Andrew Skourdoumbis
Biographic Data
| ID | 758193 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Andrew Skourdoumbis |
| GIVEN NAMES | Andrew |
| FAMILY NAME | Skourdoumbis |
| SIGNATURE | SKOURDOUMBIS A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Deakin University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-4329-1285 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 18 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 20 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Is it distracting? A further exploration of non-gameplay social interaction during collaborative digital game-based learning
Collaborative digital game-based learning (DGBL) in mathematics education is a well-researched area. While non-game-related social interaction (NGI) has often been viewed as a potential source of distraction to learning, it is an integral part of gameplay. Gaining deeper insight into NGI helps leverage the tension arising from the conflict between learning and gameplay when implementing DGBL and advances scholarly work on the impact of off-task i…
Teacher agency and student diversity in reading education
State-level governments across Australia have made a commitment via public announcements to ensuring that all schools are teaching reading using ‘consistent’, ‘compulsory’, ‘common practice’. Through a mixed-methods questionnaire with 51 schoolteachers from four states across Australia, this paper examines practitioner experiences of teacher agency and student diversity in reading education. The results reveal that teachers’ confidence in teachin…
A critique of ‘Strong Beginnings’ initial teacher education reforms
The paper studies the rise of neuroscience in initial teacher education, paying attention to the relatively recent Australian Government (2023) report titled ‘Strong Beginnings’. In taking up a critical policy sociology lens, we focus on the first priority within the reforms, which is mandating brain science and the ‘brain and learning’ as core curriculum within initial teacher education. The reforms will embed standardised curriculum into initia…
Being critical of the student achievement problem in Australia
This paper presents a critical exploration of a reported decline in student achievement in Australia (2000–2020). Declining student achievement is framed as symptomatic of broader dysfunction within the education system. The context of declining student achievement is articulated through a Bourdieusian being critical sociology of education. This is achieved using the concepts of illusio and educationalisation as they intersect with Australian sch…
Conceptualising the ‘education hustle’ as a case of Bourdieuian doxa and illusio
This article conceptualises the notion of the 'education hustle' as a case of Bourdieuian doxa and illusio. It is argued that the plethora of education reforms engaged in across the globe encompassing privatisation, corporatisation, marketisation, strong accountability, and the governance structures of the New Public Management (NPM), especially within the Anglo-American capitalist world is tantamount to an 'education hustle' where the ideas and …
Developing Computational Thinking through Mathematics
Computational thinking (CT) has been accepted and embraced by educators and researchers alike, but many questions remain surrounding what concepts and topics have been used in CT, what tools have been used to help teach CT, and the current range of research on CT. In this paper, we address those questions and the state of professional development (PD) used to train teachers and preservice teachers in CT. Using a scientometrics analysis to map dat…
Teaching as regulated improvisation
In this paper, we address the work of teachers at the intersection of educational policy and professional discretion, by undertaking a conceptual reading of Through Growth to Achievement: Report of the Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools, and examining how the report conceptualises teacher practice. Drawing on the Bourdieusian notion of regulated improvisation, the study explores the constraints of pedagogical practices…
The Epistemological Development of Education
Epistemological Development of Education
Symbolic capital and the problem of navigating English language teacher practice
English is the most widely taught and learned language in the world. Within the broader literatures on the worldwide spread and dominance of English as a key skill for 21st century education, the use of English(es) and English Language Teaching (ELT) in the context of schooling in Asian countries represent an important research direction. Our paper contributes to these debates by exploring the problem of English language teachers’ beliefs about t…
Calling for ‘urgent national action to improve the quality of initial teacher education’
In early 2015, the Australian Government and an associated Ministerial Group called for ‘urgent national action to improve the quality of initial teacher education’. Following this call for action, the Australian Government launched a series of reforms into initial teacher education, targeting ‘teacher quality’ and ‘classroom readiness’. The reforms are based on a logic of deficiency within initial teacher education, mandating new accreditation p…
Theorising teacher performance dispositions in an age of audit
This article provides a critical and theoretical exploration into teacher performance dispositions (orientations towards performance). The article explores research literature on dispositions, highlighting the representation of teachers in education policy and standards documents across several nations of the OECD: Australia, the USA and the UK. The article draws on aspects connected to the Bourdieuian conception of dispositions, arguing that eco…
Exploring alternatives to the 'neoliberalism' critique
In this Special Issue, we focus our attention on critiquing ‘neoliberalism’ as a conceptual and analytical tool within education research. The notion of the ‘neoliberal’ or ‘neoliberalism’ is frequ
Templates, typologies and typifications
Neoliberalism as a concept, ideology, or theoretical lens has emerged in the last couple of decades as a monolithic presence in education research, and the social sciences more broadly. We bring two aims to this Special Issue: to critique the rigour of neoliberalism as a theoretical framework utilised within education research; and second, to explore and propose an alternative to neoliberalism as a critical frame of analysis. This paper will post…
National Plan for School Improvement and Students First
This paper explores two Australian school education policy documents and the inputs they describe to boost student achievement. The paper suggests that current reform efforts in schooling like others previously configure student achievement in input–output terms confining school education policy to predictable inputs that sideline broader influences on educational output including, for instance, school funding. The national policy documents that …
Practice Theory and Education
The ‘practice turn’ is a label Schatzki (2001a) uses to describe a shift across several social scientific disciplines to viewing practices as ‘the primary generic social thing’ (2001a, p. 10). Theorists whose research can be characterised in this way include Marx, Wittgenstein, Bourdieu, Giddens, Foucault and Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor. According to Schatzki, ‘practice approaches promulgate a distinct social ontology: the social is a fie…
Who's counting? Legitimating measurement in the audit culture
What gives legitimacy to the numbers that constitute the measurement techniques of the audit culture? We argue that the audit culture's blind application of numbers to people as if there was no moral or ethical dimension to the calculation rests on a military discourse resident in mathematics. This argument is based on the genealogy presented in this paper, which uncovers a regime of measurement-by-number, sedimented as legitimate through an asso…
Teacher Effectiveness
This paper critically examines shifts in emphasis in Australian education from expectations and belief that teachers not only make a difference to student achievement, but they are the difference. In moving from social class relations accounts to self-managing school accounts, latest shifts (teacher effectiveness accounts) over-emphasize teacher effect(s), distorting issues of student under-achievement
Classroom teacher effectiveness research
Teacher effectiveness research now informs the rationale of much Australian education policy aimed at redressing student under‐achievement. The approach draws a ‘straight line’ between teacher practice and student outcomes, ‘controlling’ for and ultimately dismissive of other possible influences. The paper calls into question this conception of teaching–learning relations, particularly the extent to which teaching practice can be reasonably quant…
Classroom teacher effectiveness research and inquiry, and its relevance to the development of public education policy
This paper has as its focus an analysis of the question and problem of classroom teacher effectiveness research and inquiry. It presents an examination of what counts as valid and worthwhile research in classroom teacher effectiveness studies for the development of education policy within an Australian context, the State of Victoria. The Government’s Blueprint, the major education policy document of the Victorian State Labour Government, outlines…
Calling for ‘urgent national action to improve the quality of initial teacher education’
In early 2015, the Australian Government and an associated Ministerial Group called for ‘urgent national action to improve the quality of initial teacher education’. Following this call for action, the Australian Government launched a series of reforms into initial teacher education, targeting ‘teacher quality’ and ‘classroom readiness’. The reforms are based on a logic of deficiency within initial teacher education, mandating new accreditation p…
Templates, typologies and typifications
Neoliberalism as a concept, ideology, or theoretical lens has emerged in the last couple of decades as a monolithic presence in education research, and the social sciences more broadly. We bring two aims to this Special Issue: to critique the rigour of neoliberalism as a theoretical framework utilised within education research; and second, to explore and propose an alternative to neoliberalism as a critical frame of analysis. This paper will post…
Teacher Effectiveness
This paper critically examines shifts in emphasis in Australian education from expectations and belief that teachers not only make a difference to student achievement, but they are the difference. In moving from social class relations accounts to self-managing school accounts, latest shifts (teacher effectiveness accounts) over-emphasize teacher effect(s), distorting issues of student under-achievement
Classroom teacher effectiveness research
Teacher effectiveness research now informs the rationale of much Australian education policy aimed at redressing student under‐achievement. The approach draws a ‘straight line’ between teacher practice and student outcomes, ‘controlling’ for and ultimately dismissive of other possible influences. The paper calls into question this conception of teaching–learning relations, particularly the extent to which teaching practice can be reasonably quant…
Classroom teacher effectiveness research and inquiry, and its relevance to the development of public education policy
This paper has as its focus an analysis of the question and problem of classroom teacher effectiveness research and inquiry. It presents an examination of what counts as valid and worthwhile research in classroom teacher effectiveness studies for the development of education policy within an Australian context, the State of Victoria. The Government’s Blueprint, the major education policy document of the Victorian State Labour Government, outlines…
Exploring alternatives to the 'neoliberalism' critique
In this Special Issue, we focus our attention on critiquing ‘neoliberalism’ as a conceptual and analytical tool within education research. The notion of the ‘neoliberal’ or ‘neoliberalism’ is frequ
Who's counting? Legitimating measurement in the audit culture
What gives legitimacy to the numbers that constitute the measurement techniques of the audit culture? We argue that the audit culture's blind application of numbers to people as if there was no moral or ethical dimension to the calculation rests on a military discourse resident in mathematics. This argument is based on the genealogy presented in this paper, which uncovers a regime of measurement-by-number, sedimented as legitimate through an asso…
Classroom teacher effectiveness research and inquiry, and its relevance to the development of public education policy
This paper has as its focus an analysis of the question and problem of classroom teacher effectiveness research and inquiry. It presents an examination of what counts as valid and worthwhile research in classroom teacher effectiveness studies for the development of education policy within an Australian context, the State of Victoria. The Government’s Blueprint, the major education policy document of the Victorian State Labour Government, outlines…
Classroom teacher effectiveness research
Teacher effectiveness research now informs the rationale of much Australian education policy aimed at redressing student under‐achievement. The approach draws a ‘straight line’ between teacher practice and student outcomes, ‘controlling’ for and ultimately dismissive of other possible influences. The paper calls into question this conception of teaching–learning relations, particularly the extent to which teaching practice can be reasonably quant…
Teacher Effectiveness
This paper critically examines shifts in emphasis in Australian education from expectations and belief that teachers not only make a difference to student achievement, but they are the difference. In moving from social class relations accounts to self-managing school accounts, latest shifts (teacher effectiveness accounts) over-emphasize teacher effect(s), distorting issues of student under-achievement
Practice Theory and Education
The ‘practice turn’ is a label Schatzki (2001a) uses to describe a shift across several social scientific disciplines to viewing practices as ‘the primary generic social thing’ (2001a, p. 10). Theorists whose research can be characterised in this way include Marx, Wittgenstein, Bourdieu, Giddens, Foucault and Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor. According to Schatzki, ‘practice approaches promulgate a distinct social ontology: the social is a fie…
Who's counting? Legitimating measurement in the audit culture
What gives legitimacy to the numbers that constitute the measurement techniques of the audit culture? We argue that the audit culture's blind application of numbers to people as if there was no moral or ethical dimension to the calculation rests on a military discourse resident in mathematics. This argument is based on the genealogy presented in this paper, which uncovers a regime of measurement-by-number, sedimented as legitimate through an asso…
National Plan for School Improvement and Students First
This paper explores two Australian school education policy documents and the inputs they describe to boost student achievement. The paper suggests that current reform efforts in schooling like others previously configure student achievement in input–output terms confining school education policy to predictable inputs that sideline broader influences on educational output including, for instance, school funding. The national policy documents that …
Calling for ‘urgent national action to improve the quality of initial teacher education’
In early 2015, the Australian Government and an associated Ministerial Group called for ‘urgent national action to improve the quality of initial teacher education’. Following this call for action, the Australian Government launched a series of reforms into initial teacher education, targeting ‘teacher quality’ and ‘classroom readiness’. The reforms are based on a logic of deficiency within initial teacher education, mandating new accreditation p…
Theorising teacher performance dispositions in an age of audit
This article provides a critical and theoretical exploration into teacher performance dispositions (orientations towards performance). The article explores research literature on dispositions, highlighting the representation of teachers in education policy and standards documents across several nations of the OECD: Australia, the USA and the UK. The article draws on aspects connected to the Bourdieuian conception of dispositions, arguing that eco…
Exploring alternatives to the 'neoliberalism' critique
In this Special Issue, we focus our attention on critiquing ‘neoliberalism’ as a conceptual and analytical tool within education research. The notion of the ‘neoliberal’ or ‘neoliberalism’ is frequ
Templates, typologies and typifications
Neoliberalism as a concept, ideology, or theoretical lens has emerged in the last couple of decades as a monolithic presence in education research, and the social sciences more broadly. We bring two aims to this Special Issue: to critique the rigour of neoliberalism as a theoretical framework utilised within education research; and second, to explore and propose an alternative to neoliberalism as a critical frame of analysis. This paper will post…
Symbolic capital and the problem of navigating English language teacher practice
English is the most widely taught and learned language in the world. Within the broader literatures on the worldwide spread and dominance of English as a key skill for 21st century education, the use of English(es) and English Language Teaching (ELT) in the context of schooling in Asian countries represent an important research direction. Our paper contributes to these debates by exploring the problem of English language teachers’ beliefs about t…
The Epistemological Development of Education
Epistemological Development of Education
Developing Computational Thinking through Mathematics
Computational thinking (CT) has been accepted and embraced by educators and researchers alike, but many questions remain surrounding what concepts and topics have been used in CT, what tools have been used to help teach CT, and the current range of research on CT. In this paper, we address those questions and the state of professional development (PD) used to train teachers and preservice teachers in CT. Using a scientometrics analysis to map dat…
Teaching as regulated improvisation
In this paper, we address the work of teachers at the intersection of educational policy and professional discretion, by undertaking a conceptual reading of Through Growth to Achievement: Report of the Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools, and examining how the report conceptualises teacher practice. Drawing on the Bourdieusian notion of regulated improvisation, the study explores the constraints of pedagogical practices…
Being critical of the student achievement problem in Australia
This paper presents a critical exploration of a reported decline in student achievement in Australia (2000–2020). Declining student achievement is framed as symptomatic of broader dysfunction within the education system. The context of declining student achievement is articulated through a Bourdieusian being critical sociology of education. This is achieved using the concepts of illusio and educationalisation as they intersect with Australian sch…
Conceptualising the ‘education hustle’ as a case of Bourdieuian doxa and illusio
This article conceptualises the notion of the 'education hustle' as a case of Bourdieuian doxa and illusio. It is argued that the plethora of education reforms engaged in across the globe encompassing privatisation, corporatisation, marketisation, strong accountability, and the governance structures of the New Public Management (NPM), especially within the Anglo-American capitalist world is tantamount to an 'education hustle' where the ideas and …
Teacher agency and student diversity in reading education
State-level governments across Australia have made a commitment via public announcements to ensuring that all schools are teaching reading using ‘consistent’, ‘compulsory’, ‘common practice’. Through a mixed-methods questionnaire with 51 schoolteachers from four states across Australia, this paper examines practitioner experiences of teacher agency and student diversity in reading education. The results reveal that teachers’ confidence in teachin…
A critique of ‘Strong Beginnings’ initial teacher education reforms
The paper studies the rise of neuroscience in initial teacher education, paying attention to the relatively recent Australian Government (2023) report titled ‘Strong Beginnings’. In taking up a critical policy sociology lens, we focus on the first priority within the reforms, which is mandating brain science and the ‘brain and learning’ as core curriculum within initial teacher education. The reforms will embed standardised curriculum into initia…
Is it distracting? A further exploration of non-gameplay social interaction during collaborative digital game-based learning
Collaborative digital game-based learning (DGBL) in mathematics education is a well-researched area. While non-game-related social interaction (NGI) has often been viewed as a potential source of distraction to learning, it is an integral part of gameplay. Gaining deeper insight into NGI helps leverage the tension arising from the conflict between learning and gameplay when implementing DGBL and advances scholarly work on the impact of off-task i…
Sociology (15 works) · Political science (14 works) · Pedagogy (11 works) · Global Educational Policies and Reforms (10 works) · Law (10 works) · Psychology (10 works) · Teacher Education and Leadership Studies (8 works) · Global Education and Multiculturalism (7 works) · Mathematics education (7 works) · Social science (6 works)