Trisha Jha has an interesting view on education – what works, what’s possible, how to improve it. She’s seen the effects of distant decisions on students and teachers and has a clear view on how to improve education in Australia, offering a positive vision for education as social justice and a positive, productive role for government. She has an interesting story and we discuss our experiences in Australian classrooms. Enjoy this first episode of the Human Ecology podcast.

Trisha Jha is a Research Fellow in the Education Program at the Centre for Independent Studies. She taught as a teacher in a rural school in the Teach for Australia program. You can find her on X at @themetresgained and at the CIS website.

(00:00) Introducing Human Ecology

(01:07) Introducing Trisha

(02:03) Trisha's career journey

(09:33) Trisha's intellectual change at university

(12:53) CIS's change model and Education Program shift

(19:58) Trisha's experience in the classroom

(28:52) The gap in initial teacher education

(32:38) My reflection on teaching

(36:29) Trisha's approach to unprepared students

(41:40) A positive, conservative role for government in education

(47:03) Trisha's future

(50:41) Culture, values and expectations

(56:16) Trisha explains her X/Twitter handle

(57:52) Contacting Trisha