Kathleen Smithers

Teaching and Research Staff

Dr Kathleen (Kate) Smithers

BTeach(Humanities)(Hons 1)(Newcastle); GCertTertTLP (Wollongong); PhD (Newcastle)

Course Director HDR Pathways / Lecturer in Education
Bathurst
Building 1435

Kathleen's doctoral research examined the intersection of tourism and education in Zimbabwe. In particular, her research explored the phenomenon of philanthropic tourism in Matabeleland North using a Foucauldian lens. From 2019, she has also added the nature of Contract research in Higher Education to her research interests. You can follow Kathleen on Twitter (@thekatsmithers).

Prior to her appointment at Charles Sturt University, Kathleen worked at the University of Newcastle (UoN) as a Research Officer and Casual Academic. In her time at UoN, Kathleen was appointed as co-coordinator of the Students and Staff Talking about Research program. As part of this program, she is responsible for HDR events, research training and the annual HDR conference for the School of Education.

Kathleen has experience teaching a range of subjects in Teacher Education. She currently teaches EEP425, ASH401 and ASH505.

Kathleen is a qualified Modern History and Society and Culture teacher. She has also worked in a range of schools in the Hunter Valley and brings her experience of high school classrooms into the subjects she teaches.

Kathleen’s research interests are diverse, having focused on development tourism in schools in Zimbabwe and the experience of contract researchers in higher education. Broadly, she uses sociology as a lens of analysis across these projects.

Her current projects include:

  • An examination of development tourism in one case study school in Zimbabwe
  • The nature of contract research in higher education

A study of the intercultural understanding of pre-service teachers on a study tour