Research into educational services and outcomes
Improve educational services and outcomes at all levels, spanning early childhood to tertiary education.
Research overview
Researchers at the University of Melbourne are working on a range of projects to find ways to improve educational services and outcomes at all levels, spanning early childhood through to tertiary education. These projects include promoting education for sustainable development, understanding language and literacy programs and policies, profiling contextually and culturally relevant research approaches, exploring teacher education and higher education, and supporting work integrated learning opportunities in education sites across the region.
See also the Languages and Literacies Education Academic Group
Projects we're involved with
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This project focuses on supporting schools in the Indo-Pacific region to establish school kitchen gardens and simple composting systems. It provides a range of resources for educators including ideas for starting a garden with existing resources, tailored teaching activities with links to local curricula (Fiji, Solomon Islands and the Maldives) and examples of activities in pilot schools.
https://sustainability-and-stories.org/school-kitchen-gardens/
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In this project staff and students from the Faculty of Education created teaching resources to provide schools and educators across small island states with access to free education materials that are easy to use and can support the promotion of sustainable practices within their local context.
https://education.unimelb.edu.au/promoting-education-for-sustainable-development#resources
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The project focuses on supporting literacy in primary schools (SDG Target 4.1) promoting education for sustainable development (SDG Target 4.7) and understanding the role of school leadership in enhancing the quality or primary and secondary education (SDG Target 4.7).
https://education.unimelb.edu.au/international-literacy-project
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The seminar utilises a talatalanoa (ongoing conversations) co-design approach involving education researchers, teacher education students, education researcher-practitioners to support of contextually relevant research and school-based interventions in promoting education for sustainable development (ESD).
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This DFAT-funded initiative is a research-practice collaboration involving the Solomon Islands National University (SINU), the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne, and Catalpa International. Together, the three partners will review and update the Solomon Islands' existing initial primary teacher education program to ensure it is contextually relevant and evidence-informed.
Our partners
- Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
- Catalpa International
- Divine World University
- Dili International School
- Fiji National University
- Food and Agriculture Organization
- International School Nadi
- Live and Learn Tonga
- Oceania Comparative and International Education Society
- Solomon Islands National University
- University of French Polynesia
- University of South Pacific
- University of Papua New Guinea
- Woodford International School
Our people
Recent publications
Our researchers contribute to a large range of publicly-accessible publications.
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Baird, J. (2019). ‘Serving ethically: A developing country perspective on quality education for professional practice’, in Trimmer, K., Newman, T. and Padró, F. (eds), Ensuring Quality in Professional Education, Volume II: Engineering Pedagogy and International Knowledge Structures. Palgrave McMillan: Springer.com, pp. 91–113.
Baird, J. and Kula-Semos, M.A., 2018. Internationalisation and indigenisation in Papua New Guinea’s universities: Promoting authentic agency. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 40(6), pp.550-565.
Baird, J., Nasale, P. and Gibbs, P., 2021. Melanesian culture and Western-style higher education: Reflections of PNG university academics. Contemporary PNG Studies, 34, pp.28-37.https://www.dwu.ac.pg/en/images/All_Attachements/Research%20Journals/vol_34/4._J_Baird_et_al_Melanesian_culture_and_Western-style_higher_education.docx.pdf
Di Biase, R., Spratt, R., Raheem, M.A.A., Ali, A., Raiula, T., Paulsen, I.K., Ali, S. and Ahmed, Z., 2025. Greening Island Schools: A Multi-Pronged Approach Across the Indo-Pacific Region. In Navigating Learning, Culture, and Identity in Island Education (pp. 129-166). IGI Global Scientific Publishing.
Di Biase, R. (2017). Acknowledging the importance of context: Researching education in small states. International Education Journal 16(1).https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/IEJ/issue/view/851
Cunningham, C., Striepe, M., Robertson, S., Taylor, A., Thompson, P., Longmuir, F., Devi, M. & Gurr, D. (forthcoming, 2026). The role of Australian, New Zealand and Fijian school leaders in building community resilience for a century of crises. In E. Barnes, S Riddle, B, Beabout, J. Hughes, & B. Hughes (Eds.) International Handbook of Schooling in Times of Crisis. Routledge, Chapter 11.
Escobar Carías, M., Black, N., Johnston, D., Sweeney, R., Barker, S.F., Rosnaena, Syamsul, S. and Waka, T., 2025. The gender gap in children’s educational time investments in informal settlements. Review of Economics of the Household, pp.1-21. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11150-025-09772-7
Gibbs, P. and Baird, J. 2022. Christian ethos and academic identity at a PNG University. Contemporary PNG Studies, 37, 1 -11.https://www.dwu.ac.pg/en/images/All_Attachements/Research%20Journals/vol_37/1_Christian_Ethos_and_Academic_Identity_at_a_PNG_University_29_April_2022.pdf
Gibbs, P. and Baird, J., 2020. Academic identity in themes for the third decade strategic plan at Divine Word University. Contemporary PNG Studies, 33, 1-15. https://www.dwu.ac.pg/en/images/All_Attachements/Research%20Journals/vol_33/Academic_Identity_-_Gibbs__Baird_1-15.pdf
McDougall, D. and Zobule, A.G., 2021. All Read Well. The Contemporary Pacific, 33(2), pp.410-439. https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/5/article/840375/pdf
McEvoy, D., Iyer-Raniga, U., Ho, S., Mitchell, D., Jegatheesan, V. and Brown, N., 2019. Integrating teaching and learning with inter-disciplinary action research in support of climate resilient urban development. Sustainability, 11(23), p.6701. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/23/6701
Mosen, J., Kaei, T. and Kirata, T. (2021) A Report of Sign Language Interpreting Services in Kiribati’s Model Inclusion Schools, Kiribati Education Improvement Program.
Nasale, P and Baird, J. 2024 The Presentation of Academic Identity at a Papua New Guinean University: Agency and Liminality in Postcolonial Higher Education. ANU Department of Pacific Affairs Discussion paper 2024/2 DOI: 10.25911/0PDP-B828. https://digitalcollections.anu.edu.au/items/61be2995-9fef-4b46-a535-a95ff65cb48c/full
Page, A., Berman, J. and Serow, P., 2020. Parent and teacher attitudes towards inclusive education in Nauru. Australasian Journal of Special and Inclusive Education, 44(2), pp.116-128.
Page, A., Ledger, S., Boyle, C., Mosen, J., Charteris, J. and Anderson, J., 2025. Engaging in twenty-first century practices locally: aligning pacific ways of teaching and learning with innovative learning environments. Teachers and Teaching, 31(2), pp.313-330.
Page, A. and Mosen, J., 2024. Addressing the challenges of conference participation for the Pacific: a regional approach to maximise attendance and participation. Professional Development in Education, pp.1-14. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/19415257.2024.2332377?needAccess=true
Page, A., Vira, A., Ledger, S., Mosen, J., Anderson, J., Charteris, J. and Boyle, C., 2023. Pacific inclusive education model: addressing dichotomies to ensure positive outcomes. Journal of Education Policy, 38(5), pp.870-889. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/02680939.2022.2080275?needAccess=true
Sharma, U., Forlin, C., Marella, M. and Jitoko, F., 2017. Using indicators as a catalyst for inclusive education in the Pacific Islands. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 21(7), pp.730-746.
Spark, C. and Macintyre, M., 2022. " We Are So Happy EPF Came": Transformations of Gender in Port Moresby Schools. The Contemporary Pacific, 34(1), pp.96-117. https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/cd64a864-864d-4dec-a50f-f85f61889ba9/content
Sprunt, B. and Marella, M., 2021. Combining child functioning data with learning and support needs data to create disability-identification algorithms in Fiji’s Education Management Information System. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(17), p.9413. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34501998/
Striepe, S., Thompson, P., Robertson, S., Devi, M., Gurr, G., Longmuir, F., Taylor, A. & Cunningham, C. (2023) Responsive, adaptive, and future-centred leadership in response to crisis: findings from Australia, Fiji, and New Zealand, School Leadership & Management, 43(2), 104-124. DOI: 10.1080/13632434.2023.2171005. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epub/10.1080/13632434.2023.2171005?needAccess=true
Photo: Jon Barnett