BA GTeach MEd PhD GULT Kay Owens taught mathematics and health education in NSW, mathematics at the Papua New Guinea University of Technology, and Health Education and Education at Balob Teachers College where she held senior positions such as Head of School. Her Masters of Education focussed on health education. After 15 years in PNG, she went to Western Sydney University, becoming a Senior Lecturer and holding senior staff representative positions such as Chair of Teaching Board and on Academic Board, and international invitations for lecturing before moving to Charles Sturt University. Beginning in PNG, her interest in visuospatial reasoning has resulted in a PhD and continued research emphasising the importance for mathematics education especially geometry of not only visualising and spatial capabilities but also ecocultural aspects of these. Besides her research in spatial capabilities for mathematics learning, she has research in students’ struggling with mathematics and ethnomathematics with an international reputation in all these areas. Kay’s extensive experience has meant she has had the flexibility and opportunity to have taught in all areas of a teacher education degree for early childhood and primary education and secondary mathematics as well as supervising research in higher degrees and providing foundational, quantitative and qualitative research subjects and general and specialist Masters of Education subjects for support teachers and mathematics. Currently she supervises PhD students. She has produced 10 professional books, 6 children’s books, edited teachers’ PAMphlets and association newsletters, countless teaching materials and specialist videos e.g. through NSW Dept. of Education, Western Sydney University, and for ADRA teaching projects as well as countless materials for teaching, recently online, in her numerous subjects over the years. Kay’s research areas are ethnomathematics and visusopatial reasoning in mathematics education. She has an interest in how ecocultural experiences and integrated experiential learning impacts on education. She recently summarised work on the characteristics of students struggling for learning mathematics and a history of mathematics education in Papua New Guinea recognising the importance of foundational (traditional) mathematics, and the impact of colonialism and neocolonialism on mathematics education in former colonial countries. Kay argues that students’ sociocultural identity can assist in developing their mathematical identity and that mathematics in schools is embedded in ethnomathematics. She has an extensive grasp of mathematical counting systems in PNG’s hundreds of language groups and evidence of the strength of their mathematical use of visuospatial reasoning. She has recently edited a conference proceeding for ICEm7 and is an editor for a special edition of Journal of Mathematics and Culture. Her research projects include those funded by NSW Department of Education, USA National Science Foundation, AusAID, and an Australian Development Research Award. She has published 3 Springer books: 66 refereed journal articles, 23 book chapters, 38 refereed conference papers, 21 research reports, 3 edited books, 7 plenary international conference speaker, 51 other papers, 2 websites.
Adjunct Staff
Associate Professor Kay Owens
Adjunct Associate Professor
off campus