PATRICK ALAN DANAHER was born in Pretoria, South Africa and grew up in Yeppoon, Central Queensland. He trained as a high school History, French and English teacher, a role that he filled for nine years in five different government and independent schools in Queensland and Victoria. He has worked at Central Queensland University since 1991, first as senior research officer and more recently as foundation senior lecturer in open and distance learning. Patrick Danaher, PhD, is Associate Professor and Head of the Learning, Evaluation, Innovation and Development Centre in the Division of Teaching and Learning Services at Rockhampton Campus of Central Queensland University, Australia, where previously he held the position of Senior Lecturer in Open and Distance Learning in the Faculty of Education and Creative Arts.

His research interests include the education of occupational Travelers, open and distance education, educators' work and identities, rural education and social education. He has edited a book about the education of Queensland show children that received the 1999 Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia Award for Excellence in a Book or Non-Print Production Detailing Research. He has also (co-) edited special theme issues of the INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH (2000), the QUEENSLAND JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH (2001, in press), the JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN RURAL EDUCATION (2003), the TURKISH ONLINE JOURNAL OF DISTANCE EDUCATION, the MALAYSIAN JOURNAL OF DISTANCE EDUCATION (under review) and the INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF RESEARCH IN OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING (in preparation). He has also co-edited refereed proceedings of the 27th Australian Teacher Education Association annual conference (1997) and the 3rd international lifelong learning conference (2004).

Conceptual Theme: Transforming marginalization: Education can just as readily be an ally of marginalization and oppression as an agent of positive social change. A crucial conceptual lens to apply to post compulsory educational policies and programs is therefore their capacity to individual and institutional transformation, through the contestation of, and the movement beyond, limited and limiting social categories. This lens pays particular attention to whose interests are served and whose are elided, and which voices are heard and which silenced, through such policies and programs.

Contact Addresses of Dr. Patrick Danaher
Associate Professor
LEID Centre, Central Queensland University
Division of Teaching & Learning Services, Building 37, Rockhampton QLD 4702, Australia.
Phone: (07) 4930 6417 and Fax: (07) 4930 9792
E-mail: p.danaher@cqu.edu.au http://dtls.cqu.edu.au/leid_centre/team.html