Dr Rachael Jefferson, a senior education lecturer and researcher at Charles Sturt University, has criticised those advocating for explicit teaching mandates and scripted lessons, claiming these are part of a neoliberal ‘dogma’ that is working to de-skill the teaching profession. 

There is not enough evidence behind the science of learning to justify it being enshrined in our education system, Jefferson contends. 

“It posits science really as an absolute, and it also suggests explicitly that nobody can question its authority because it is the ‘science’ of learning.

“In other words, ‘whatever [teachers have] been doing for the last few decades is unimportant now, we all need to conform to the science’.

“That’s a very heavy-handed way of approaching pedagogy and also approaching teachers in the field who are very, very experienced in this,” Jefferson tells EducationHQ. 

The academic says she’s lucky to be able to use social media platforms such as X to openly voice her concerns about the focus on cognitive science and the ways it is being used to restrict teachers’ practice. 

“It’s pretty perplexing for me, and a bit soul destroying sometimes, when I see the dogma that is being pushed on social media.

“Particularly on Twitter/X as well, there’s just a real monopoly with explicit teaching at the moment and the science of learning – people are just pushing it so hard.

“It just feels like a government agenda, just something is ‘off’ with it for me as a person who celebrates diversity within pedagogy in order to make it more student-centred and inclusive, which is where I always come from.” 

Last month, James Dobson, a foundation teacher and learning specialist, tore apart the popular 'myth' that teachers who follow a script in the classroom are sacrificing the ‘art’ and creativity of their practice. 

“A script doesn’t reduce teachers to being the same … no one argues that a script robs an actor of their ability to perform Macbeth incredibly well.

“No one argues that musicians shouldn’t be following a piece of music.

“But then when we get to teaching, there’s this idea that somehow giving teachers very structured lessons is going to rob them of that artistry, and it’s just simply not true,” the Victorian teacher said. 

But Jefferson maintains that top-down pedagogy mandates – like that issued by the Victorian government – effectively chip away at teachers’ morale and destroy their sense of professional identity. 

“I feel like teachers are positioned more as technicians as opposed to professionals, and in that sense they’re able to deliver content and therefore they’re not supported by the state mandates and scripted lessons and so on as being knowledgeable professionals who make ongoing nuanced decisions about pedagogy,” she argues. 

Jefferson’s research speciality is in embodied learning – a realm she argues is ignored in the ‘evidence-based’ agenda being thrust on schools. 

Looking at the situation via a sociological lens, Jefferson proposes the science of learning movement as it is playing out is at the root of many wider problems plaguing the profession. 

“[It] undermines trust in teachers’ judgement, it limits our innovation, and actually we have huge issues across Australia with teacher wellbeing, with burnout and so on. 

“And I think it’s all connected, in the sense that if we’ve got this constant tinkering with education – and I would go as far as calling it interference with us as professionals – that can lead to a lack of autonomy, professional pride is eroded, and it can increase teacher burnout.”

Jefferson believes that the science of learning does not have a solid enough evidence base behind it and is premised on ‘just a handful of studies’. 

“I feel as though this has just become a political hot potato. It’s a one-size-fits-all approach. 

“It is actually disputing the fact that teaching is a complex, relational practice, it is an intellectually demanding practice. It is context-specific...”

Jefferson’s research speciality is in embodied learning – a realm she says is clearly ignored in the ‘evidence-based’ agenda being thrust on schools. 

“I go, hang on a minute, learning is not all about memorisation and it’s certainly not all brain-based…

“I have yet to see [explicit teaching research] that talks about the body in education and how we use it in arts and physical education [contexts].” 

“What they’re trying to do is make [it] relevant and applicable to all subjects.” 

Jefferson says she speaks with teachers and ITE students who are shocked by the increasingly prescriptive Government directives about how they can teach. 

Many older, more experienced teachers are disillusioned by what’s happening too, she argues. 

“They feel as though the rug has been pulled out from under their feet … it undermines them as professionals.

“And on social media there is a lot of talk about how we are forced into believing that there is one correct way to teach, and the actual evidence is very slim on that level and it only focuses on certain types of subjects,” she emphasises.

Many teachers are fearful and anxious about where this is all heading, Jefferson concludes.  

“There is fear in terms of, “well, if this is going to start going on state legislation on the level of what we need to teach and how, then what is going to happen next?” 

“There is disillusion [in terms of], ‘hang on a minute, I trained for four years and suddenly I’m seen as not doing the right thing…”