Waiting for Superman: The Challenge of Social Justice in Vulnerable Schools

Despite being cast in the popular imagination as the lucky country, a land of sunlit plains and gold sandy beaches, Australia’s educational landscape is highly diverse, stratified, and complex. Disparities between different regions, peoples, systems and policy implications have led some Initial Teacher Education (ITE) providers to ensure a dedicated focus within their teacher training programs towards the explicit development of teacher capacities for disadvantaged schools. This chapter analyses the reflections of (n = 10) ITE academics via semi-structured interviews, from across Australia. Using critical pedagogy as a theoretical lens, the research explores what enables and constrains the development of those wishing to serve in schools with students who are metaphorically waiting for Superman. Findings from this study suggest that interrupting educational disadvantage is complex and requires multifaceted, contextually based responses.