Publications

Journal article | Peer reviewed

First Nations and transcultural counter-imaginaries in doctoral education ↗

by Jing Qi, Maria Raciti, Kathryn Gilbey, Sue Stanton, Jiao Tuxworth, John Whop and Catherine Manathunga

25 October 2025
Studies in Philosophy and Education

Doctoral education is a key site of knowledge creation that has the potential to either foreclose or open up possibilities for transformation in higher education. It is a pedagogical space rife with neoliberal imaginaries that ground strong affective investments in efficiency and strict regimes of accountability. The flexible knowledge worker, the entrepreneur and the industry-ready graduate comprise some key examples of governing significations in doctoral education that contribute to affective ecologies of anxiety, fear, shame and anger among both doctoral candidates and supervisors. These affective experiences are particularly heightened for First Nations and transcultural (migrant, refugee, culturally and linguistically diverse and international) doctoral candidates, whose ways of knowing and being in the academy are governed by imaginaries and affective investments that run up against dominant arrangements. This paper seeks to challenge dominant imaginaries by foregrounding First Nations Storying. This First Nations knowledge approach has the potential to produce ecologies of affect characterized by connectedness, reciprocity and solidarity. There are, however, a number of governing imaginaries, especially in settler-invader countries like Australia, which make embedding these localised and embodied affective ecologies very challenging. This paper explores both the opportunities and obstacles that exist in attempts to introduce alternative affective ecologies in doctoral education.

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Journal article | Peer reviewed

Forgetting culturally diverse equity groups in Australian doctoral policy: what happens when population parity is reached? ↗

by Jing Qi, Maria Raciti and Catherine Manathunga

31 January 2025
Discourse

Population parity figures keep governments and universities accountable in ensuring that equity groups have access to higher education. However, what happens once population parity is reached? This paper explores Australian doctoral education policy on culturally and linguistically diverse (transcultural) domestic candidates. Using Foucauldian discourse analysis, we suggest that an overwhelming focus on counting avoids addressing vital epistemological questions about the diverse knowledge transcultural candidates bring to Australian research. We highlight the ways doctoral policies do not capture the significant diversities within transcultural communities. We recommend the use of Nancy Fraser’s concept of participatory parity instead of population parity in government policy as a way of incorporating three elements of social justice – redistribution, recognition and representation. Focusing on the element of recognition, we extend Fraser’s notion of cultural recognition to include valuing diverse cultural knowledge systems which might create the conditions for epistemic justice in Australian doctoral education policy.

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Journal article | Peer reviewed

Schools as inclusive workplaces: understanding the needs of a diverse teaching workforce in Australian schools ↗

by Jing Qi, Rachael Dwyer, Rachael Jacobs, Jiao Tuxworth, Daniel X. Harris and Catherine Manathunga

2025
AER

This paper draws together academic and policy literature around the value of a culturally, linguistically and racially diverse (CLRD) teacher workforce in Australia. While Australia's population is becoming more diverse, the teaching population is significantly less so, with far fewer teachers born overseas and/or speaking a language other than English at home. This paper seeks to address some reasons for this lack of diversity, and the lived experiences of teachers from diverse backgrounds, including the unique contributions CLRD teachers make to their school communities and the challenges they face. We begin by describing how CLRD experiences are understood within the Australian education context, and the contributions made by CLRD teachers to their school communities, the barriers to entry, and the experiences of exclusion and discrimination faced by many CLRD teachers in Australian schools. We conclude by highlighting the critical need to support CLRD teachers, by ensuring that schools are culturally safe and inclusive workplaces for teachers, as a necessary precursor to ensuring the same for students.

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Journal article | Peer reviewed

Community linguascapes and epistemic linguascapes: making a case for multilingual doctoral education in Australia ↗

by Jing Qi, Catherine Manathunga, Maria Raciti and Kathryn Gilbey

2025
Discourse

The privileging of academic English in research bypasses important issues regarding multilingualism in doctoral education. In Australia, the current monolingual research paradigm limits the scope and nature of the research evidence that informs policymaking, neglecting the experiences, contributions and needs of the First Nations and migrant communities. This paper reviews the existing rationales for engaging with issues of multilingualism in doctoral education. We then expand the current debates about multilingual doctoral education praxis by foregrounding the multilingual research needs of Australia’s First Nations and migrant communities and doctoral researchers. Building on theoretical development in the areas of linguistic landscapes and language ontologies, in this paper we contribute two new concepts, community linguascapes and epistemic linguascapes. We argue that critical to redressing the research gap in Australia is a multilingual doctoral education system which accounts for and reflects on the role of languages and multilingualism across the design and practices of doctoral education programmes.

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Book chapter | Peer reviewed

Playing with power and being played: Collaborative gameplay as a site of connection and insight ↗

by Brendon Munge, Catherine Manathunga, Shelley Davidow, Catherine Thiele, Alison L Black, Vicki Schriever, Rachael Dwyer and Stephen Heimans

2025
Ludic Inquiries into Power and Pedagogy in Higher Education: How Games Play Us

This chapter is a response to the impact of the prevailing neoliberal discourse of corporate managerialism in universities. It contains the authors’ communal experimentation with collaborative gameplay as an intentional and collective form of arts-based activism and intervention focused on subverting and unravelling the finite and managerial games at work in their universities. As a way of giving pause to how the pandemic and related workforce crises have intensified power dynamics and precarious work, authors use arts-based and poetic offerings to reflect on the role of power operating in their work/lives. Their creative methodology provides a site for playful protest and resistance to the competitive individualism and win/lose outcomes so treasured across the academy. It also offers space for authors’ realisation that while they desire to be radical, they are mostly compliant in their academic work. Subsequent insights about their ‘playing with power relations’ but also how they are ‘being played’ by succumbing to managerial demands helps them stop and ‘ask questions’ and ‘think outside the game’.

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Explore all Catherine Manathunga's publications in UniSC Research Bank

Grants

25 June 2025

Sunshine Coast First Nations Creative Arts Strategic Plan

Sunshine Coast Council (Australia)
Grant no. 0980030567.

Maria Raciti, Catherine Manathunga, Harriot Beazley, Clare Archer-Lean, Leah Barclay and Rachael Dwyer

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15 June 2023 - 30 June 2024

Building Voice, Identity and Social Justice Research in Education

University of the Sunshine Coast (Australia, Sunshine Coast) - UniSC
Grant no. 0980028335.

Alison Willis, Aruna Devi, Deborah Heck, Rachael Dwyer and Catherine Manathunga

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6 August 2018 - 15 August 2021

Building Australia-China research capabilities for intercultural knowledge collaboration

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia, Canberra) - DFAT
Grant no. 0980025347.

Catherine Manathunga

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8 March 2021

Implementing Indigenous knowledge approaches in Australian doctoral education

Australian Research Council (Australia, Canberra) - ARC
Grant no. DP210100647.

Sue Stanton, Wenqin Shen, Kathryn Gilbey, Maria Raciti, Jing Qi, Michael Singh and Catherine Manathunga

Supervision

Doctoral Thesis Supervision - Completed

Subjectivities of exclusion in a Kuwaiti novel: A postcolonial, decolonial and Foucauldian analysis ↗

Students: Annette Dupont

Associated Researchers: Paul Williams and Catherine Manathunga

2018 - 2025

After winning the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2013, the controversial postcolonial Arabic novel Saq al-bambu (2012) by the Kuwaiti author Saud Alsanousi was translated into many languages. This dissertation offers a social and literary critique of the East Asian and Arab Gulf societies and subjectivities of Alsanousi’s marginalised characters, as these are imagined and portrayed in the English edition by Jonathan Wright, The Bamboo Stalk (2015). The global scholarship on the Arabic and English editions published between 2013 and 2023 is rich and extensive, engaging with social science disciplines, as well as cultural and literary studies. Inter alia, the existing studies reflect cultural grafting and cultural narrative theory, narratology and intercultural communication theory, Islamic and human rights perspectives, descriptive discourse analysis, feminist, intersectionality and intersubjectivity theory, psychological archetypes, self-authorship models, the politics of translation, literary genres of meta-fiction, realism and postmodernism, and other self-styled “mimetic” approaches. This investigation responds to a number of key lacunae in the existing scholarship. Firstly, most studies of the novel focus wholly or almost exclusively on the central male protagonist and narrator, while paying little or no attention to the social and literary significance of its secondary characters. Secondly, the few studies which engage with postcolonial and/or decolonial notions to explicate the narrative and its characters, tend to assume that the explanatory value of these twentieth century concepts extends to the highly disparate sociopolitical contexts of both the twenty-first century Philippines and Kuwait. Thirdly, few authors of these studies pay critical attention to the definition, problematisation, and/or contextual translation of the theoretical concepts they employ in their analyses; nor do they articulate their positionalities or reflect upon their underlying philosophical assumptions. In a departure from existing studies, this multi-theoretical enquiry explores the novel’s imagined social realms, shifting subjectivities, and inter-relationships of two of its Philippines-born female characters and two of its Kuwaiti-born male characters. The analysis draws on postcolonial and decolonial concepts and attempts to identify the explanatory potential and limitations of both frameworks within these narrative settings. In addition, this investigation introduces a range of Foucauldian concepts which inform the analysis of the contextual specificities of the settings described in Alsanousi’s novel, and which explore the biopolitical, discursive, institutional and other means by which his characters’ subjectivities are constructed in their societies, and how their exclusion is both naturalised and perpetuated. By combining these theoretical frameworks with the findings of social research conducted in The Philippines and Kuwait, this investigation contributes new insights into the neocolonial societies and subjectivities of exclusion of its key and secondary characters. Through a close reading of Josephine, a Filipina whose domestic labour is sponsored under the Arabian Gulf system of kafala; José/Isa, her mobile, transnational Filipino-Kuwaiti son who narrates the novel; Merla, his gay Eurasian “mestiza” older cousin who lives in the Philippines, and Ghassan, José/Isa’s stateless Bidoon father figure in Kuwait, this enquiry advances several new readings of the novel which underscore its social and literary significance. It interrogates the assumed explanatory value of postcolonial and/or decolonial concepts for elucidating literary figures situated in the Arabian Gulf and identifies a lack of postcolonial studies of the six Gulf States, under the broader rubric of Middle Eastern postcolonial scholarship. Finally, the theoretical contributions of this enquiry open up new avenues for the future development of Eastern translation theory and invite further biopolitical studies inspired by Foucault of neocolonial and neoliberal subjectification and resilience; sociopolitical spatialised exclusion and stratification, and issues of Indigeneity, statelessness, and growing existential precarity.

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Doctoral Thesis Supervision - Completed

The Experiences of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Music Teachers in Australian Schools ↗

Students: Tuxworth, Jiao (Mengjiao Wang)

Associated Researchers: Rachael Dwyer, Catherine Manathunga and Maria Raciti

2021 - 2025

This study investigates the experiences of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) music teachers in Australian schools, focusing on their transcultural experiences and how their life histories influence their professional experiences. Australia, with its significant culturally, linguistically, and racially diverse population, holds rich resources for developing multicultural music education. However, school music education in Australian schools remains predominantly monocultural and monolingual, with the overwhelming majority of teachers from Anglo-cultural backgrounds, a pattern also found in other settler-colonial countries with consistently high immigration rates. This study examines the issues within Australian school music education as a microcosm, to reveal the deep-seated institutional and systemic barriers that impede diversification of the teacher workforce and, in turn, diverse cultural and linguistic representation in music education curriculum and pedagogy. The thesis begins by reviewing existing literature addressing the influence of Western colonisation on global music education, the development of school music education in Australia along with its demographic shifts, and the importance and challenges involved in diversifying the teaching workforce. As there is limited relevant research within Australia, the literature reviewed also draws on studies from other Anglosphere countries. To provide nuanced understanding of the systemic and institutional issues embedded in current school education, this study applies a postcolonial/decolonial theoretical framework to critically analyse how colonial legacies continue to shape the educational environment, and impede cultural diversity and equity. Qualitative methods, including multisensory time mapping and semi-structured life history interviews, were employed to explore the lived experiences of 15 CALD music teachers in Australia, highlighting the strengths that they can bring to education and the challenges encountered by them during their journey. Listening to their micro-histories and perspectives within an Anglo-culture-dominated society enriches the knowledge base which, at present, is largely dominated by Eurocentric discourses. The methodological approach also enhances understandings of the entangled relationship between individual narratives and institutional/social contexts. Through thematic analysis, this study found that CALD music teachers, particularly overseas-qualified CALD teachers, experience numerous challenges during accreditation, job seeking, employment, and introducing the music from their culture of origin into schools. Despite the Australian curriculum's objective to implement cultural and linguistic diversity, CALD music teachers are often overlooked in discussions on diversity in school music education. They are frequently misinterpreted as ‘others’ and feel compelled to hide their expertise in diverse musics and languages. In this study, all participants reported that teaching music itself is not a challenge, but the issues of Whiteness, covert racism, linguistic and cultural discrimination and bias embedded in the school system and/or music teacher education presented significant barriers. These social issues negatively impact their employment, restrain their career advancement, and lead to psychological and physical harms. Additionally, systemic barriers prevent skilled CALD music teachers from participating in school education, potentially leading to the loss of valuable educators who could enrich the learning and teaching environment. The lack of targeted recruitment and employment strategies for CALD teachers may limit the global competitiveness of Australian school education. This study yields several scholarly contributions to the field of education, including theory, policy, and practice. First, it extends postcolonial/decolonial perspectives to music education, highlighting how colonial legacies continue to shape contemporary music education systematically. Drawing on the lived experiences of CALD music teachers, the study provides practical recommendations for aligning music education with the identities and needs of current students in Australian schools. Second, the research offers a critical theoretical contribution by uncovering how postcolonialism is embedded in teacher accreditation and training, influencing professional inclusion and shaping educational practices. This analysis offers a fresh perspective on the unique positioning of CALD teachers, advocating for educational reform to address systemic inequities. Finally, the study proposes key interventions to foster inclusion in schools, diversify the teacher workforce and provide targeted support for CALD educators and students. It presents a comprehensive roadmap for educational stakeholders to advance diversity and inclusion beyond tokenism, building an educational system that reflects Australia’s complex cultural dynamics. By providing actionable insights for reforming educational policies and practices, the study underscores the critical importance of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within school education, with implications extending to wider social contexts in Australia and beyond.

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Thesis Supervision - Completed

The influence of power dynamics on climate-related water governance in Australia

Students: McIlwain, Lisa

Associated Researchers: Catherine Manathunga, Gary J Pickering, Tim F Smith and Claudia Baldwin

2019 - 2024

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Thesis Supervision - Completed

Preservice Teachers’ Perspectives of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers During the Early Stages of Implementation: A Case Study ↗

Students: Kairen Call

Associated Researchers: Catherine Manathunga, Vicki Schriever, Susan Simon and Rachael Dwyer

2015 - 2024

In 2015, the Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group (TEMAG) called for greater quality assurance and regulation of Australian Initial Teacher Education (ITE), prompting ITE providers to participate in rigorous program accreditation of preservice teachers’ professional learning aligned with the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST). Whilst the APST was established, in part, as a mechanism to guide both formal professional learning aligned with regulated program content and informal professional learning developed from experiences, the increased regulation created tension in their regulatory and developmental application. This situation presented significant challenges for stakeholders who were learning to manage the complexity of this duality, one such group being preservice teachers. At this time, whilst there was general agreement that the APST were here to stay, there was scant literature to inform how teacher educators could enable preservice teachers’ sustained use of the APST for their formal and informal professional learning, not only as preservice teachers but long into their careers. This situation presented an opportunity to significantly add to the body of knowledge of preservice teachers’ APST use, and document on-the-ground policy implementation perceptions, during this important period of implementation change. Employing what Yee and Niemeier (1996) characterise as pseudo-longitudinal Case Study Research (CSR), the study presented in this thesis with publication applied repeated cross-sectional design from 2015 through 2017. With a keen, yet pragmatic eye on the policy context, this thesis presents a historical capture of preservice teachers’ perspectives of the APST and their use of it during this critical post-TEMAG period of APST implementation. Applying Zimmerman’s (2000) psychological empowerment theory to the methodology, 303 responses to three annual surveys (2015-2017) and focus group data from 15 preservice teachers (2016-2017) were gathered and analysed. The research presented here identified that this group of preservice teachers believed in the necessity of the APST for the profession, and that it was tangible in their assessments, but its dominance in assessment resulted in them feeling judged by it. They also perceived the APST to be visible in their course content, but they struggled to understand and decode the content and its relevance to them, leaving them confused by it and pushed away from using it. Additionally, three-quarters of participants also perceived they did not use the APST in lectures or tutorials, and just half perceived they used the APST in their professional experiences in schools. Yet, those who perceived the presence of the APST in these contexts, did not feel their teacher educators and supervising teachers, who were also new to working with the APST, applied it cohesively, leaving preservice teachers frustrated with its application. This group of preservice teachers desired explicit support to understand the APST and increase their autonomy with it from the start of their preservice teacher journey.

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Thesis Supervision - Completed

The Affective Intensities of Teacher Data Relations: Student Assessment Data Visualisations in/as School-Data-Events ↗

Students: Catherine Thiele

Associated Researchers: Catherine Manathunga and Ali Black

2020 - 2024

The ‘platformization’ of students, using standardised assessment data visualisations, claim to offer teachers objective stimuli to inform pedagogical decision-making. However, the quantifiable assumptions that data regimes rely on render schooling as metricised and performative. Data is not neutral. This inquiry draws attention to the presence, capacity, and potential of affect in teacher data relations. As a post qualitative inquiry, the research problematises data governance, deconstructs the nuances of data mechanisms, and experiments with 'what does data do?' to better understand the force and potential of affect in teacher data practices. This inquiry outlines how teachers are affected and affecting with/in school-data-events. It is argued that affective ways of knowledge-ing are necessary in an educational era dominated by the representational logics of data.

Education

Doctor of Philosophy

History

University of Queensland (Australia, Brisbane) - UQ

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BA (Hons)

History

University of Queensland (Australia, Brisbane) - UQ

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Grad Cert in Education (Higher Education)

Queensland University of Technology (Australia, Brisbane) - QUT

Projects

Impact

Wandiny (gathering together) listening with the heart: Uniting nations through poetry

Alison Willis, Paul Williams, Sue Stanton, Catherine Manathunga, Maria Raciti and Dr. Shelley Davidow

Indigenous and Transcultural Research Centre

Australia has never grappled honestly with its violent history of invasion of unceded First  Nations lands and its ongoing colonisation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. There is a need for respectful truth-telling that presents the facts of Australian history in a way that does not re-traumatise First Nations peoples and that promotes greater understanding and empathy amongst the non-Indigenous population (Reconciliation Australia, 2024). Australia stands at a critical turning point in its history where we have an important opportunity to build community cohesion and healing that will enable us to enact the Uluru Statement from the Heart and make real and lasting change for all Australians.