Barry Down

Barry Down is Proessor of Education at Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia. He commenced his teaching career in secondary schools before joining Edith Cowan University, South West Campus as a lecturer in social studies education. During this time, he held a number of administrative positions as Head of School and Associate Dean. In 2003 he joined Murdoch University as a foundation staff member at the Rockingham regional campus. Shortly afterwards, he was appointed the City of Rockingham Chair in Education (2004-2013), the first such position funded by a local government in Australia. In this period, he worked on a number of Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Projects investigating issues of student dis/engagement, school-to-work transitions, early career teacher resilience and the performance arts. He has co-authored seven books (with long time collaborators John Smyth and Peter McInerney) including Critically Engaged Learning: Connecting to Young Lives (2008); ‘Hanging in With Kids’ in Tough Times: Engagement in Contexts of Educational Disadvantage in the Relational School (2012); and The Socially Just School; Making space for youth to speak back (2014). His most recent book is entitled Rethinking school-to-work transitions: Young people have something to say (with John Smyth and Janean Robinson). His research interests focus on young people’s lives in the context of shifts in the global economy, poverty, class, school-to-work transitions and student dis/re/engagement.