Equity and pedagogy: familiar patterns and QT based possibilities

This paper reports on the distribution of pedagogy as received by student cohorts in the SIPA study, with a focus on two of the most persistent dimensions of educational disadvantage: socio-economic status (SES) and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) status. Drawing on data from classroom observations and the coding of tasks received by students, we analyse the distribution of pedagogy at the school and classroom levels. Our results show predictable, but mild, correlations between pedagogy, the percentage of ATSI students and the mean SES at the school level, the strength of these increasing at the classroom level. Further analysis finds a strong, positive correlation between prior achievement on standardised assessments and the quality of tasks received. Our analysis demonstrates that the quality of pedagogy received, particularly when it comes to tasks and teachers' assessment practice, varies considerably in line with SES and the percentage of ATSI students at the classroom level. Drawing on interview data from teachers, we argue that these findings accord with general (though not universal) expectations about students' capacity to learn, and highlight the potential of the Quality Teaching framework to assist teachers in changing their practice as a strategy for changed expectations and improved outcomes.