Dr Brenton Prosser

Brenton Prosser is a senior lecturer in the School of Education. His teaching focusses on middle schooling, sociology, deviance, adolescent identity, practitioner inquiry and research education. He is also a researcher within the Hawke Research Institute at UniSA. His research focusses on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and particularly the importance of developing a socio-political perspective of the disorder. As an ex-teacher and youth worker, he specialises in supporting professionals working with adolescents with ADHD, challenging behaviours and low levels of literacy.

Previously, he was the research fellow responsible for managing the ARC Linkage Project, Redesigning Pedagogies in the North (LP0454869), which collaborated with teachers in over ten sites and involved one thousand participants in Adelaide's northern urban fringe. The aim of this social sustainability project was to resist deficit stereotypes of students in urban fringe communities, develop new ways to connect their lives and learning and contribute to regional capacity building. Prior to that, he worked for four years as a media and policy advisor to the Treasury, employment, education and higher education portfolios in the South Australian Legislative Council.

Brenton's doctoral work was in the disciplines of sociology and education. It was the first to use mixed method, including narrative inquiry, to explore the schooling experiences of young people diagnosed with ADHD. It was also the first to:

• conduct an international sociological analysis of ADHD;
• find a significant link between higher amphetamine use to treat ADHD and areas of lower socio-economic status in Australia;
• explore the schooling experiences of Australian and American youth labelled ADHD;
• identify gaps between learning disability categories, Australian education policy and the specific needs of students with ADHD;
• use these findings to produce resources for teachers’ pedagogical professional development in relation to ADHD; and
• use these findings to produce broad policy recommendations on ADHD.

In 1997, he won the Amy Forward Research Award and the Flinders University Overseas Fellowship taking up a position as visiting scholar with the University of Nebraska. This enabled him to expand his doctoral research into North America and the United Kingdom.

In recognition of his work with youth, and particularly youth with ADHD, Brenton won a Young Australian of the Year Award for Community Service in 1998. His work on ADHD has also been recognised through a Queen's Trust Award as well as publication of quantitative and qualitative papers in Australian, American and British journals. In 2006 Brenton won a UniSA Early Career Researcher Award. He has also published two books on ADHD and research method.

What makes Brenton's research unique is that it takes a sociological perspective on the prevalence, pedagogy, policy and power surrounding ADHD, which ideally places him to provide professional development and research support to teachers and other professionals. He also has a unique combination of academic, media, political and policy experience that informs his research into contemporary social issues, politics and the process of policy making.

ADHD: Who's failing who? (order a copy)

ADHD, Schooling & Society

Connecting Lives and Learning

Supported Researcher Award 2006-2008 (UniSA)

Divisional Early Career Researcher Award 2006 (UniSA)

Amy Forward Award 1998 (Flinders University)

Visiting Scholarship 1998 (University of Nebraska)

Young Australian of the Year (Community Service) Award 1997

Australian Postgraduate Award 1996-1999

Australian College of Education Top Graduate Award 1995

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
• Standardised Medication Ratios - ADHD
• Youth identity & deviance
• Social Sustainability
• Sociology of education / middle schooling
• Narrative inquiry
• Sustaining teachers' work
• The relationships between media, policy and politics

BOOKS & BOOK CHAPTERS:

Prosser, B., Reid, A. & Lucas, B. (2010). Connecting Lives and Learning: renewing pedagogy in the middle years of schooling. Wakefield Press, Adelaide. available here

Prosser, B. (2010). Engaging pedagogies: from psycho-medical deficits to ‘virtual schoolbags’. In L. Graham (Ed.) (De)Constructing ADHD: Critical Guidance for Teachers and Teacher Educators. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. (due July).

McCallum, F. & Prosser, B. (2009). River Journeys: narrative accounts of South Australian pre-service teachers during professional experience. In A. Mattos (Ed.) Narratives on Teaching and Teacher Education: an International Perspective, Palgrave MacMillan (pp.91-106).

Prosser, B. (2008). Chapter 15: Critical pedagogy and the mythopoetic: a case study from Adelaide’s northern urban fringe. In T. Leonard & P. Willis (Eds.) Pedagogies of the Imagination: mythopoetic curriculum in educational practice. Springer Press, Dordrecht (pp.203-222).

Prosser, B. (2006). ADHD: who's failing who?, Finch Publishing, Sydney. available here

Prosser, B. (2006). Seeing Red: critical narratives in ADHD research, PostPressed, Flaxton. available here

ARTICLES:

Prosser, B. & Peters, C. (2010). Directions in Disaster Resilience Policy. Australian Journal of Emergency Management, 25(3), pp.8-11.

Prosser, B. (2009). Seeing Red: poetry and metaphor as responses to representational challenges in critical narrative research. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 22 (5), pp. 607-622.

Prosser, B. & Reid, R. (2009). Changes in use of psychostimulant medication in South Australia, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 43(4), pp. 340-347.

Hattam R, Prosser B, Brady K. (2009) Revolution or backlash? The mediatisation of education policy in Australia, Critical Studies in Education, 50(2), 159-172

Prosser, B. (2008). The role of the personal domain in middle years teachers’ work. Australian Journal of Middle Schooling, 8(2), pp.11-16.

Quinn, R., Prosser, B. & Hattam, R. (2008). Putting the ‘home’ back into homework: implications for middle school reform. Curriculum Perspectives 28(3), pp.48-58.

Prosser, B., McCallum, F., Milroy, P., Comber, B. & Nixon, H. (2008). I’m smart and I’m not joking: aiming high in the middle years of schooling. Australian Educational Researcher 35(2), pp.15-36.

Hattam, R., & Prosser, B. (2008). Unsettling deficit views of students and their communities. Australian Educational Researcher 35(2), pp.89-106.

Prosser, B. (2008). Unfinished but not Exhausted: a review of Australian Middle Schooling. Australian Journal of Education 52(2), pp. 151-167.

Prosser, B. (2008). Review: Rethinking Middle Years: early adolescents, schooling and digital culture, by Victoria Carrington. Australian Educational Researcher, 35 (1), pp.152-153.

Prosser, B. (2008). Beyond ADHD: a consideration of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and pedagogy in Australian Schools. International Journal of Inclusive Education 12(1), 81-97. PDF

Prosser, B. (2006). ADHD in schools. Teacher: the Australian Council for Educational Research national education magazine, 170,(June), pp.24-31.

Prosser, B., Reid, R., Shute, R., & Atkinson, I. (2002). Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): Special Education Policy and Practice in Australia. Australian Journal of Education, 46(1), 65-78.

Reid, R., Hakendorf, P. & Prosser, B. (2002) Use of psychostimulant medication for ADHD in South Australia. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 41(8), 1-8.

Prosser, B., & Reid, R. (1999). Psychostimulant Use for Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Australia. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders 7(2), 110-117.

Prosser, B. (1999). Ethical Dilemmas and the need for Ethical Sensibility. In M. Piantanida & N.B. Garman (Eds.) The Qualitative Dissertation. Corwin Press (Sage), Thousand Oaks, p.154.

Prosser, B. (1999). Who is Responsible for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder? A critical introduction to policy in South Australia. Teaching and Teacher's Work, 7(1), pp.1-10. PDF

Reid, R., Reason, R., Maag, J., Prosser, B. & Xu, C. (1998). ADHD: a perspective on perspectives. Educational and Child Psychology, 15(4), 56-67.

Prosser, B. (1998). Hearing Silenced Voices: using critical narratives with marginalised youth. Critical Pedagogy Networker, 4(11), 1-10. PDF

Prosser, B. (1997). Why ADHD needs urgent attention, Australian Education Review,1(7), p.12.

CONFERENCE PAPERS:

Prosser, B. (2010). Media and pedagogical exchange: taking ADHD to radio 2GB, paper presented to Australian Association for Research in Education Conference, Canberra, 2 December 2009.

Prosser, B., Wendt, S., Tuckey, M. (2010). The personal domain: exploring what sustains professionals in urban fringe communities, paper presented to Australian Association for Research in Education Conference, Canberra, 1 December 2009.

Prosser, B. (2008) “Engaging pedagogies: from psycho-medical deficits to ‘virtual schoolbags’”, paper presented to 'ADHD and the Role of Education conference', July 22, University of Sydney

Prosser, B. (2008). Connecting Lives & Learning: modelling the use of middle schooling philosophy in teacher education, paper presented to Australia Teacher Education Association Conference, Sunshine Coast, July 9.

Prosser, B. (2008). Weaving a whole cloth: metaphor as a response to representational challenges in critical narrative research, paper presented to Australian Association for Research in Education Conference, Fremantle, November 2007. PDF

Prosser, B. (2007). Seeing Red: using critical narrative in ADHD research, paper presented to Arts Based Educational Research Conference, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK, July 5. PDF

Prosser, B. (2007). Beyond Deficit Views: redesigning pedagogies to engage students with ADHD, paper presented to Redesigning Pedagogies Conference, National Institute of Education, Singapore, May 28. PDF

Prosser, B., Hattam, R., Lucas, B. & Sellar, S. (2007). Researching the ‘funds of knowledge’ approach in the Middle Years, paper presented to American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, April 11. PDF

Prosser, B. & Sellar, S. (2007). Reinvigorating the Middle Years: a review of middle schooling, paper presented to Australian Association for Research in Education Conference, Adelaide. PDF

Prosser, B. (2007). Identity, Emotion, Imagery and Hope as resources for Teachers’ Work, paper presented to Australian Association for Research in Education Conference, Adelaide. PDF

Prosser, B. (2007). Beyond Deficit Views: engaging students with ADHD, paper presented to Australian Association for Research in Education Conference, Adelaide. PDF

Hattam, R. & Prosser, B. (2006). Connecting curriculum with student lifeworlds, paper presented to 3rd International Middle Years of Schooling Conference, Adelaide, August 6. PDF

Hattam, R., Prosser, B. & Brady, K. (2006). Unsettling deficit views of students and their communities, paper presented to Australian Association for Research in Education Conference, Parramatta. PDF

THESIS:

Prosser, B. (1999) Behaviour Management of Management Behaviour? A sociological study of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Australian and American secondary schools unpublished thesis (Bedford Park, Flinders University of South Australia).

More information on publications about ADHD can be accessed by visiting: adhd.bigpondhosting.com