Colleen Vale, Linda Hobbs, Christopher Speldewinde, & Zahra ParvanehnezhadshirazianTeaching out-of-field is a concern internationally, and in Australia, and is linked to social, economic and educational costs for students and teachers along with an ethical and social justice issue for the community. At the national level, out-of-field teaching is most often represented as a problem of teacher quality involving less qualified teachers. Using a critical lens, meanings and representations of government policy and stakeholder perspectives and practices are analysed. The findings show how teaching out-of-field occurs and is legitimated and reveal the opportunities for contesting these positions to improve the outcomes for students and out-of-field teachers.

 Teaching out-of-field: Meanings, representations and silences