Research

Research

Research in the School of Education

The RMIT School of Education’s research is innovative, with academic staff and HDR students employing a variety of traditional and cutting-edge methods and theories that contribute to our understanding of education in domestic and international education settings. We examine important educational issues, and work to contribute new insights that will advance equity, excellence and efficiency that benefits individuals and educational organisations.

Interested in studying with us? The School of Education offers a PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) and a Master degree by research. Click on the “Postgraduate Research” link below.

Interested in our research? Learn more about our researchers and their areas of expertise by clicking the “Our Researchers” link below.

Interested in our evaluation, policy analysis, professional development programmes and research projects? Click on the “Our Projects” link below.

For all inquiries related to research in the School of Education, please contact any of our dedicated staff:

With the Creative Agency research lab, the School of Education contextualises research within recent developments of the Asian Century, marked by global shifts toward the developing economies of Asia. Our researchers undertake research and create knowledge to understand, support and improve the education industry.

DSC-student-PG-edu-Shobhana-Madhu-LANDSCAPE.jpg

Postgraduate research

The School of Education offers a PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) and a Master degree by research. Find out about the research program structures, entrance requirements and other application information.

Students project work.jpg

Our projects

The RMIT School of Education has partnered with many individuals and organisations to engage in high-quality research projects, evaluation, policy analysis, and professional development programmes.

Teacher looking towards student

Our researchers

RMIT School of Education researchers are conducting leading research on many important areas of education.

Research Themes

Expand all sections

The School of Education at RMIT has a strong and innovative Languages and Literacy teaching and research team with a focus on the diversity of linguistic backgrounds that students bring to the teaching and learning context as well as the importance of student engagement and agency within all aspects of literacy teaching. Our work brings together strong aspects of the research evidence base for literacy whilst recognising and catering for the linguistic lifeworlds that students bring to the classroom. Recent theorising around translanguage and the recognition of young children’s linguistic expertise in languages other than English drives the research focus of the group. A further element of our work is linked to children as readers and the books and materials that they read. A focus on children’s literature which represents the myriad of worlds that children bring to school also drives our research and teaching focus. One project works with Teachers as Readers with a purpose for teachers to grow their appreciation of the importance of quality reading materials. A further focus of our work is the role of emotional and social learning through books and literacy materials in the early years. 

Aligns with: SDG #4 (Quality Education) & SDG10 (Reduced Inequalities)

Aligns with DCP ECP research priorities:

  • Resilience, health and care
  • The social and sustainable

Aligns with Social Change ECP research priorities:

  • Transformations in Quality of Life
  • Transformations in Global Mobility

Aligns with Urban Futures ECP research priorities:

  • Urban transformation
  • Understanding and engaging communities

Leads

  • Associate Professor Naomi Wilks-Smith
  • Dr Susan Rook

Members

  • Dr Kellie Picker
  • Dr Phil Poulton
  • Dr Bonita Cabiles
  • Professor Daniel Harris
  • Dr Lynne Bury (sessional)
  • Professor Emerita Heather Fehring

STEM Futures is driven by a commitment to advancing more empowered, healthy, sustainable, and digitally informed futures through science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.

We pursue this vision through collaborative, practice-oriented research that widens participation in STEM and empowers teachers and students across diverse educational contexts. Working in partnership with educators, schools, industry, and communities, we use a range of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies to strengthen STEM teaching and learning. While our expertise spans many areas of STEM education, our work is united by a commitment to foregrounding the voices and lived experiences of our research participants.

The theme is structured around the four interconnected research pillars of Empowered Futures, Healthy Futures, Sustainable Futures, and Digital Futures, each addressing key dimensions of contemporary STEM education.

Empowered Futures – Expanding participation and success in STEM for diverse learners

Empowered Futures explores how STEM education can foster agency, voice, and participation for both teachers and learners. We investigate pedagogical approaches, professional practices, and learning environments that position teachers and students as active contributors to knowledge, rather than passive recipients. Through collaborative research with schools and communities, we develop approaches that centre teacher expertise and student voice, supporting more inclusive and responsive STEM learning.

Our projects

  • ARC LP190100282 ($431,873) – Exploring Problem Based Learning in School-based STEM Education – A/Prof Kathy Smith, Prof Deb Corrigan (Monash), Prof Mandi Berry, Prof Nicola Maynard (Monash), Dr Jen Mansfield (Monash), Dr Peter Ellerton (UQ)
    This project generates research‑informed principles of practice for a problem-based learning (PBL) model of school-based science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. Findings are co‑created with the expertise of teachers. The principles of practice aim to support and inspire educators to create authentic and challenging STEM experiences in their classrooms, and to foster learners who are active and informed citizens. This research aims to unlock the potential of problem-based approaches in our schools.
  • ARC DP210101171 ($307,846) - Primary Teachers' Adaptive Expertise in Interdisciplinary Maths and Science – Prof Mandi Berry, Dr Lihua Xu (Deakin), Dr Wanty Widjaja (Deakin University), Prof Jan van Driel (Melbourne University), Dr Colleen Vale (Monash University)
    This project aims to investigate the development of primary teachers’ adaptive expertise in interdisciplinary mathematics and science. As a critical component of quality teaching, adaptive expertise is essential for teachers to innovate their teaching to enhance student learning and interest, yet little is known about its development. The project aims to explore how adaptive expertise can be fostered through classroom innovations purposefully co-designed by teachers and researchers in the context of interdisciplinary mathematics and science. Expected outcomes include a better theoretical understanding of adaptive expertise in the context of interdisciplinary mathematics and science to benefit teacher learning and improve student outcomes.

Healthy Futures – Supporting health and wellbeing through STEM education

Healthy Futures explores the relationship between STEM education, wellbeing, and healthy societies. Our research investigates how STEM learning can contribute to physical, emotional, and social wellbeing, while also examining the wellbeing of students, teachers, and education communities.

Our projects

  • RMIT EIP Funding ($3,000) – Translating Sensory-Responsive Practice for Inclusive Early Childhood Education – Dr Elise Waghorn, Dr Mariko Francis
    This project investigates how sensory-responsive learning environments can support children’s wellbeing, participation, and inclusion in early childhood education, including STEM learning contexts. Through an industry-engaged activation in the RMIT Early Childhood Collaborative (RECC) Lab, the project brings together educators, allied health professionals, and community stakeholders to explore how sensory design influences children’s regulation, communication, and engagement in STEM-rich learning environments. By translating emerging research into practice-focused dialogue, the project advances interdisciplinary approaches to creating more inclusive and responsive learning environments that support healthier developmental outcomes for diverse learners.

Sustainable Futures – Addressing environmental and societal sustainability through STEM learning

Sustainable Futures focuses on the role of STEM education in responding to environmental and societal challenges. Our research explores how STEM learning can support ecological awareness, sustainability literacy, and informed engagement with global challenges such as climate change and resource management.

Our projects

  • RMIT Strategic Impact Funding ($30,000) – Little Food Film Festival: Bringing Citizen Science to Food waste through Digital Story Telling – Prof Mandi Berry, A/Prof Kathy Smith, Dr Dan Jazby, Dr Li Ping Thong (School of Design), Dr Helen Addison-Smith (Food Waste CRC)
    This interdisciplinary translation project connects research, education and public engagement to promote more responsible food production and consumption. Bringing together expertise from RMIT’s Food Waste CRC, STEM Education and public pedagogies, alongside industry partners including Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), the project aims to empower children as “little food citizens” who can better understand and address food waste.

Digital and Design Futures – Exploring how digital technologies shape teaching, learning, and participation in STEM education

Digital and Design Futures examines the growing influence of digital technologies, data, and Artificial Intelligence in education. Our research investigates how emerging technologies reshape learning environments, assessment practices, and participation in STEM education.

Our projects

  • PhD Project – Understanding the Impact of Speculative Design on Creative Thinking in Design Education – Peter Murphy
    This transdisciplinary PhD project, situated across the School of Design and the School of Education at RMIT University, investigates how speculative design approaches from contemporary design practice can be translated into primary and secondary Design and Technologies education. The project aims to explore how futures-oriented, regenerative, and AI-supported design pedagogies may support students’ creative thinking, social problem solving, and engagement with complex environmental and societal challenges. Using a co-design methodology with practising teachers, the research explores how speculative design strategies can be adapted into classroom-ready pedagogical tools and learning experiences. The project brings together expertise from design research, teacher education, and emerging technology practices to investigate how new forms of design-based education may expand current approaches to STEM and Design and Technologies learning. Expected outcomes include new insights into transdisciplinary design pedagogy, teacher capability development, and the role of speculative and regenerative thinking in future-focused education

 

STEM Futures welcomes opportunities to collaborate with other researchers, schools, communities, industry, and policymakers to develop research that addresses real challenges and creates meaningful impact.

Lead

  • Associate Professor Reece Mills

Members

  • Professor Amanda Berry
  • Dr Dan Jazby
  • Emeritus Professor Di Siemon
  • Dr Elise Waghorn
  • Dr Julia Hill
  •  Associate Professor Kathy Smith
  • Dr Mariko Francis
  • Peter Murphy
  • Dr Rebecca Seah
  • Dr Sarah Costigan
  • Dr Tasos Barkatsas
  • Dr Thembi Mason

Higher Degree by Research (HDR) Candidate Members

  • Aruna Ranga
  • Prina Bhugwan
  • Rowan Nas
  • Shakeela Naureen

The Learning and Teaching Across the Lifespan research theme is underpinned by three pillars. These conceptual pillars explore the development and enactment of educational policy, the diverse experiences and engagement of learners, and the ongoing professional growth of educators, highlighting how these interconnected processes shape and are shaped by practice, evidence, and educational contexts.

Educational policy and practice

Our research examines how educational policy is developed, interpreted, and enacted across diverse educational contexts. We investigate relationships between policy formation, how policy travels across national and global settings, and how it is enacted, adapted, and negotiated in practice. Central to this work is exploration of how policy shapes and is reshaped by conditions of practice, evidence, workforce needs, and institutional settings. We are interested in research that illuminates how policy development and enactment are interconnected processes contributing to formation of educators, their professionalism, and practice across educational contexts.

We welcome further research that examines these interconnected dynamics, exploring how policy, educator formation, professionalism, workforce needs, and educational settings are mutually constituted through policy development and enactment across local, national, and global contexts.

Learners and learning 

Our research explores the complex nature of learning across diverse educational contexts. It is underpinned by commitment to socially just education and valuing learners’ experiences and voices. We are particularly interested in research that critically examines and extends the knowledge base on learner engagement, exploring how it is supported and sustained across contexts, and how it relates to motivation and achievement. This includes attention to how evidence informs educational decision-making and shapes curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment. Our work also recognises learners as individuals whose cognitive, social, emotional, and cultural needs influence learning experiences and outcomes.

We welcome further research that investigates relationships between educator choices, educational evidence, and teaching practices, and how these interactions shape learner engagement, motivation, achievement, and educational experiences across contexts.

Educator development and ongoing professional learning

Our research recognises the evolving, context-specific nature of professional learning across educators’ careers. We investigate the conditions, structures, and practices that support meaningful and sustained professional learning, and how these contribute to formation of educators, their professionalism, and sense of belonging within the profession. This includes attention to how professional learning supports career development and lifelong learning, enabling educators to refine and extend practice in response to changing contexts and learner needs. Our work also values collaborative approaches to knowledge generation, including co-researching with educators to examine professional learning in practice and develop insights grounded in educational contexts.

We are interested in research that advances understanding of mentoring, coaching, and co-learning as mechanisms for professional growth, with a strong emphasis on mentoring as a relational and practice-based process supporting educator development, collegial learning, and professional formation across career stages.

 

Aligns with: SDG #4

Aligns with DCP ECP research priorities:

  • Resilience, health and care
  • The social and sustainable

Aligns with Social Change ECP research priorities:

  • Transformations in Quality of Life
  • Transformations in Global Mobility

Aligns with Urban Futures ECP research priorities:

  • Urban transformation
  • Understanding and engaging communities

Leads

  • Phil Poulton
  • Kathy Smith

Members

  • Amanda Berry
  • Susan Rook
  • Sam Vlcek
  • Kathy Littlewood
  • Serene Lin-Stephens
  • Sweta Patel
  • Gideon Boadu
  • Mel Nash
  • Bonita Cabiles
  • Mariko Francis
  • Rucelle Hughes
  • Sarah Costigan
  • Elise Waghorn
  • Simone White
  • Julia Hill
  • Thembi Mason
  • Aleksandra Acker
  • Freda Zapsalis
  • Kellie Picker
  • Carl Ridgeway
  • Bernadette Walker-Gibbs
  • Blake Cutler

The School of Education has a long history of learning, teaching and researching issues of diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice and a deep understanding of how these issues affect formal, nonformal and informal educational spaces. Our research plays a crucial role in promoting fairer communities by addressing disparities in educational access and outcomes, particularly for marginalised, minoritised, and vulnerable groups. Inclusive practices ensure that all students, regardless of their background or ability, can participate fully in the learning environment and achieve their potential. Marginalised, minoritised, and vulnerable groups are disproportionately affected by crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, economic downturns, the 4th Industrial Revolution, wars and armed conflicts, mass extinction, plastic pollution, and digital inequalities. These crises often exacerbate existing inequalities and create new challenges for these groups. Our research contributes to understanding the experiences of diverse groups across historical, local and global contexts, to inform government policy, educational practices, community-based initiatives, and innovations that address inequality. We bring together diverse educational and industry stakeholders to reflect and exchange knowledge on how to incorporate the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 4, 5, 8, and 10) into practice. This exchange of ideas involves forms of critique, inquiry and investigation into the assumptions that underpin the SDGs, the challenges of data gathering in determining SDG achievement and the divide between policy and practice. Our research develops and uses innovative methodologies, models and tools to critique, inquire and investigate SDG translation into policy and practice and build synergistic partnerships between local, state, national and international organisations. Our researchers are active within leading national and international networks of knowledge exchange and collaboration, and supported by close associations with other research entities across RMIT, including the Creative Agency Research Lab; Enabling Capability Platforms (ECPS) in Design and Creative Practice, Social Change, and Urban Futures; the Mapping Future Imaginaries (MFI) network as well as the newly established Climate Change Research Network (CCR-Net). 

Associated UNSDG’s: SDG 1 No Poverty; SDG 4 Quality Education; SDG 5 Gender Equality; SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth; SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities 

Aligns with DCP ECP research priorities: 

  • Climate crisis mitigation and adaptation 
  • Digital and socio-technological transformations 
  • Health, wellbeing, and care for all 
  • Indigenous knowledges, cultures and sovereignties 
  • Regenerative, reparative, circular and systems design 

Aligns with Social Change ECP research priorities: 

  • Transformations in Digital Society 
  • Transformations in Global Mobility 
  • Transformations in Quality of Life 

Aligns with Urban Futures ECP research priorities: 

  • Enabling a transformative culture of urban research 
  • Imagining new critical agendas on urgent urban challenges   
  • Leading thinking for ambitious urban research collaborations  

Lead

  • Seth Brown 

Members

  • Gideon Boadu  
  • Julie Carmel  
  • Alexander Ciaffaglione 
  • Mariko Francis 
  • David Gow 
  • Julia Hill 
  • Susan Rook  
  • Samantha Vlcek  
  • Elise Waghorn  
  • Bin Wu

The United Nations acknowledges that education is the single most important factor in effectively mitigating and adapting to climate change and achieving more sustainable futures across local and global scales. RMIT’s School of Education has a longstanding commitment to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and produces cutting-edge research which directly addresses Goal 4 (Quality Education), Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and Goal 13 (Climate Action). The school’s research on climate change and sustainable education futures is world-leading in its integration of multiple disciplines, methodologies, and theoretical frameworks, in many cases bridging approaches across the social sciences, art and design, the humanities, and physical sciences. This methodological diversity is essential to addressing climate change as a planetary-scale crisis which also manifests locally in highly specific ways. The complex implications of climate change effectively demand a re-imagining of the entire field of education, including how we think, live, practice, and understand educational systems and institutions, curriculum and pedagogy, teaching and learning, research and impact, justice and community-building under 21st century conditions. Research in the School of Education is breaking new ground in facilitating this re-imagining through critical and creative research in collaboration with diverse educational communities. Our innovations in participatory research, co-design, and social practice have led to collaborative outcomes and impacts that reflect the values of children, young people, and communities whose lives and educations will be most severely impacted by climate change. Our researchers are active within leading national and international networks of knowledge exchange and collaboration in the field of climate change education, and supported by close associations with other research entities across RMIT, including the Creative Agency Research Lab; Enabling Capability Platforms (ECPS) in Design and Creative Practice, Social Change, and Urban Futures; the Mapping Future Imaginaries (MFI) network as well as the newly established Climate Change Research Network (CCR-Net). 

Lead

  • Dr David Rousell

Members

  • Seth Brown
  • Linda Knight
  • Gideon Boadu 
  • Annette Gough

Creative Agency Research Lab

The Creative Agency Research Lab is a thriving hub for multi-disciplinary studies of creativity across the educational life-course. We are an open community of researchers, educators, creative practitioners, and industry professionals who share a commitment to creativity as a catalyst for social change in response to global challenges. Our members are actively developing new ways to address the most pressing issues of our times, including climate change, socio-economic inequality, the mental health crisis, and rapid advances in science and technology. We specialise in co-developing creative pedagogies and methodologies in collaboration with communities, working closely with children, young people, and diverse communities of all ages to co-create educational benefit, impact, and transformation. As a seed bed for creative research and social innovation across educational, cultural, community, industry, and governmental sectors, the Creative Agency Research Lab offers a generative and radically inclusive space for re-imagining what education can be, do, and become in the 21st century. 

Learn more about Creative Agency Research Lab

School of Education Affiliated Research

aboriginal flag float-starttorres strait flag float-start

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

Learn more about our commitment to Indigenous cultures