Susan Grieshaber

This book explores the career paths of Australian women who have succeeded in achieving professorships and beyond, where for the most part, such positions are predominately occupied by males. It also explores the gendered culture that exists across faculties and universities as reported by participants in a survey questionnaire of 525 new professors (female and male), and nearly 30 interviews of women in Australian higher education, either in small focus groups or individually. Futher, it identifies catalysts for and inhibitors of success for women and looks in depth at “the boys’ club” and how it impacts women’s progression. The book also highlights how critical life decisions — doctoral study, work and family — shape the careers of academic women. It identifies five distinct career profiles for women academics and the pressure points and effective support for each profile. Thus, this book can assist women academics who are making life decisions andthose supporting their career progression. It also provides insights into why affirmative action initiatives to improve the proportion of women in the professoriate have had minimal impact despite considerable investment over the past 30 years.

This book questions some of the ideas about play that are held dear by many in early childhood education. For many early childhood professionals play is viewed as the essential aspect of children¿s development and learning and play is often promoted as a universal and almost magical `fix¿ in the early years. Although play does have many benefits for children, there are other sides to play that are not so romantic, natural, or even particularly educational. 'The Trouble with Play' challenges such taken-for-granted understandings of play in early childhood education and shows how play is not always innocent or fun, that it can be unfair and unjust in the interactions children have with each other and with staff in early childhood settings. In addition to encouraging early years professionals to have new ways of seeing and thinking about play, the book also explores new approaches to pedagogy and the role for the teacher, including the use of 'play' as a powerful strategy for teaching and learning, as well as practical and productive strategies for bringing a critical perspective to issues around play.

The book draws from Foucault's notion of power-knowledge-resistance and feminist poststructuralism to offer a re-theorization of parent-child conflict.

The book draws from Foucault's notion of power-knowledge-resistance and feminist poststructuralism to offer a re-theorization of parent-child conflict.