Responsive education in conditions of superdiversity: Towards a metric of teacher capabilities

This article proposes a metric of teacher capabilities for responsive and inclusive education, grounded in the Capability Approach. Reporting Phase 1 of a three-phase mixed-methods study, we analyse semi-structured interviews with sixteen stakeholders in Victoria, Australia, representing principal associations, teacher unions, disability advocacy groups, multicultural education organisations, refugee support services and teacher education. Codebook thematic analysis identified four interdependent capability vectors: recognition of self and others, responsivity to diversity, professional competency and advocacy for inclusion. Each vector encompasses capabilities representing substantive freedoms teachers require for socially just practice in superdiverse classrooms. Rather than measuring individual teacher performance, this metric evaluates whether institutional conditions enable responsive teaching, offering school leaders, policymakers and teacher educators a justice-based alternative to standards-based performance metrics.