Reports

This report explores the representations of democratic education, youth, citizenship education and curriculum change in Australian schools in national print media. A collection of keywords from the education literature were used to systematically select print media articles (n = 746) across four major Australian newspapers (The Sydney Morning Herald, The Daily Telegraph (Sydney), The Age (Melbourne) and The Australian) over a 10-year period (2014 to 2023). From this selection of articles we identified clear themes which provide a window, at least from a reportage point of view, into the importance or otherwise of the broader issues of democratic education, youth, citizenship education and curriculum change in Australian schools.

Willem Coetzee and colleagues (2024) examine the state of LGBTTQIA2S+ inclusion in Aotearoa New Zealand’s leisure sector, revealing a disconnect between public messaging and meaningful organisational action. Through a combination of content analysis and interviews with sector professionals, the research identifies a number of persistent barriers to inclusion, including traditional institutional norms, societal resistance, limited awareness, and a lack of confidence around implementing inclusive practices. While many organisations acknowledge the LGBTTQIA2S+ community in their communications, these efforts are often surface-level and fail to translate into structural or cultural change.

The study highlights the importance of embedding inclusion into organisational values, supported by clear policy development and staff training. Interview participants emphasised that meaningful progress requires internal conversations, intersectional awareness, and long-term strategies tailored to specific leisure contexts. Rather than relying solely on individuals working in inclusion spaces or members of the LGBTTQIA2S+ community, the research calls for shared responsibility across all levels of an organisation. Overall, the report presents both a critical reflection on current shortcomings and a hopeful pathway toward a more inclusive and equitable leisure landscape.... read more