Meet The Education Researcher

“I’m not anti-technology … I’m pro-justice”. Dr. Marie Heath (Loyola University) works to encourage an informed scepticism about digital technology in education. We talk about getting critical tech issues into Social Studies lessons, conducting ‘techno-ethical audits’ of school platforms, and creative ways of encouraging students and teachers to reflect on issues of power and political economy. Full text transcript here: https://criticaledtech.com/2022/08/17/techno-scepticism-in-the-classroom-an-interview-with-marie-heath/

Mark Andrejevic (Monash University) is a leading commentator on surveillance, information and digital media. In this interview Mark looks back on his highly acclaimed 2020 book ‘Automated Media’, and considers how these issues are beginning to play out in the digital technologies now being taken up across schools and universities. Full transcript available: https://bridges.monash.edu/articles/journal_contribution/Education_In_an_Era_of_Pervasive_Automation/20744332

Professor Alison Taylor (UBC) has spent her career looking at the interplay between students, education, work and the economy. We talk about the changing nature of student life in time of precarious employment, the limitations of talking about educational ‘careers’ and ‘trajectories’, and the empirical methods that Alison has found to be particularly successful when researching student experience.

Professor Bob Lingard (ACU) reflects on the art and craft of being an education researcher. He talks about the distinction between ‘education’ research and ‘educational’ research, standing up for the added value of university-based research, and the need for academics to engage in the politics of education research. * full text transcript: https://criticaledtech.com/2022/07/08/what-makes-for-good-education-researchinterview-with-bob-lingard-30th-june-2022%EF%BF%BC/

Knowledge is a fundamental aspect of education, but something that education research rarely addresses head-on. Dr. Kate O’Connor (La Trobe University) specialises in the sociology of knowledge, and in this episode talks about her work around curriculum development, online teaching, and the increasing pressure for academics to engage in open scholarship.

Prof Jen Gilbert (York University) is a leading international researcher in the area of sexuality, gender and education. We talk about school as a site of sexuality, Jen’s use of storytelling methods, tips for dealing with the media, and how perceptions of ‘risk’ have altered since COVID.

“Historians remind us of what we might prefer to forget” Johannes Westberg (University of Groningen) is one of Europe’s rising historians of education. We talk about his recent paper: “What we can learn from studying the past: The wonderful usefulness of history in educational research”, and consider the benefits of thinking more critically about sources of evidence, drawing on historical comparisons, and how history provides a valuable ‘psychological distance’ from emotive debates.

Frank Pasquale (Brooklyn Law School) is a leading commentator on the social and legal consequences of AI, robotics and algorithms. Drawing on his 2020 book ‘The New Laws of Robotics’, Frank talks about various emerging issues around education and AI – from the changing status of professional educators to the possible regulation of ed-tech.

In this episode, Troy Heffernan (La Trobe University) talks about the continuing relevance of Pierre Bourdieu’s ideas to contemporary higher education. We talk about the importance of Bourdieu’s notion of ‘cultural trajectories’, his 1990 book ‘Homo Academicus’, and Troy’s own use of Bourdieu to make sense of rising tensions between university middle-managers and academics.

Despite their social democratic origins, Swedish schools now depend heavily on the support of commercial companies. Professor Malin Ideland (Malmo University) talks about her research into Sweden’s diverse ‘edu-business’ and ‘edu-prenuer’ sectors. Malin describes the breadth of work that these private actors take on, their underpinning ideology, alongside the impact this is having on public education in Sweden.