About
Dr. Brian Higgins has been considering expulsionary punishment of children from state schooling for over 30 years. He has also been considering the socio-political, cultural and economic nature of schooling and education systems for almost 60 years since commencing primary schooling. Key areas of consideration are compulsory schooling, social reproduction through schooling, discursive creation of knowledge and truth as well as hierarchical power and control. The interrelationships of church, monarchy, business, bureaucracy and the state are central to these forces. Brian’s PhD research combines these phenomena with a particular lens focussed on what is referred to as Student Disciplinary Absence (SDA) within the Education Queensland system. The disproportionate application of SDA and exclusionary punishment internationally provides compounding disadvantage for vulnerable children. Children of First Nations Heritage are a particular focus of Brian’s research.
Additionally, Brian has a master’s degree in the Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Language (TESOL) and another in Inclusive Education. Brian completed a Graduate Diploma in Inclusive Special Education after a completing a bachelor’s degree in education and a Diploma of Teaching.