Three pedagogies of mobility for Australian show people: Teaching about, through and towards the questioning of sedentarism

Abstract

Abstract Questions concerning the education of mobile groups help to highlight the lived experiences of people otherwise rendered invisible by policy actors. This includes the diverse communities of occupational Travellers—those people who regularly move in order to earn their livelihood. While the category ‘occupational Travellers’ encompasses groups as varied as defence force personnel, specialist teachers and seasonal fruit pickers, the focus here is on the people who travel the agricultural show circuits of Australia to provide the entertainment of ‘sideshow alley’. Drawing on qualitative research with the Australian show people since 1992, this article deploys the concept of ‘sedentarism’ to highlight the ambivalently valorised lived experiences and educational opportunities of the show people. In particular, the article explores the pedagogical and policy implications of efForts to disrupt and transform the marginalising impact of sedentarism, which constructs mobility as the other in relation to fixed residence.