Susan Ledger

Biography

Susan Ledger is an educator who has a passion for connecting people, places and projects. She has had a range of educational experiences in both primary and tertiary settings around the globe. Susan investigates educational policies, practices and issues related to teaching, and preparing to teach in diverse contexts (international, rural, remote and virtual schooling) and its impact on schooling and initial teacher education. She is currently exploring how rural and international fields of study complement and compete with each other and the importance of global competencies within these contexts. Susan is global and collaborative in her approach to research and engagement activities. She is currently writing with two research consortias: Africa, Australia & Mexico (rural ed); Malaysia, Australia, US (global ed). She has recently established an Australian Chapter of the Alliance for International Education, she is a founding member of the AARE SIG for global education and is currently Chief Editor of the Australian and International Journal of Rural Education. Sue recently endorsed the SAGE Handbook of International education (Hayden & Thompson, 2015). She has developed strong links with the International Baccalaureate Organisation since offering the first IB authorised Post Graduate program in 2011 (http://www.ibo.org/ ). Sue has been invited to forums as an expert in the field including CSE’s inclusive ed project and ARC/OLT preparing students for rural placements. She has also published for the Asian Education Foundation (www.Asianeducation.edu.au) and provides reviews for many international journals in her field. She is an Education Forum member for the W.A Chamber of Commerce and Industry (http://www.cciwa.com). She currently teaches: Undergraduate Primary English and Literacy; Post Graduate International Education in Schools – which is aligned with the International Baccalaureates Teaching and Learning Certificate; Introduction to Teaching for M.Teach. Sue is currently piloting the application of Virtual Reality and Simulation Environments as tools to prepare preservice teachers for real-life classrooms. Susan has had a range of leadership roles in schools and higher education. She is currently Associate Dean – Engagement and School Partnerships in the School of Education. She is the deputy chair of the newly formed Network of Associate Deans of Professional Experience (NADPE http://www.acde.edu.au/networks-and-partnerships/nadpe/). She was recently elected vice-president for the Society for the Provision of Education in Rural Australia (www.SPERA.asn.au). Susan oversees the placement of all Murdoch School of Education pre-service teachers. She also developed and manages a range of 12 month teaching internships sustainable since 2011 currently known as Murdoch Internship Models (MIMs) including the Pilbara Cities Internship Project (http://www.pdc.wa.gov.au/pilbara-cities/). Sue is an early career researcher; a title she finds amusing given that she is not as young as she would like to be. She was awarded the WAIER Early Career Award (2015).

Research Interest

Susan Ledger research interests are centred on policies, practices and issues related to teaching  in international, rural and remote, and virtual contexts.  Although these fields are usually addressed individually, my interests focus on their intersection as well as the teacher education programs involved in preparing pre-service teachers for each field such as teacher internships.  In addition, i am currently involved in a Reading Aloud Study funded by the Collier Charitable Fund with Margaret Merga exploring the frequency and barriers to Reading Aloud at home and school- it builds on my previous experience with teaching language and language acquisition.