Cutting the Gordian Knot of the Education 'Crisis' with Teacher Testing. A Blunt Instrument That Crushes Marginalised Pre-Service Teachers
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| Title: | Cutting the Gordian Knot of the Education 'Crisis' with Teacher Testing. A Blunt Instrument That Crushes Marginalised Pre-Service Teachers |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Kirsten Lambert (ORCID |
| Source: | Journal of Education Policy. 2025 40(2):220-241. |
| Availability: | Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 22 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Preservice Teachers, Foreign Countries, High Stakes Tests, Teacher Competency Testing, Neoliberalism, Educational Policy, Disabilities, Test Anxiety, Diversity, Politics of Education, Disclosure, Testing Accommodations |
| Geographic Terms: | Australia |
| DOI: | 10.1080/02680939.2024.2405731 |
| ISSN: | 0268-0939 1464-5106 |
| Abstract: | This paper offers a brief yet evocative glimpse into marginalised pre-service teachers' (PST) experiences of teacher testing in Australia's High-stakes Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students (LANTITE). Utilising Critical Disability Theory (CDT)in particular, Goodley's (2016) concept of neoliberal-ableism, we problematise teacher testing as a gatekeeping tool for students undertaking teacher education. The article highlights how neoliberal education policies in Australia have disempowered and turned away talented and empathetic future teachers. By illuminating their embodied experiences of stress and anxiety, we interrogate neoliberal discourses of power and how teacher testing is used as a blunt instrument to solve complex problems and funnel public funding to private corporations. As part of a larger longitudinal research project, we offer four narrative portraits giving voice to vulnerable PSTs who have become unwitting victims of the high-stakes test juggernaut. This article focuses on five emergent themes from the research: (a) the embodied impact of stress and anxiety on test-takers, (b) withholding of information regarding testing processes and support, (c) the lack of differentiation available to PSTs (d) impacts of edu-businesses and the business of education on vulnerable participants and (e) a passion for differentiation. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1469794 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | This paper offers a brief yet evocative glimpse into marginalised pre-service teachers' (PST) experiences of teacher testing in Australia's High-stakes Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students (LANTITE). Utilising Critical Disability Theory (CDT)in particular, Goodley's (2016) concept of neoliberal-ableism, we problematise teacher testing as a gatekeeping tool for students undertaking teacher education. The article highlights how neoliberal education policies in Australia have disempowered and turned away talented and empathetic future teachers. By illuminating their embodied experiences of stress and anxiety, we interrogate neoliberal discourses of power and how teacher testing is used as a blunt instrument to solve complex problems and funnel public funding to private corporations. As part of a larger longitudinal research project, we offer four narrative portraits giving voice to vulnerable PSTs who have become unwitting victims of the high-stakes test juggernaut. This article focuses on five emergent themes from the research: (a) the embodied impact of stress and anxiety on test-takers, (b) withholding of information regarding testing processes and support, (c) the lack of differentiation available to PSTs (d) impacts of edu-businesses and the business of education on vulnerable participants and (e) a passion for differentiation. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0268-0939 1464-5106 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/02680939.2024.2405731 |
