Education for diversity research

The Education for Diversity research group has a commitment to praxis, partnership and practice.

Members work collaboratively with pre-service teachers, industry leaders, diverse communities and school colleagues to improve and enhance the quality of teacher education.

Research focus

We engage in participatory practitioner research in a range of fields tied to teacher education that span a teacher’s professional life. Through engaging in a range of situated research projects, we contribute to Federal and State policies related to pre-service teacher education, national accreditation and the national curriculum directions.

We also address continuing teacher education (also known as in-service education) in a range of settings, including education workplaces, award courses, participation in research projects and other professional development activities.

Pre-service teachers in the College of Education come from a variety of demographic backgrounds. We celebrate cultural diversity and offer a range of teacher education pathways that support individuals from economic, culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Central to our work is questioning and critiquing pre-service teacher education settings, with the aim of changing assumptions of what constitutes effective teacher education programs.

We establish, trial and evaluate innovative teaching and learning approaches that inform pedagogical innovation around self-motivated, reflexive, meta-cognitive and independent learners.

Using diverse methodological approaches, we evidence and document research findings in a systematic way. Research findings are disseminated in leading journals books and presented in peer-reviewed conferences globally. National and international guest speakers are invited to lead seminar presentations on their areas of expertise, as well as supporting colleagues in a range of professional-development activities.

Research areas

  • Social Justice Intercultural Competency
  • Sustainability, Environment, Arts and Education (SEAE)
  • Contemporary Social and Ecological interactions
  • International Science and Evidence Based Education Assessment (ISEEA)
  • Teacher Identity
  • Arts and Creativity in Educational Contexts
  • Trauma Informed Teaching and Learning Practices
  • NETDS (National Exceptional Teachers for Disadvantaged Schools)
  • Teacher Education and Professional Learning
  • Literacy in Education
  • Sexuality and Gender in Education
  • Narrative Methodologies in Education
  • Critical Theory in Education
  • Climate Change Education

Research projects

  • NETDS (National Exceptional Teachers for Disadvantaged Schools)
  • Trauma Informed Teaching and Learning Practices
  • DSSL (Digital Student Support Leaders) in COVID-19 times
  • Teaching workforce development through integrated partnerships
  • Exploring how Victoria University teacher educators engage with contemporary pedagogies related to interactive e-learning
  • Sustainability, Environment, Arts and Education (SEAE) Research cluster project: Experimenting with Thought in a More-than-human Anthropocene
  • Instagram project: Teaching Storylines

Our researchers

Find out our research team, and read our researchers' biographies via links.

Partners, funders & collaborators

Researchers in this program conduct research with other university and industry partners at local, national and international level.

These partnerships help to foster greater insight into teaching and learning practices that lead to transformational change.