ABSTRACT
As researchers, we have spent many hours in schools and classrooms especially in Australia, but also across the UK and other parts of Europe. There are distinctive characteristics of the ‘western’ mainstream school and classroom that would be familiar to most and consistent across contexts, such as the organisation of reception areas, classrooms and staffrooms; the management of teachers through timetabling and students through disciplinary systems; and the delivery of pedagogy, curriculum and assessment. These familiar ways of doing school were evident at both Red Point High and Crimson High. At both schools there were distinct physical or spatial similarities, for example, at Red Point High like at Crimson High, the reception areas were achievement-oriented and celebratory. Walls were adorned with honours boards and photos celebrating the schools’ accomplishments and cabinets were full of trophies and ribbons marking various sporting and academic awards. At both schools there were organisational and management similarities in terms of how teaching was grouped and timetabled according to subject area and how students were sanctioned for misbehaviour, whether through warnings, ‘blue slips’ or periods of time-out. At both schools there was a similar mixture of pedagogical approaches of varying quality and scope, with some teaching we considered to be outstanding in terms of engagement and intellectual rigour and other teaching less so.
