Welcome to the Faculty of Education

Professor, thanks a lot for your time here. We have been through a very, very tough year, but it's 2021, and I'd like to ask you what the future represents for your portfolio.

For us, what we're going to do is bigger and better is how I can put it, and we've been known as an outstanding faculty for decades, but going forward we're shifting our gaze, as I said, we're growing bigger, we're expanding all of our programs internationally.

From a personal point of view, what sort of impacts do you think you will bring to the portfolio?

For me, well, I can take you back a little bit about my past if you like. So I was a primary school teacher, a career primary school teacher, I did my PhD in environmental education and sustainability. In that time I've had the privilege of being able to seriously be part of transforming education.

Is there enough real world experience outside of academia for staff, do you think?

So, all of our staff in terms of academics are teachers, so whether that be in early childhood, or primary, or secondary, of those staff, they do much of their research in schools and early childhood centres.

We work hand in glove with the profession because we adore the profession of education and we're about making it better and making a difference to that. So we also have many staff who are practicing principals right now, who are teachers now, who work as casual academics, and they work alongside and with our academics as well.

This might be difficult, but how would you sum up in three key words what your portfolio represents?

Passion, disruption, and transformation.

Beautiful, in five year’s time and once your students have graduated, five years down the track after they graduated, how would you like their peers or employers to view them?

I'd like them, and I know that they're already viewed, those students who are five years now, but five year’s time, as outstanding professionals and with education the journey doesn't just stop when you finish your undergraduate degree. Five years in they'll already be engaging in further higher learning, whether that be a master's, or their honours, or their PhD, or their doctorate, that we find that students, they come back to us.

I'd like to wish you a prosperous year and thank you for your time.

Thank you it's my pleasure.