The Workforce of Reform: Teachers in the Disadvantaged Schools Program

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Abstract
The Disadvantaged Schools Program (DSP) is Australia's major attempt to deal with the issue of education and poverty. Its design gives considerable initiative to teachers, but little is known about its teachers as a group. The paper reports a survey that compares teachers in DSP and non-DSP schools in the Victorian government system. DSP teachers are, on average, slightly younger and more likely to have degrees than non-DSP teachers. In most aspects of background and teaching practice, the two groups are very similar. The survey indicates the importance of workplace relationships for both groups of teachers. It points to some divergences in curriculum and pedagogy, with DSP teachers emphasising informality and negotiation more. Although the sense of control felt by teachers is limited in both groups, there are indications of higher levels of student participation in DSP schools. The DSP has been the site of a constructive response by teachers to social disadvantage in education.

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