Don’t rob teachers of their professional agency with online learning: expert

Sarah Duggan

By Sarah Duggan
Published April 14, 2020

One digital technologies expert has a direct warning for policymakers and school leaders navigating the COVID-19 waters: lock teachers into certain ways of delivering online learning and you’ll squash their professional agency.

Dr Michael Phillips believes the shift to online learning presents an incredible opportunity for our teachers to reclaim a real sense of agency with their pedagogy.

Dr Michael Phillips, a senior lecturer at Monash University and former school principal, told EducationHQ that now is not the ...

Workforce Planning and Human Resources Business Partner

Hume Anglican Grammar Craigieburn VIC

Join us as a Workforce Planning & Human Resources Business Partner, where you play a vital role in shaping the School’s current and future workforce!

School Management / Apr 29, 2026

Veritas Central London

Teaching - Secondary / Apr 29, 2026

General Cover Teachers

Teaching - Secondary / Apr 29, 2026

Opinion / Reclaiming the human purpose of your school

Schools aren’t struggling from lack of effort, but lack of alignment. As programs and pressures stack up, many have drifted into busy-ness without real impact. This article argues the issue is design, not people, and calls leaders to refocus on th...

School news / Iran conflict effects: call to target girls’ funding in gender equality push

It may be on the other side of the globe, but the Federal Government is being warned the Middle East crisis has ramped the need for direct aid funding for adolescent girls at risk of cascading crises across the Asia Pacific.

School news / Presenters are unlawfully posting student photos to boost their business: expert

A dangerously lax approach to student photo permissions by some schools is seeing external presenters unlawfully posting photos of children to help promote their business online, and the risks are huge, Australia’s leading cybersafety expert has w...

School news / Tasmania’s teachers strike hard earned pay deal after ‘generational’ strike

Tasmania’s public teachers have voted to accept a "fair and affordable" new pay deal after a bitter industrial dispute with the Rockliff Government.

School news / Young e-bike riders have never been properly taught how to ride them: new platform

A 15-year-old boy died after being thrown from an e-bike in Melbourne’s north-east last week, the latest casualty in what has become a major national issue.

Opinion / Dismantling bizarre logic: Explicit teaching is NOT classroom coercion

For someone who doesn’t particularly care for conflict, I have a real soft spot for dismantling arguments that entrench inequity, including, but not limited to, those that misrepresent evidence-informed practice.

School news / ‘We haven’t been inclusive enough (on gender equality) it’s about a better future for all’: ex-PM

A concerted, organised and strategic pushback by the “manosphere” against gender equality can’t be swept under the rug, Australia’s only female prime minister says.

Opinion / Australia has access to 20,000 migrant teachers, but is not using them. Why not?

School news / A balanced approach to social media might not be so bad: new research

The effectiveness of banned social media sites for Australian under 16s remains hotly debated, but while most agree protecting young people from too much screen time is a priority, a major new study has revealed that a balanced approach to social ...

School news / Indigenous-led cultural learning in schools is vital - but no govt is listening

Schools far too often rely on symbolic gestures rather than meaningful action to support Aboriginal students, and there is an urgent need for governments to properly resource Indigenous-led cultural learning, a five-year WA research project has co...

Comments