Introduction
Brad's research examines government policies, programmes and technologies in the areas of school autonomy reforms, school choice and community. He is currently investigating the Independent Public Schools initiative in Western Australia, documenting the changes to and the effects of this reform on the management and governance of state schools. Brad uses Foucauldian perspectives in his research, including critical policy analysis.
Brad is currently a Chief Investigator on an Australian Research Council (ARC) funded Discovery Project (DP190100190), School autonomy reform and social justice in Australian public education ($340,962), with Prof Amanda Keddie, Prof Jill Blackmore, A/Prof Jane Wilkinson, Dr Richard Niesche and A/Prof Scott Eacott. (2019)
Brad is also working with Dr Jane Merewether and Dr Annettee Nykiel (ECU) on the Walking with Wetlands research project (2020). This exciting project explores young children's relationships with the environment in the context of climate change. Read the blog here. This project is linked to the Climate Action Childhood Network.
With Dr Rebecca Walker, Brad has co-edited and contributed to Powers of Curriculum: Sociological Perspectives on Education (2017), a research-led textbook for pre-service educators published by Oxford University Press. The book was short-listed and highly commended at the prestigious Education Publishing Awards Australia (EPAA) in the category 'Tertiary (Wholly Australian) Teaching and Learning Resource - print) . You can view Brad and Rebecca speaking about the book here.
Brad is co-author of Teaching: Dilemmas, Challenges and Opportunities (2019) with Professor Robyn Ewing, Associate Professor Lisa Kervin, Dr Chris Glass, and Dr Rosie Le Cornu and Dr Susan Groundwater-Smith. The book is published by Cengage.
Brad has worked as a research officer and lecturer for a number of years. He has worked with Professor Barry Down as a research officer on a number of research projects, including three ARC-funded projects in the areas of: the schooling of young people at disadvantage; early career teacher resilience; and the use of the arts in community development. He recently spoke about the need to think critically about the use of school-based data for the Curtin-EdX MOOC, Analytics for the Classroom Teacher.
Brad currently lectures postgraduate students and pre-service teachers in the area of curriculum, education policy, politics and sociology, and is the Master of Education Course Coordinator. (View Brad speaking about the Master of Education course.)
Post Nominals
PhD, MEd, Grad Dip Ed, BA
Research Interests
Brad's areas of research interest include:
- education policy and reform; poststructuralist perspectives in education; critical policy analysis; Foucauldian and neo-Foucauldian scholarship; neo-liberal policy and programmes of government; governmentality, discourse, subjectivity and power; school governance, management, leadership, school choice, and IPS; gender, sexualities & new materialism
Membership
Awards
- Shortlisted and Highly Commended: Powers of Curriculum: Sociological Perspectives on Education in the category of Tertiary (Wholly Australian) Teaching and Learning Resource - print, for the Education Publishing Awards Australia (2018)
- Fellow of the Western Australian Institute for Educational Research (2017)
- Curtin Excellence and Innovation in Teaching Award: Common First Year Team. (2015)
- Faculty of Humanities Teaching and Learning Award in the First Year Program Award category: Common First Year Team (2014).
- Outstanding Professional Service Award (Professional Teaching Council of Western Australia Inc.) (2014)
- Murdoch University School of Education Prize for Best Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation in the past two years (2014)
- Thelma Harley Post-Graduate Award (2007)
- Fogarty-WAIER Post-Graduate Award (2007)
Membership
- Executive Committee Member and Website Coordinator of the Western Australian Institute for Educational Research (ECM 2006 - present).
- Western Australian Representative of the Community of Associate Deans of Reseach in Education (cADRE), ACDE (2014-2015)
- Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE)
Professional Affilitations
Editorial Board Member: Journal of Educational Administration and History (Taylor & Francis)
Academic Reviewer for the following: Journal of Sociology; Journal of Educational Management and History; Journal of Education Policy; Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education; Critical Studies in Education; Cambridge University Press
Supervision
Teaching Summary
Supervision
- Learning the emotional rules of teaching: A Foucauldian analysis of ethical self-formation in pre-service teacher education. (PhD)
- Primary educators’ knowledge of grammatical concepts as mandated in the Australian Curriculum (English): Comparison of Pre and Inservice teachers (MPhil: Passed)
- An investigation of significant factors in the success of high achieving females in school: a poststructural feminist perspective (Masters Coursework Dissertation: Passed)
- Meeting the learning needs, abilities and interests of secondary students, and the impact of academic progress tracking technology (MPhil)
- From graduate to worker: assessing and addressing the need for work readiness programs for allied health (EdD)
- Expatriate Teacher Retention in the Interscholastic Association of Southeast-Asian Schools (IASAS) (EdD)
Brad has taught in the areas of: English curriculum, media curriculum, the sociology of education and multi-literacies. He is currently teaching:
- EDPR3004 Cultural Contexts in Primary Education
- EDSC3000 Curriculum & Culture in Secondary Schools
- EDUC1003 Exploring and Contesting Curriculum
- EDUC6031 International Trends in Education
Publications
2020
- Wilkins, C., B. Gobby, and A. Keddie. 2020. "THE NEO-PERFORMATIVE TEACHER: SCHOOL REFORM, ENTREPRENEURIALISM AND THE PURSUIT OF EDUCATIONAL EQUITY." British Journal of Educational Studies
- Keddie, A., K. MacDonald, J. Blackmore, J. Wilkinson, B. Gobby, R. Niesche, S. Eacott, and C. Mahoney. 2020. "The constitution of school autonomy in Australian public education: areas of paradox for social justice." International Journal of Leadership in Education: 1-18.
- Keddie, A., K. Claire MacDonald, J. Blackmore, S. Eacott, B. Gobby, C. Mahony, R. Niesche, and J. Wilkinson. 2020. "School autonomy, marketisation and social justice: the plight of principals and schools." Journal of Educational Administration and History
2019
- Wilkins, A., J. Collet-Sabé, B. Gobby, and J. Hangartner. 2019. "Translations of new public management: a decentred approach to school governance in four OECD countries." Globalisation, Societies and Education 17 (2): 147-160.
- Gobby, B., and R. Niesche. 2019. "Community empowerment? School autonomy, school boards and depoliticising governance." Australian Educational Researcher 46 (3): 565-582.
- Gobby, B., R. Ewing, L. Kervin, C. Glass, R. Le Cornu, and S. Groundewater-Smith. 2019. "Teaching: Dilemmas, Challenges & Opportunities." 6.: Cengage.
2018
- Keddie, A., B. J. Gobby, and C. Wilkins. 2018. "School autonomy reform in Queensland: governance, freedom and the entrepreneurial leader." School Leadership and Management TBC (TBC)
- Gobby, B. J., A. Keddie, and J. Blackmore. 2018. "Professionalism and competing responsibilities: moderating competitive performativity in school autonomy reform." Journal of Educational Administration and History TBA (TBA)
- Gobby, B. J. 2018. "Competitive entrepreneurship and community empowerment." In Challenges for Public Education Reconceptualising Educational Leadership, Policy and Social Justice as Resources for Hope Wilkinson, J., R. Niesche, and S. Eacott., 59-72 Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
- Walker, R. M., and B. Gobby. 2018. "'Tradie to teachers' program devalues the profession."
2017
- Walker, R. M. 2017. "Student- Centred Approaches to Planning In Primary and Secondary Schools." In Powers of Curriculum: Sociological Perspectives on Education Gobby, B., and R. Walker., 445-470 South Melbourne, Victoria: Oxford University Press.
- Giamminuti, S. B. 2017. "Educators’ Philosophies: Encountering and Weaving Images." In Powers of Curriculum: Sociological Perspectives on Education Gobby, B., and R. Walker., 87-117 South Melbourne, Victoria: Oxford University Press.
- Gobby, B. J., and R. Walker. 2017. "Preface." In POWERS OF CURRICULUM: SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON EDUCATION Gobby, B., and R. Walker., IX-X South Melbourne, Victoria: Oxford University Press.
- Gobby, B. 2017. "What is curriculum?." In Powers of Curriculum: Sociological Perspectives on Education Gobby, B., and R. Walker., 5-34 South Melbourne, Victoria: Oxford University Press.
- Walker, R., and B. Gobby. 2017. "Testing times for assessment and pedagogy." In Powers of Curriculum: Sociological perspectives on education Gobby, B., and R. Walker., 323-349 South Melbourne, Victoria: Oxford University Press.
- Gobby, B., and Z. Millei. 2017. "Schools, Its History and Power." In Powers of Curriculum: Sociological Perspectives on Education Gobby, B. J., and R. M. Walker., 37-59 South Melbourne, Victoria: Oxford University Press.
- Gobby, B., and S. Karnovsky. 2017. "Questioning how and what we know: New concepts to approach education." In Powers of Curriculum: Sociological Perspectives on Education Gobby, B., and R. Walker., 61-85 South Melbourne, Victoria: Oxford University Press.
- Gobby, B. J.. "Powers of curriculum: Sociological perspectives on education." Melbourne: Oxford University Press. Inpress.
- Millei, Z., B. J. Gobby, and J. Gallagher. 2017. "Doing state policy at preschool: An autoethnographic tale of universal access to ECEC in Australia." Journal of Pedagogy 8 (1): 33-55.
2016
- Gobby, B. 2016. "Obliged to calculate: My School, markets, and equipping parents for calculativeness." Journal of Education Policy 31 (4): 421-431.
- Gobby, B. 2016. "Putting “the system” into a school autonomy reform: the case of the Independent Public Schools program." Discourse: Studies in the cultural politics of education 37 (1): 16-29.
- Gobby, B. 2016. "Problematisations, practices and subjectivation: Educational leadership in neoliberal times." In Questioning Leadership: New directions for educational organisations Lakomski, G., S. Eacott, and C. Evers., 86-98 UK: Routledge.
2015
- Gobby, B. J. 2015. "IPS and governing schools through contracts." Professional Educator 14 (2): 8-10.
2014
- Gobby, B. J. 2014. "Book Review: Leading schools in challenging circumstances: Strategies for success, by Philip Smith and Les Bel." Critical Studies in Education 55 (3): 387-397.
2013
- Gobby, B. 2013. "Principal self-government and subjectification: the exercise of principal autonomy in the Western Australian Independent Public Schools programme." Critical Studies in Education 54 (3): 273-285.
- Gobby, B. 2013. "Enacting the Independent Public Schools program in Western Australia." Issues in Educational Research 23 (1): 19-34.