Professor Heather Fehring

Professor Heather Fehring is currenty an Emerita Professor with the School of Education, Design and Social Context RMIT University.

She has previously held the following positions:

2016 – 2016 BEd Coordinator at the RMIT Brunswick campus, 2014 – 2012; Director of Higher Degree by Research (HDR) in the Design & Social Context College, RMIT University; 2012 – 2008 Professor Fehring was an Associate Professor – Assessment and Learning and the Deputy Head Research and Innovation (DHR&I) in the School of Education at RMIT University managing research and HDR candidates and supervisors with the School of Education.  From 2007 – 2000 she was a Lecture C lecturing in literacy courses across a number of programmes. Professor Fehring's prolonged passion to be an excellent learning and teaching scholar producing first class student learning environments has been acknowledged by the ten teaching awards including a Carrick Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning 2007 (For a decade of sustained and significant contribution to students’ and teachers’ professional knowledge in the field of research and literacy education) and culminating in the RMIT VC Distinguished Teaching Award in 2008. She was the first female to receive this prestigious award at RMIT University. Since 2000 she has successfully supervised fifteen PhDs, one EdD, two MEd candidates, eight Coursework Master of Education (Teaching) Minor Projects students and been second supervisor to five successful PhDs.

Professor Fehring's commitment to research has resulted in a number of funded projects. In 2016 a DFAT AII AII0826 research grant DFAT AII funded project entitled: Professional Practice Model Pilot in Universitas Negeri and Jambi University. June 2012, as a member of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) Research and Evaluation Panel, she led a successful tender for the design and implementation of an evaluation of the Australian Institute for Reaching and School Leadership (AITSL) Flagship Professional Learning Program: Local Leadership.  She has successfully completed an ARC Linkage Grant LP 0667939 in 2006- 2010. The research project was entitled ‘A Ten-Year Comparative Analysis of Work, Benefit and Skill Trajectories of Parallel Cohorts of Trade and Bachelor Graduates’ Working Lives’. Chief Investigators were Associate Professor Heather Fehring (CI), Professor Judith Bessant (CI), Dr. Alan Montague, Mr. Jeff Malley (PI) and Dr. Lyn Robinson (RA

As an Emerita Professor in 2019 Professor Fehring continues to supervise PhDs, mentor SoE staff for promotion and consult for the Executive Education staff in Engagement Portfolio, Global Partnership and Engagement Division, RMIT University, delivering professional development sessions to international delegations.

•  Ph.D., RMIT University, 23 March 1999
  Thesis: "Influences on Teachers' Judgements of Students' Literacy Development in a Victorian Context"

• Master of Education (MEd.), University of Melbourne, 1987 First Class Honours
  Thesis: "The Spelling Process: Children's Use of Phonemic, Morphemic and Visual Memory Strategies". John and Elizabeth Robertson prize for M. Ed thesis Melbourne University (1986). This thesis resulted in the curriculum publication, Fehring, H., & Thomas, V. (1986). The Teaching of Spelling. Education Department of Victoria: Melbourne. 

• Postgraduate Bachelor of Education (B. Ed.), University of New England, N.S.W., 1975
  Thesis: "An Investigation of Oral and Silent Reading in Relation to Comprehension from a Psycholinguistic Perspective" (Distinction)

• Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), University of New England, N.S.W., 1971.

• Trained Primary Teachers' Certificate (T.P.T.C.), Bendigo Teachers' College, Victoria, 1968

Professor Fehring maintains a variety of community and industry based connections as listed below.