Jessica Grimes
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Areas of expertise
- Philosophy and ethics
- Social Justice
- Creativity & the arts
- International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP)
- Inquiry-based learning
Contact details
About
Jessica is a Senior Lecturer with the College of Arts, Education, Business and Law, teaching in Victoria University’s Early Childhood Education courses. She has been working at Victoria University since 2019, initially as a sessional lecturer and mentor for pre-service teachers.
Jessica completed her Master of Education in 2016 with a focus on the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme, examining the concept of ‘international mindedness’ through intercultural understanding, global engagement and multilingualism. She has commenced a PhD exploring how the distinctive practices and possibilities of early childhood education are shaped, constrained and potentially eroded by broader political, economic and social forces.
Her current areas of interest include philosophy, social justice, care, play, joy, and the creative arts in early childhood education, with a particular interest in the relationship between educational practice and broader questions of power, policy and politics.
Portfolios
Early Childhood Education, College of Arts, Business, Law, Education & IT
Qualification
Institute
Institute for Sustainable Industries & Liveable Cities
Teaching responsibilities
Jessica teaches and convenes in a range of units in the early childhood education courses, working across units that focus on the creative arts, philosophy, languages and literacy.
Conference presentations
Grimes, J., McLaren, M., Walsh, J., Jobson, S., & Maskiell, A. (2023). The Ethics of Play in Public Spaces. Livable Cities Conference, Architecture, Media, Politics and Society (AMPS), New York 2023.
McLaren, M., Grimes, J., & Jobson, S. & Munari, A., (2022). Extraordinary in the ordinary: Complexities of belonging in the city. Reggio Emilia Australia Information Exchange 2022 Research Symposium.
Grimes, J., Gordon, P., & Jobson, S. (2022). The creative arts in early childhood teacher education as a site of resistance to neoliberalism. Equity, Inclusion and Agency (EIA) Virtual Conventicle.
McLaren, M., Walsh, J., Grimes, J., & Jobson, S. (2022). Pop-up playspaces children’s agency, inclusion and ethics in public places. Equity, Inclusion and Agency (EIA) Virtual Conventicle.
McLaren, M., Grimes, J., & Walsh, J. (2021) Play as a Liberating Pedagogy in an Urban Environment. 3rd International Conference Paulo Freire: The Global Legacy.
McLaren, M., Walsh, J., Scott, C., Jobson, S., Nehma, N., Mascarenhas, P., Chen, J., & Grimes, J. (2021) Playspaces in public places: The ethical and social challenges of a pop up urban playspace in Melbourne, Australia. Publicness: Seminar Series, Public Pedagogies Institute.
Publications
McLaren, MR., Walsh, J., Jobson, S., Grimes, J. (2026). Pop-Up Play Spaces: Children’s Agency, Inclusion and Ethics in Public Places. In: Cacciattolo, M., Burke, J. (eds) Exploring Equity, Inclusion and Agency in Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-95-6382-1_23
Grimes, J., Gordon, P., Jobson, S. (2024). The Creative Arts in Early Childhood Teacher Education as a Site of Resistance to Neoliberalism. In: Burke, J., Cacciattolo, M., Toe, D. (eds) Inclusion and Social Justice in Teacher Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-67612-3_22
McLaren, M., Grimes, J., & Jobson, S. & Munari, A., (2023). ‘'The response-ability of a public pop-up playspace: Deep listening at Mini Maddern in inner city Melbourne’'. The Challenge: Journal of the Reggio Emilia Australia Information Exchange. 27 (1). pp. 5-9.
Industry experience
Jessica has worked in primary and early childhood education settings both locally and globally. She has worked in education in Johannesburg, South Africa, as a classroom teacher in primary schools in Melbourne and regional Victoria,as a kindergarten teacher in Kampot, Cambodia and as an early childhood educator and teacher in Melbourne. She has also mentored pre-service early childhood teachers in a range of early childhood education settings. In 2026, she spent 6 months away from VU working in the remote Aboriginal community of Elliott, teaching Transition – Grade 2.