Various injurious effects of schooling have been documented in the literature over the years, leading some authors to characterise schooling as violence. In this article we draw together such research to present an account of the ways in which schooling in the Global North damages young people (and their teachers). The range of damage includes:…

This article explores the complex struggles associated with intersections of class, rurality and masculinity, and the ways in which such intersections work to preserve a gendered status quo within and beyond school communities in Australia. Drawing on the stories of Monica and Phoebe, two teachers who understand schooling as a site of…

In a context where the lack of male teachers is constructed as a worrying concern for many Western education systems, men who make the decision to become teachers, particularly in early childhood and primary education, are often adulated. However, alongside this adulation sits an expectation to be a "real man". This paper tells the story of John,…

Music is central to the lives of most high-school age boys. However, music education is a marginalised area of the school curriculum, decreasing in popularity as students approach senior school and succumb to pressures to choose subjects perceived to be more useful in the "real world". While this process is common for both boys and girls, the…

Improving students' outcomes from schooling requires schools to be learning organisations, where both students and teachers are engaged in learning. As such, knowledge and talk about pedagogy need to be at the core of the professional culture of schools. This article argues that this will require the valuing of teachers' work, that is, their…