Australian Journal of Adult Learning - Volume 55 - Number 3 - Professional development of student teachers through public pedagogy in a library exhibition

Oct 15, 2026

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“Come in and look around” presents a public pedagogy project embedded in The Global Teacher within Australia’s Bachelor of Education for student teachers. In 2013, student teachers created a museum-style exhibition in the State Library showcasing six global education themes, inviting public engagement with their installations. Through close collaboration among QUT teacher educators, SLQ curators, and student groups, the study examines how student learning and teacher educator practice developed while translating socio-political global issues into shared public learning spaces.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Public pedagogy embedded in The Global Teacher

Linking public pedagogy with Learning and Teaching in Public Spaces

Public engagement through the State Library exhibition

Australian Journal of Adult Learning Volume 55, Number 3, November 2015 “Come in and look around.” Professional development of student teachers through public pedagogy in a library exhibition. Anne Hickling-Hudson Erika Hepple Queensland University of Technology This paper describes a public pedagogy project embedded into The Global Teacher, a subject within the Bachelor of Education program for student teachers at an Australian university. The subject provides a global perspective on socio-political issues that shape education. In 2013, The Global Teacher introduced an approach that asked student teachers to create a museum-style exhibition depicting six global education themes. This exhibition was displayed in the State Library and the public were invited to engage with the installations and the student teachers who created them. Our paper describes how the project was implemented by means of close collaboration between the QUT teacher educators, curators atthe State Library of Queensland (SLQ), and student groups working on visually translating their understandings of global educational issues into a public exhibition. We discuss what was learned by our students and ourselves, as teacher educators, by engaging in this public pedagogy. Keywords: global education, public library, group work, transformative learning, social justice, public learning space. 444 Anne Hickling-Hudson and Erika Hepple Introduction The public pedagogies project, which is described in this paper, was embedded into The Global Teacher, a subject within the Bachelor of Education program for student teachers at an Australian university. As part of the process of globalisation, schools and colleges across the world are undergoing a transition from being nation-centered to becoming institutions that engage with diversity in a more interconnected world. Since 2004, The Global Teacher subject has been included at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) as part of the Bachelor of Education course because it helps educators prepare students to live and work interculturally, with a greater global understanding of socio-cultural, educational issues of planetary significance. In 2012, QUT’s Global Teacher subject became part of a project on‘Learning and Teaching in Public Spaces’ led by Professor Maureen Ryan and Dr. Karen Charman at Victoria University. The focus of this library/ museum research project, funded from the Australian Office of Learning and Teaching, was that of organising and implementing ‘collaborative exchanges with museums/ libraries in experiential learning and citizenship’. The project was implemented in four Australian universities which were partners in the project: Victoria University, Deakin, Charles Sturt and QUT. As the two teacher educators leading The Global Teacher, in 2013 we developed an approach that asked student teachers to create a museumstyle exhibition as the outcome of their professional learning in this subject. They were asked to bring together six inter-related global education themes into a coherent exhibition, which would be displayed in the State Library for the public to interact with. The student teachers were therefore being invited to engage in public pedagogy as part of the‘Learning and Teaching in Public Spaces’ project. Through the project, we were able to ask two research assistants to help us by documenting the development of the student exhibition, and interviewing the students and teacher educators about how they experienced it. In our paper we outline the close collaboration with curators at the State Library of Queensland (SLQ) through which we scaffolded the student “Come in and look around.” Professional development of student teachers through public pedagogy in a library exhibition 445 teachers’ learning with the help of experts in the pedagogy of exhibiting, while we carried out our role of extending their knowledge of global education perspectives. We discuss the learnin

FAQs

What is the core public pedagogy activity described in the paper?

Student teachers developed a museum-style exhibition in the State Library based on six global education themes and invited public participation in viewing and discussion.

How was the project supported and implemented?

It relied on collaboration among QUT teacher educators, SLQ curators, and student groups, with documentation and interviews to capture development and experiences.

Why is public pedagogy important to the Global Teacher approach?

The paper links public pedagogy to learning opportunities outside formal schooling and frames the project as aligning with social justice and transformative pedagogy.

Oct 15, 2026

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