Three pedagogies of mobility for Australian show people: teaching about, through and towards the questioning of sedentarism
Article
Article Title | Three pedagogies of mobility for Australian show people: teaching about, through and towards the questioning of sedentarism |
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Article Category | Article |
Authors | Danaher, Patrick Alan (Author), Moriarty, Beverley (Author) and Danaher, Geoff (Author) |
Journal Title | Melbourne Studies in Education |
Journal Citation | 45 (2), pp. 47-66 |
Number of Pages | 20 |
Year | 2004 |
Place of Publication | Abingdon, U.K. |
Web Address (URL) | http://www.education.monash.edu.au/research/melbournestudieseduc// |
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title/~db=all~content=t749441077 | |
Abstract | [Abstract]: Questions concerning the education of mobile groups help to highlight the lived experiences of people otherwise rendered invisible by policy actors. This includes the diverse communities of occupational Travellers – those people who regularly move in order to earn their livelihood. While the category ‘occupational Travellers’ encompasses groups as varied as defence force personnel, specialist teachers and seasonal fruit pickers, the focus here is on the people who travel the agricultural show circuits of Australia to provide the entertainment of ‘sideshow alley’. Drawing on qualitative research with the Australian show people since 1992, this paper deploys the concept of ‘sedentarism’ to highlight the ambivalently valorised lived experiences and educational opportunities of the show people. In particular, the paper explores the pedagogical and policy implications of efforts to disrupt and transform the marginalising impact of sedentarism, which constructs mobility as the other in relation to fixed residence. Specifically, it is argued that anti-sedentarism makes possible the identification and interrogation of three distinct pedagogies of mobility pertaining to the show people, revealing differing stances on intersections of mobility and education. The first is teaching about anti-sedentarism, which involves demonstrating the value of the informal learning that takes place on the show circuits so that the show people’s mobility does not throw a negative light on their learning on the run. The second is teaching through anti-sedentarism, which centres on informing non-show people about the lives of show people and their contributions to cultural, economic and social life in Australia. The third is teaching towards anti-sedentarism, entailing the mapping and valuing of multiple forms of mobility. The paper considers implications for policy actions of these three pedagogies of mobility about and for the Australian show people. These implications are identified through the lens of assumptions underpinning the current Commonwealth Government policy statement on student mobility. The argument is that the evidence from the show people’s experiences suggests that pedagogies of mobility represent one among several possible ways forward in pursuing anti-sedentarism and in imagining anew traditional education for contemporary mobile learners. |
Keywords | Australia; mobility; pedagogies; sedentarism; show people |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 390201. Education policy |
440699. Human geography not elsewhere classified | |
390409. Learning sciences | |
Public Notes | File reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/author. |
Byline Affiliations | Central Queensland University |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/9y1x8/three-pedagogies-of-mobility-for-australian-show-people-teaching-about-through-and-towards-the-questioning-of-sedentarism
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