Katharine is a lecturer with the College of Arts, Business, Law, Education and IT in the Early Childhood Education Program.

After teaching children and adults in a community organisation for 15 years, Katharine started her formal teaching career in the early years, followed by primary and secondary as a generalist and specialist in performing arts and health/physical education.

Ignited by previous paid and volunteer work in allied health, the disability sector and the Deaf community, Katharine moved into special education, finishing at the Victorian College for the Deaf as a Teacher of the Deaf early 2021 before moving to Victoria University. She now works within the Program of Early Childhood Education as a convenor, lecturer, researcher and with a leadership portfolio of quality assurance.

Portfolios

  • Early Childhood Education - College of Arts, Business, Law, Education & IT

Areas of expertise

  • Animal-Assisted Activities (AAA)
  • Holistic learning
  • Community and family engagement
  • Deaf cultural awareness
  • Advocacy
  • Trauma-aware practice
  • Learning through nature and the arts

Contact details

(03) 9919 5288

Teaching responsibilities

Coordination

Music, Movement and Drama in Early Childhood Education (ECE2008)

Teaching

  • Bachelor of Early Childhood Education (EBEC)
  • Bachelor of Early Childhood Education and Leadership (EBCL)
  • Bachelor of Early Childhood Teaching (EBEI)
  • Graduate Diploma of Early Childhood Education (EGEC)

Publications

Conference presentations

  • Dwyer, N., Aronson, G., Gronow, K., Cook Almenara, W., Ibaida, A., Raikundalia, G., Dodd, S., & Watt, A. (2023) Large language models as an enabler in higher education environments: a case study. Conversations – the 7th International Workshop on Chatbot Research and Design, hosted by the University of Oslo, Norway, November 22-23, 2023, College of ABLE&IT, Victoria University.
  • Gronow Rajek, K. (2024) Young Deaf Children from hearing families: setting them up for success! Nordic Educational Research Association (NERA) International Conference, hosted by Malmö University, Sweden, March 6-8, 2024, College of ABLE&IT, Victoria University.
  • Gronow Rajek, K. (2024) Pre-service Early Childhood Teachers, preparing for trauma-aware practice: An animal-assisted intervention. Trauma-Aware Education Conference, hosted at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Australia, October 31 - November 2, 2024, College of ABLE&IT, Victoria University

Professional memberships

  • Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT)
  • The Association of Graduates in Early Childhood Studies (AGECS)
  • Royal Victorian Association of Honorary Justices (RVAHJ)
  • St John Ambulance Australia Victoria (SJAA Vic)