ABSTRACT
This chapter acts as the fulcrum point between the abstract discussions in the scholarly literature calling for stronger ideological and ethico-political engagement within LCE and the reality of our colleagues’ lived experiences. As such, in this chapter we move from what we call the ‘big picture’ perspectives to the ‘reality check’ approach in re-envisioning of LCE’s goals. In so doing, we begin by articulating our own rationale – thus also exploring our own biased positioning – on the importance of increasing the politicisation and ethicalisation of LCE. Next, we consider the alignment – or lack thereof – with relevant literature before performing a ‘reality check’ through our data. Here our analysis focuses on colleagues’ responses to interview questions aimed to explore the ‘authority sources’ and ‘telos’ or end goals within the Australian LCE context. This analysis helps us zero in on the gaps between theory and practice and what can be learnt from them.
