Papers by Alison L Hilton
International Journal of Inclusive Education, 2025
This research paper explores the experiences of pre-service teachers (PST) with disability undert... more This research paper explores the experiences of pre-service teachers (PST) with disability undertaking high-stakes teacher tests in Australia. In increasingly diverse classrooms, teachers are expected to provide a range of differentiation strategies in their learning and teaching to ensure all students are included in classrooms. This need for appropriate classroom differentiation is mandated to PSTs who are undergoing their initial teacher education studies. However, our research highlights how highstakes teacher tests that all Australian PSTs must pass in order to graduate, fail to differentiate for disability. Our research findings shed light on how PSTs with disability have a passion for differentiation and are developing disability identity and advocacy. Yet ableist practices, including the costs of disclosure and inadequate assessment accommodations, marginalise and exclude these valuable teachers.
Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 2025
Royal commissions are powerful symbols of truth-telling, underpinned by restorative justice, aimi... more Royal commissions are powerful symbols of truth-telling, underpinned by restorative justice, aiming to address historic mishandling by giving voice to survivors of prejudice, abuse, and institutional injustice. The Australian Federal Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability (2019–2023) exposed routine violence, abuse, and exploitation of people with disability. The Commission made recommendations to federal and state governments in Australia that, if accepted and implemented, will bring about far-reaching changes. Previous royal commissions resulted in high acceptance rates: 79% for Aged Care and 85% for Child Sexual Abuse. However, the response to the Disability Royal Commission (DRC) has been disappointing, with only 8% of recommendations accepted. This paper focuses on government responses to DRC recommendations related to Volume 7: Part A: Inclusive Education, using critical discourse analysis to highlight how empty language promotes inclusivity whilst maintaining ableist cultural hegemony and normative policies.
Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 2025
Professional Experience placements provide invaluable opportunities for pre-service teachers to c... more Professional Experience placements provide invaluable opportunities for pre-service teachers to connect their expanding knowledge to teaching practice. When done well, these experiences are underpinned by purposeful and continuous guidance from experienced mentor teachers. Significantly, the participation and engagement of Australian mentor teachers in this process is voluntary in nature, meaning the system relies on teachers 'opting-in' to mentoring. This research examines mentor teacher participation within Secondary-level initial teacher education courses and highlights issues relating to overall mentor teacher (and host school) engagement. Analysis of placement data over a five-year period to 2021 illustrates a significant change in participation with a dwindling number of mentor teachers participating in placement activity. Other insights include a declining rate of school and mentor teacher participation and an over-reliance on a portion of the teaching workforce to sustain these preparatory experiences. These findings highlight structural and systematic gaps negatively impacting on the delivery and quality of initial teacher education, which in turn have broad implications for the current national workforce shortage in Secondary teaching.
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Papers by Alison L Hilton