Normative power in higher education: the ghost of inherent requirements

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of two surveys that were conducted in an Australian university’s School of Education, investigating how students and staff understood the inherent requirements of their courses. The survey results highlight that despite there being no explicit written inherent requirement statements for these courses both staff and students believed they had a deep understanding of the nature and potential effects of inherent requirements. The longer the students and staff were connected with the School, the more likely they were to feel aware of the culturally structured inherent requirements of these courses. Overwhelmingly, staff and students drew upon a hegemonic doxa that normalised exclusion on the basis of the assumed limitations of individual students or potential course applicants. The authors propose a shift in policy and practice from inherency focused on the assumed student deficits towards coherency premised on the teacher workforce, better resembling the intent of inclusion of education and of society more generally.

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ORCID for Ben Whitburn: orcid.org/0000-0003-3137-2803

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