Our research

Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Early Childhood Pedagogies

Australian early childhood education and care setting are becoming increasingly diverse. Many educators are struggling to respond to the superdiversity that exists within their settings, often leading to disengagement and poor learning outcomes.

Fostering school attendance for students in Out-of-Home Care

This project aims to investigate why children and young people in Out-Of-Home-Care in Australia are absent from school far more than their peers. The project expects to generate new knowledge about the reasons for their absences and to develop solutions to improve attendance through: children’s own voices; detailed absence data; policy audit; and case studies of promising practice.

Improving teacher induction: Supporting precariously employed early career teachers to manage student behaviour

This project aims to examine the induction phase for precariously employed early career teachers, that is, teachers within the first two years of graduation, employed on short-term contracts of less than 1 year, or as casual teachers.

Enhancing belonging for African diaspora youth in Australian schools

Schools are key sites to counter marginalisation and enable belonging. This study will investigate how Black African diaspora youth experience belonging in Australian schools and ways that schools can change practices to enhance belonging.

Being Heard: Remixing Critical Literacy for Active Citizenship

The project is based on a teacher-led analysis of current school initiatives on student voice, and on discussion of quantitative system-generated data being used to inform school-level decisions (including surveys of wellbeing and agency, and standardised test results).

Teachers at breaking point

This study, commissioned by the Australian Education Union (South Australian Branch), examines the shifting nature of teachers’ work, pointing to growing complexity and increasing professional demands. This research is the first of its kind in South Australia and provides new insights into the impact of increased demands upon teachers’ wellbeing and ability to focus on their key responsibilities for teaching and learning.

Developing mathematical thinking in the early years

It is widely reported that early educational experiences are the foundation for later achievement. Despite this understanding, there are several misconceptions that are perpetuated and exist in relation to how mathematical thinking is communicated, therefore the teaching and learning of mathematics for young children.

Protecting children online: Investigation of suspects’ opening chat grooming language and interactions with police decoys

The recent pandemic has seen a rapid rise in the use of online social networks by children. These networks present opportunities for predators to access, groom, and exploit children.

Culturally responsive schooling

Australian schools are struggling to respond positively to the increasing cultural diversity of the student cohort. The aim of this study is to research how schools become culturally responsive and specifically explores how the affective environments of schools attend to the diverse cultural, academic and emotional needs of their communities.

Western Australian Catholic Teacher’s understanding of Problematic Sexual Behaviour and their Training Needs

This research project aims to inform the training needs for Catholic educators in relation to identifying and responding to PSB in schools.

Parents' knowledge, views and experiences of service responses to children's harmful sexual behaviours (HSB)

The study examines parents' knowledge, views and experiences of services systems’ responses to children's harmful sexual behaviours (HSB). 

Schools and Homes Networking Digitally (SAHND)

This three-year project examines how digital and social networks connect students to their schools, homes, and other domains.

Arapaho Language and Culture Immersion Project: Creation of a dual-language immersion school at St Stephen's Indian School (SSIS), Wyoming

Developing an innovative, sustainable and equitable approach to professional learning across diverse early childhood contexts: Early childhood literacies professional learning in Wyoming

Multiliteracies for addressing disadvantage in senior school science

This project develops discipline-specific pedagogies in senior physics, chemistry and biology to improve the engagement and achievement of disadvantaged student

A History of Early Childhood Education in South Australia – key milestones

The Government Party grants the grant amount to the Recipient to proceed to stage 2 of The History of Early Childhood Education in South Australia

A history of early childhood education in South Australia – innovators, educators, crusaders: milestones identified in historical context

The project will further develop a web-based timeline showing milestones in early childhood education (ECE) from First Nations to present day.

Cultural Preparedness to Teach in the Middle East

Faculty within Education Futures at UniSA – were awarded a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Council of Australia-Arab Relations (CAAR) grant in 2020 entitled: Cultural Preparedness to Teach in the Middle East.

Wellbeing in Early Childhood Settings

The project aims to develop wellbeing approaches for a range of early childhood service settings.

Sound Scaping: A preliminary exploration of noise and its impact on student learning in situ

Investigating the impact of an artificially soundscaped environment on activities in a modern flexible learning space.

Play in Early Adolescence

This project investigates play at school for children aged 11 to 13 years and examines how play in early adolescence changes as children transition from primary school to high school.

Parent involvement goes online: New ecologies of school-home relations

Provide policy and educational leadership with a roadmap for addressing barriers to digital inclusion.

Children’s problematic sexual behaviour in schools: Identifying and addressing collaborative responses to incidents

This exploratory study will increase the knowledge base in the area of inter-agency collaboration and highlight the role that schools can play.

Delivery of Languages Professional Learning Program (LPLP): Key Idea 3 &4

The focus leads towards intentional, responsive learning and assessment in languages for all students.

Network Inquiry: Trialing Evaluation Tools and Protocols for Producing Evidence of Impact with a focus on literacy

Researching ways in which it is possible to provide evidence of the impact of teaching and learning in literacy in school settings.

Evaluation of Language and Literacy Levels Tool

An expert, independent review of the Language and Literacy Levels tool.

School Exclusions Study

This project aims to investigate how and why Australian schools use exclusionary practices to manage disorderly students.

How schools foster refugee student resilience

This CRESI project from UniSA investigates how schools transcend refugee students' past life experiences that enhance their resilience.

Sea and Vines Early Years Oral Language Project 2019 -2021

This CRESI project from UniSA investigates how schools transcend refugee students' past life experiences that enhance their resilience.

Intergenerational refugee aspirations and academic success: from uncertain pasts to promising futures

This CRESI research project looks at the role of refugee parents’ educational aspirations on their children’s academic outcomes.

Toward an Australian culturally responsive pedagogy

Learn more about this CRESI project that focuses on improving teachers' work in Indigenous education.

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy in Reggio Emilia inspired Early Learning Settings

This CRESI research project at UniSA focuses on children learning to live together in a diverse community.