Children’s Lifeworlds in a Global City: Melbourne

Book excerpt: This book examines the connections between policy, school experiences, and everyday activities of children growing up in the global city of Melbourne, Australia. It provides an in-depth consideration of Melbourne primary school children’s lifeworlds, exploring everyday stories and practices inside and outside of school. This includes consideration of the diverse ways that educational “success” may be understood in the context of Melbourne, productively moving beyond a narrow focus only on academic achievement. Situated alongside policy and curriculum analysis, the book draws on research in Melbourne Year 4 primary school classrooms in the form of student-completed surveys, classroom ethnographies, and student responses to a learning dialogues activity, as well as video re-enactments of out-of-school life. Through this it explores key aspects of children’s lifeworlds with a focus on school timetabling and pedagogical encounters, school engagement and belonging, and activities and everyday routines outside of school. This book offers a comprehensive and holistic exploration of children’s lifeworlds in Melbourne, drawing connections between children’s lives inside and outside of school, and the broader policy contexts.