title: Teachers and Curriculum, Volume 14, 2014: Editorial

authors: Ussher, William (Bill) Grant

abstract: In this, the 2014 general issue of Teachers and Curriculum, we are pleased to incorporate a wide range of contributions that demonstrate the breadth and complexity of teaching and curriculum work in education settings. The editorial board of this journal continues to be committed to working with contributors to present research, debates, and accounts of practice that are accessible to practitioners and have the potential to inform practice. We acknowledge that practitioners do not always feel that they have the requisite knowledge or ability to make a ‘legitimate’ contribution to our growing understandings of curriculum, pedagogy, assessment or policy. In many ways this could be viewed as a learned behaviour, in response to our own educational experiences that position ‘academic’ knowledge as held by ‘experts’, while positioning practitioner ways of knowing as of lesser consequence. Teachers and Curriculum is committed to addressing these binary ways of this thinking by providing a forum for both practitioner and academic contributions.

text: Teachers and Curriculum, Volume 14, 2014: Editorial In this, the 2014 general issue of Teachers and Curriculum, we are pleased to incorporate a wide range of contributions that demonstrate the breadth and complexity of teaching and curriculum work in education settings. The editorial board of this journal continues to be committed to working with contributors to present research, debates, and accounts of practice that are accessible to practitioners and have the potential to inform practice. We acknowledge that practitioners do not always feel that they have the requisite knowledge or ability to make a ‘legitimate’ contribution to our growing understandings of curriculum, pedagogy, assessment or policy. In many ways this could be viewed as a learned behaviour, in response to our own educational experiences that position ‘academic’ knowledge as held by ‘experts’, while positioning practitioner ways of knowing as of lesser consequence. Teachers and Curriculum is committed to addressing these binary ways of this thinking by providing a forum for both practitioner and academic contributions.

year: 2014

title: Can the goldfish see the water? A critical analysis of ‘good intentions’ in cross-cultural practice

authors: Ferguson, Bruce

abstract: We claim to hold values that our students are responsible and autonomous adults whose success in our courses is best facilitated by our understanding of and respect for their specific backgrounds. We wish to be judged on these values by feedback provided by our students and those with whom we work. However, how well, if ever, are we able to ‘see the water,’ the cultural conditioning that leads us to act in ways that seem supportive of our students to us, but may be perceived differently by them?

In this paper, we present conflicting evidence around perceptions of our practice. We discuss where things have gone well, and where interventions have possibly been traumatic for the recipients. We question whether, and how, our practice cross-culturally can be safe. We challenge ourselves and others to think carefully about our responsibilities to our students, whether our privileged positioning obliges us to share and if so, how that sharing can occur in ways that validate and equally respect the values of those with whom we work.

text: Can the goldfish see the water? A critical analysis of ‘good intentions’ in cross-cultural practice We claim to hold values that our students are responsible and autonomous adults whose success in our courses is best facilitated by our understanding of and respect for their specific backgrounds. We wish to be judged on these values by feedback provided by our students and those with whom we work. However, how well, if ever, are we able to ‘see the water,’ the cultural conditioning that leads us to act in ways that seem supportive of our students to us, but may be perceived differently by them?

In this paper, we present conflicting evidence around perceptions of our practice. We discuss where things have gone well, and where interventions have possibly been traumatic for the recipients. We question whether, and how, our practice cross-culturally can be safe. We challenge ourselves and others to think carefully about our responsibilities to our students, whether our privileged positioning obliges us to share and if so, how that sharing can occur in ways that validate and equally respect the values of those with whom we work.

year: 2010

title: Culture is our business: Issues and challenges for forensic and correctional psychologists

authors: Tamatea, Armon J.

subjects: Science & Technology

abstract: Psychology has made significant advances in the development of more empirical, standardized, and consistent approaches to the prediction, assessment, and treatment of offending behaviour. However, crime occurs in a cultural context. Similarly, forensic and correctional psychology derive from a cultural basis that privileges certain types of knowledge and promotes certain forms of practice that are incommensurate with the outlook and realities of some offenders and their communities. While there is an emerging literature on ethnicity and race in criminal justice psychology, very little research that addresses culture is published. The reasons for this knowledge gap are complex, not least because the worldviews of indigenous and diverse communities do not superimpose neatly onto current best-practice models of risk assessment or offender rehabilitation. Given Australia and New Zealand’s commitment to the involvement and wellbeing of indigenous peoples as well as the shared experience of progressively more pluralistic societies, it is argued that there is a critical need to bring the somewhat disparate domains of forensic psychology and culture into conversation with a view to informing policy and practice. The example of risk assessment is used to illustrate some of the complexities of working with cultural difference. Central to this article is a call for a culturally-engaged and proactive philosophy of practice that embraces the needs of diverse offenders, victims and communities.

text: Culture is our business: Issues and challenges for forensic and correctional psychologists Psychology has made significant advances in the development of more empirical, standardized, and consistent approaches to the prediction, assessment, and treatment of offending behaviour. However, crime occurs in a cultural context. Similarly, forensic and correctional psychology derive from a cultural basis that privileges certain types of knowledge and promotes certain forms of practice that are incommensurate with the outlook and realities of some offenders and their communities. While there is an emerging literature on ethnicity and race in criminal justice psychology, very little research that addresses culture is published. The reasons for this knowledge gap are complex, not least because the worldviews of indigenous and diverse communities do not superimpose neatly onto current best-practice models of risk assessment or offender rehabilitation. Given Australia and New Zealand’s commitment to the involvement and wellbeing of indigenous peoples as well as the shared experience of progressively more pluralistic societies, it is argued that there is a critical need to bring the somewhat disparate domains of forensic psychology and culture into conversation with a view to informing policy and practice. The example of risk assessment is used to illustrate some of the complexities of working with cultural difference. Central to this article is a call for a culturally-engaged and proactive philosophy of practice that embraces the needs of diverse offenders, victims and communities.

year: 2017