This group has concluded its research and projects. This content remains available for reference purposes.
Jess's doctoral work is being undertaken as part of an ARC Discovery project that explores policy-practice trajectories at the time of transition to school, entitled Continuity and Change in Curriculum and Pedagogies as Children Start School. The project examines the policy intentions and impact of the Early Years Learning Framework and the Australian Curriculum on transition to school at national, state and local levels. Jess' PhD will focus on the ways in which the policy frameworks have influenced practice and policy in rural contexts.
Lysa's PhD research is an integral part of the Gudaga Goes to School study. This study has been funded by an ARC Discovery grant and is a collaboration between UNSW and Charles Sturt University.
Lysa's doctoral study explores the transition to school and the ways in which Aboriginal children, families and schools work together to foster a strong and positive sense of self and belonging in relation to school.
Wendy Goff is a PhD student from Charles Sturt University and a lecturer at University of Southern Queensland. Her studies focus on how individuals come together to support the mathematical learning of children as they make the transition from preschool to school. Wendy's innovative research explores the notion of the cultural interface as children, families and educators come together at the time of transition to school. Her work interrogating partnerships at this time has potential to change the ways in which educators from prior-to-school and school contexts, as well as parents, work together at times of transition.
Kathryn Hopps is an Adjunct Research Fellow (RIPPLE) and Research Assistant. Kathryn graduated with her doctorate in 2014, which was a mixed method study of communication between preschool and school educators
at the time of children's transitions to school. Using communication audit methods her research has investigated the nature of educator communication and outcomes of preschool-school interactions for transitions. She is currently publishing from her thesis and working on data analysis for the ARC Project, Continuity and Change in Curriculum and Pedagogies as Children Start School. Read more about Kathryn Hopps
Carmen's doctoral research explores children's perspectives of play in early childhood education (ECE). Her interest in this area stems from her own experiences as an educator in prior-to-school settings and as an ECE researcher in Germany. Carmen's study in a prior-to-school setting aims to broaden the play discourse from the view of the important stakeholders of play, the children. Her study also aims to provide ethical spaces for children to share and co-construct meaning, and builds on children's agency and competencies, providing methods for children's active participation.
Cathy Kaplun's research, the Starting School study, was part of the Miller Early Childhood Sustained Home Visiting (MECSH) Trial, a longitudinal project funded through an ARC Discovery
grant, assessing the impact of sustained home visiting on families and children from an area of low socioeconomic background. The Starting School study explored children's experiences of transition to school and refined a theoretical model of children's transition to school. Cathy graduated in December
2013.
Nikki was a primary teacher for 12 years. She is now a PhD student researching the transition to primary school for children identified as gifted. Her study explores the experiences of the child from the perspectives of the major stakeholders in the transition process; early childhood educators, primary teachers, parents and the child themselves. Using these perspectives, study examines the how pre-school children are identified as gifted, how this is communicated among those involved and how the labelling of a child as gifted change the expectations for those involved.
Susanne's research focuses on the establishment of family-educator partnerships as children and families living in complex circumstances make the transition from prior-to-school to school settings. Of particular interest are the experiences, expectations and aspirations of family members and educators. Susanne worked for many years as an educator, project manager and policy and program officer in schools and regional and central offices in the Department for Education and Child Development, South Australia.