BEd (EC & Prim), CSU; PhD, CSU Sheena is an Associate Professor in Early Childhood Education (ECE) on the Albury/Wodonga campus. She has a Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood/Primary) (Honours 1) and a Doctor of Philosophy in ECE, both from Charles Sturt University. She has over twenty years’ experience working in early childhood, primary and tertiary education, and has worked in educational leadership positions. Sheena continues to work closely with the early childhood sector and is the Program Lead for the Holding Space Program: an interdisciplinary professional learning program supporting trauma-informed practice in early childhood and community settings. Sheena’s research interests are diverse and are driven by a concern that all children, regardless of circumstances, warrant the best possible opportunities to thrive—personally, socially, emotionally, and educationally. Her strong and enduring academic, community and professional partnerships inform her research, with the aim of providing children with high quality teaching and learning spaces. Her current projects cover a range of foci including infant-toddler pedagogy; infant-toddler transitions; trauma-informed practice; and, pedagogy grounded in social media, artificial intelligence and mobile technologies. She is a Chief Investigator on an ARC Linkage Project: Observe, Reflect, Improve: a tool to enrich Children’s Learning (ORICL) and she was a member of the national consortium engaged by ACECQA to update the two national approved learning frameworks under the National Quality Framework: Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia and My Time Our Place: Framework for School Age Care. Sheena is the Convenor of the Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) Qualitative Methodologies Special Interest Group and is on the Editorial Board for Methodological Innovations. She is a regular reviewer for numerous high-quality journals and book publishers. Sheena currently teaches in a range of Undergraduate and Postgraduate degree programs including the: Bachelor of Education (Birth to Five Years); Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Primary); Bachelor of Education (K-12) and the Graduate Certificate in Research. Sheena is available for Higher Degree Research (HDR) supervision (see below for current and previous supervision experience). B. Friezer PhD How do infants interact in groups in Long Day Care across the first two years of life? Co-supervisor Completed 2022 Awarded the 2022 Beth Southwell Research Award for Outstanding Educational Thesis, NSW Institute for Educational Research Awarded the 2022 Charles Sturt University Higher Degree by Research University Medal Awarded the 2023 Early Childhood Australia Doctoral Thesis Award Awarded the 2023 Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) Ray Debus Award (Special Commendation) N. Thompson PhD Talking to children about literacies in and out of school in the 21st Century Co-supervisor Completed 2023 Awarded the 2024 Australian Literacy Educators’ Association (ALEA) Doctoral Thesis Award P. Lee PhD Hidden treasure: Families, community professionals, and mathematics in the early years Principal Supervisor In progress S. Yeung PhD Investigating the links between early childhood educator well-being, early education work environments, and educator-infant relationships Principal Supervisor In progress S. Chukwudi PhD Experiences of students with learning disabilities in higher education and vocational education settings Principal Supervisor In progress G. Constanti Masters Conceptual Playworlds in Upper Primary – what do teachers think? Principal Supervisor Completed 2024 M. Akapita Grad Cert (Research) Critical analysis of policy and literature around inclusion in Early Childhood Education and Care within Australia Principal Supervisor Completed 2025
Professorial Staff3792899
Associate Professor Sheena Elwick
Associate Professor in Early Childhood Education
Albury / Wodonga
Building 763 Room 130
Teaching
Higher Degree Research (HDR) Student Supervision
Student Degree Title Role Status
Charles Sturt Committees and Leadership Roles
National and Local leadership Roles
Professional Memberships
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