.


The Teachers' Work and Lives (TWL) SIG welcomes scholarly contributions from teachers and academics at all career stages.

Teachers' Work and Lives SIG seeks to:

  • provide a forum within AARE for symposia addressing questions concerned with contemporary teachers' work and lives;
  • develop networks of researchers in the area of teachers' work and lives;
  • promote opportunities to publish and share research about teachers’ work and lives;
  • ensure a safe place within AARE that recognises research which promotes teachers’ voices;
  • foster and promote broad methodological approaches to research into teachers' work and lives; and
  • connect the work of the TWL SIG with other AARE SIGs.

Research interests (include, but are not limited to):

  • intersection of teachers’ work and lives;
  • impact of work on teacher and/or school leader wellbeing;
  • personal and professional changes of teachers and school leaders throughout their career;
  • professional learning and support for teachers at all career stages;
  • the teaching profession - professionalism and professionalisation;
  • complexity and types of teacher work in early childhood, school, vocational, and higher education systems;
  • relationships between teachers’ and school leaders’ experiences, current education policies, and education research;
  • comparative international perspectives on teachers’ work and lives; and
  • research into teachers’ and school leaders’ work and lives, conducted by academic researchers or, by the teachers and school leaders (e.g. action research).

Upcoming Events:

Teachers’ Work and Lives Teachers’ Voice Panel Series

As educational researchers, listening to the voices of key stakeholders in the profession informs us about the what, why, and how of our research work. We are excited to invite you to the Teachers’ Work and Lives Teachers’ Voice Panel Series. In this series, we will host four online panels made up of different key teaching groups including early-career teachers, mid-career and experienced teachers, school leaders, and more specifically, school leaders from regional, rural, and remote contexts. Panelists will be asked to share their perspectives on what research topics and questions are important to them, explain how they might currently engage with researchers and research, and how they perceive we can best involve them in research that is manageable, beneficial, and accessible. These panels will assist you in thinking about your research programs and considering how research in the Teachers’ Work and Lives space can continue to evolve for mutual benefit.

Panel dates:
1. 24 June: Early career teacher panel 3.30 – 4.30 AEST

Video

2. 29 July: Mid/late career teacher panel 3.30 – 4.30 AEST 

Video

3. 26 August: School leaders RRR panel 3.30 – 4.30 AEST 

Video


4. 23 September: School leaders panel 3.30 – 4.30 AEST

Video

Please support our teachers in the profession by coming along to these panel sessions.

AARE Teachers’ Work and Lives SIG Online Symposium - Teachers’ work and challenging times

Register now for the second online event in our Teachers’ Work in Challenging Times Symposium Series.

When: Monday 19 June 4.00-5.00 pm AEST

Where: Zoom link to be provided on registration

With presentations from
Professor Jane Wilkinson on Invisible labour: Principals’ emotional labour in volatile times,
a project with Professor Lucas Walsh, Professor Amanda Keddie, Dr Fiona Longmuir and Dr Christine Grice.

Professor Jo Lampert on Impact of teacher shortages on teachers remaining in hard to staff schools,
a project with Dr Amy McPherson and Professor Bruce Burnett.

We look forward to seeing you!

Ellen Larsen and Craig Wood

Video

AARE Teachers’ Work and Lives SIG Online Symposium - Teachers’ work and challenging times

The Teachers’ Work and Lives SIG invites you to a special online symposium.

When: 10 May 4.00-5.00 pm AEST

Topic: Teachers’ work and challenging times

We are delighted to bring you two exciting presenters who will provide insights about and from their current projects.

Professor Anna Sullivan - Early career teacher induction: Supporting precarious teachers project; and

Professor Robyn Brandenburg - “I left the teaching profession… and this is what I am doing now”: A national study.

We look forward to you joining us!

Ellen Larsen and Craig Wood

Video

AARE Teachers’ Work and Lives SIG Online Symposium - Time Use, Time Poverty and Teachers’ Work

Join Nicole Mockler, Greg Thompson, and Anna Hogan for an online symposium.

This online AARE event is hosted by the Teachers’ Work and Lives SIG and the presenters will be discussing their ARC Linkage project on Time Use, Time Poverty and Teachers’ Work.

The Time Use, Time Poverty and Teachers’ Work project focuses on understanding teacher workload (hours of work), teacher workload intensification (complexity of work), and the impact of both on teacher wellbeing. The ARC research project has developed an app that records time use and time poverty in teachers’ work.
 
DATE: Wednesday, 24th August
TIME: 4:30pm – 5:30pm