Melanie Sugumaran

Proposed Title

Exploring how mid-career professional transition to teaching?

Supervisors

Principal Supervisor: Associate Professor Matthew Winslade
Co-Supervisor: Associate Professor Lena Danaia
Co-Supervisor: Associate Professor Hoa Nguyen

Research

The current teacher shortage has become a critical issue and is not isolated to Australia (Leshem et al., 2021). Recruiting and retaining teachers is a shared responsibility (Department of Education, 2022), therefore, federal, state and local government, along with universities and other education stakeholders need to engage and explore ways to recruit and retain teachers. There is renewed interest in mid-career professionals as one cohort who can help to address teacher shortage. As enrolment numbers steadily increase in ITE courses with mid-career professionals, little is known about how this cohort manages the change and challenges during their transition into ITE and teaching (Dadvand et al., 2023). ITE providers and schools need to better understand the transition and be responsive in the support that is available and accessible for mid-career professionals in their transition to teaching.

Why I chose Charles Sturt

After completing my undergraduate degree and Master of Education many years ago, I recently completed my Grad Cert in Educational Research to further my research capacity before embarking on this higher degree research after successfully gaining a AGRTP scholarship with CSU. This allowed me to undertake my PhD whilst also working, being able to align study with work.

Engagement and Memberships

Australian Collaroative Education Network - ACEN

Australian Teacher Education Association - ATEA

Australian Association for Research in Education – AARE

Department of Education NSW HUB School Partnerships

Current candidate profiles