Teaching practice in the making - Teaching practice in the making: Shaping andreshaping the field of adult language, literacy and numeracy teaching

Oct 15, 2026

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Australian adult language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) teaching is portrayed as contested and uncertain, shaped by policy shifts, new learner groups, and changing economic imperatives that test teachers’ expertise and beliefs. Using Bourdieu’s field and habitus alongside Kumaravadivelu’s postmethod pedagogy, the article analyzes how four experienced teachers continually shape and reshape classroom practices to enable transformative learning in complex social and political terrain.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages30

Reading Time1 h 16 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Teaching practice as a contested, multifaceted term

The study context: adult LLN classrooms

Expert teachers and continued learning

Australian Journal of Adult Learning Volume 52, Number 1, April 2012 Teaching practice in the making: Shaping andreshaping the field of adult language, literacy and numeracy teaching Jacquie Widin, Keiko Yasukawa and Andrew Chodkiewicz University of Technology, Sydney The field of adult language, literacy and numeracy in Australia is a site of struggle as policy changes, new learner groups and new economic imperatives challenge teachers’ expertise and beliefs about good teaching practice. This article examines the ways in which experienced adult language, literacy and numeracy teachers shape and reshape their practices within this tricky and treacherous terrain. Using Bourdieu’s analytical tools offield and habitus asa theoretical framework, and Kumaravadivelu’s notion of postmethod pedagogy as a lens for observation and interpretation, the paper analyses the ways in which four experienced teachers shape and reshape their classroom practice to create transformative learning for their learners. 10 Jacquie Widin, Keiko Yasukawa and Andrew Chodkiewicz Introduction This paper looks at a much examined, historical practice—teaching. Specifically, we seek to explore how expert teachers of adult language, literacy and numeracy continue to learn their practice. Teaching practice is a slippery term: on one level, it may be seen asa mechanistic or prescriptive action, on another, it is taking up the role as a facilitator, and on yet another level, it is an eclectic blend of different approaches. How do teachers navigate across the tricky and treacherous terrain of an arguably much maligned practice? The setting of our study is the adult language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) classroom. Our interest is in the way teaching practice shapes and is shaped by: the particularities of the social space of the classroom, the participants (teachers and learners), the external social and political context, and the teachers’ and learners’ interaction with the external world, and how this shaping and reshaping creates possibilities of transformative learning for the participants. The teachers whose practice we examine are highly experienced and have university degree qualifications in a relevant discipline. They are part of the generation ofAustralian adult LLN teachers who were a component of the professionalisation of a previously more loosely organised and structured field (Scheeres 1993; Black 1992). They would be described as ‘expert teachers’ using the three dimensions of the expert teacher identified by Tsui (2009:424). Firstly, they demonstrate capabilities to integrate various aspects of knowledge in relation to the teaching act; secondly, they relate to their contexts of work and their understanding of teaching so constituted; and thirdly, they exercise their capabilities to engage in reflection and conscious deliberation. In an examination of how expert teachers continue to learn their practice, we cannot help but look at the power relations within the teaching field and the ways in which legitimacy is bestowed on certain kinds of knowledge (meeting systems requirements and vocationally Teaching practice in the making 11 focused courses) and practices (approaches to teaching and modes of work) . Priya, an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teacher team-teaching in a Vocational Education and Training (VET) program, is highly attuned to the changes in the field of LLN. While she spoke to us about the strangeness and newness of working ina more subordinated position as a language support teacher to the now more valued vocationally focused program, she demonstrated her capacity to embrace this change. Peter and Jean are also team-teaching, but in a vastly different program, working with young people excluded from school and work. Ann is a literacy and numeracy teacher in a further education college and her adult learners are struggling to learn concepts and skills they missed at school. These teachers describe

FAQs

What problem does the article address about adult LLN teaching in Australia?

It examines how adult language, literacy and numeracy teaching is challenged by policy changes, new learner groups, and economic imperatives that disrupt teachers’ expertise and beliefs.

Which theoretical frameworks guide the analysis of teachers’ practice?

The article uses Bourdieu’s tools of field and habitus, and Kumaravadivelu’s postmethod pedagogy to interpret observation of classroom practice.

How do the experienced teachers in the study contribute to transformative learning?

They shape and reshape classroom practices by negotiating teaching within contested field conditions, interactions with learners, and broader social and political context, creating possibilities for transformative learning.

Oct 15, 2026

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