Dr Neil Hooley

Dr Neil Hooley was originally a secondary teacher of mathematics, science, physics and chemistry. Before entering teaching, he worked as an industrial chemist in the pharmaceutical industry.

Neil interests include critical theory, critical pedagogy, participatory action research and pragmatic inquiry learning as they apply across all areas of knowledge and the curriculum in schools and universities.

As a teacher educator, he has been involved in projects that investigate professional practice, community partnership and praxis learning for pre-service teacher education to pursue social justice and educational equity for all students. In addition, he has participated in projects concerning narrative inquiry as research methodology and curriculum construct in primary and secondary schools.

Neil is committed to reconciliation between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples of Australia and sees progressive educational reform as a step towards this end. He strongly supports partnerships between schools, communities and universities as democratic means of improving dignified social life and of learning from and theorising social and educational practice to challenge organisational structures and personal understandings.

Recent publications

Books

Hooley, N. (2017). Radical Schooling for Democracy: Engaging philosophy for the public good, Routledge, London and New York.

Hooley, N. (2009). Narrative Life: Democratic Curriculum and Indigenous Learning, Springer, Netherlands.

Book chapters

Hooley, N. 2012. Living Knowledge to the Edge, in Ryan, M. (Ed), Reflections on Learning, Life and Work, Sense Publishers, Rotterdam.

Hooley, N. and Ryan, M. (2009). Learning to teach across cultural boundaries, in Mattos, A. M. A. (Ed) Narratives on Teaching and Teacher Education, Palgrave Macmillan, forthcoming.

Hooley, N. and Ryan, M. (2009). Indigenous Family and Community Involvement in Australian Curriculum Development, in Deslandes, R. (Ed) International Perspectives on Contexts, Communities and Evaluated Innovative Practices: Family-School-Community Partnerships, Routledge.

Hooley, N. (2007). Participation And The Question Of Knowledge, in Townsend, T. and Bates, R. (Eds) Handbook of Teacher Education: Globalisation, Standards and Professionalism in Times of Change, Springer Press, pp. 557-570.

Journal papers

Hooley, N. 2013. Exposing the Intricacies of pre-service teacher education: Incorporating the insights of Freire and Bourdieu, Review of Education, 1(2), pp.125-158, online.

Hooley, N. and Levinson, M. 2013. Investigating networks of culture and knowledge: a critical discourse between UK Roma Gypsies, Indigenous Australians and education, Australian Educational Researcher, online, 18 October.

Levinson, M. and Hooley, N. 2013. Supporting the learning of nomadic communities across transnational contexts: exploring parallels in the education of UK Roma Gypsies and Indigenous Australians, Research Papers in Education, May.

Arnold, J., Edwards, T., Hooley, N. and Williams, J. 2012. Site-based teacher education for enhanced community knowledge and culture: creating the conditions for ‘philosophical project knowledge, Australian Educational Researcher, published online 4 September.

Vale, C., Weaven, M., Davies, A., Hooley, N., Davidson, K. and Loton, D. 2012. Growth in literacy and numeracy achievement: evidence and explanation of a summer slowdown in low-socio-economic schools, Australian Educational Researcher, published online 4 July.

Arnold, J., Edwards, T., Hooley, N. and Williams, J. 2012. Conceptualising teacher education and research as ‘critical praxis,’ Critical Studies in Education, Vol. 53, No. 3, pp 281-295.

Arnold, J., Edwards, T., Hooley, N. and Williams, J. 2012. Theorising on-site teacher education: Philosophical Project Knowledge (PPK), Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 40, No.1, pp. 67-78.

View Neil's publications in the Victoria University Institutional Repository.

Postgraduate research students and fellows

Completions

Co-supervisor of 2 PhD students and 2 Masters students.

Current supervision

Co-supervisor of 1 PhD student, 1 Masters student and 1 Doctoral student.

Research grants

Hooley, N., Dakich, E. & Watt, T. 2011. Technology Enriched Curriculum Project, Researching the impact of ICT on literacy and engagement for middle years Indigenous students, $140 000, funded by Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Canberra, 2011-2012, completed.

Hooley, N. & Eckersley, B. 2011. School Centres for Teaching Excellence, researching on-site pre-service teacher education at the Point Cook Precinct, $250 000, funded by Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Melbourne, 2011-2012, completed.

Eckersley, B. & Davies, M. in association with Hooley, N., Arnold, A., Edwards, T., Williams, J. & McLaren, M-R. 2010. School-university partnerships for site-based teacher education in Melbourne’s North and West, $80 000, funded by Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Melbourne, 2010-2011, completed.

Vale, C., Hooley, N., Davies, A. & Weaven, M. 2009-2010. Evaluation of Literacy and Numeracy Pilot for Low SES School Communities. $308 000, funded by Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, completed.

Professional memberships

• Australian College of Educators
• Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE)
• Australian Teacher Education Association (ATEA)
• American Educational Research Association(AERA)
• British Educational Research Association (BERA)

Industry experience

• Industrial Chemist
• Secondary Teacher
• Executive Officer
• Elected union official

Appearances in the media

Contributor to The Age, Campus Review, Education Review, Education News (AEU), Professional Voice (AEU), The Conversation.