Deborah Heck

Biography

"Associate Professor Deborah Heck is the Portfolio Leader Postgraduate and Research Higher Degree programs in the School of Education at the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC). Deborah is also the Program Coordinator for Graduate Certificate in Education, Master of Education and Master of Education by Research. Deborah has an interest in research that explores participation and change in the context of education. She has been involved in research projects that have explored qualitative approaches to researching change in educational contexts. For example, she led the ‘Most Significant Change’ aspect of the Teaching Teachers for the Future (TTF) Project funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) through the ICT Innovation Fund in 2010–2012. The focus of the Teacher Teachers for the Future project was supporting teacher educators to incorporate Technological and Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) into initial teacher education curriculum courses. Deborah has been involved in exploring how the ‘Most Significant Change’ technique can be used to chart the change process as schools and school systems implement new approaches to pedagogical and instructional leadership aimed at improving student learning outcomes. This resulted in the development of stories of practice as an approach to charting change and professional development for teachers and educational leaders within the school sector. The work was awarded the Vice Chancellors Award for Engagement in 2014. The work built on a previous study focused on the construction of school identity and values frameworks with a focus on approaches to achieving school renewal that was explored as part of the 2008–2012 ARC Linkage project titled 'The development of a value's approach to school renewal', which focuses on exploring ways for schools to identify and reflect on their values and explore avenues for school renewal on the basis of what is valued by the school community. The outcome of this work will be the development of a school profiling tool that can used by school communities to support the ongoing cycle of school renewal and development. Deborah has a keen interest in engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Teachers in schools as part of her focus on participation and change. She is a member of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Subcommittee and has sought and received funding to develop programs in conjunction with community Elders to support teacher education program development and retention of teacher education students. Research on the development of professional development programs for mentor teachers will contribute to knowledge about how to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Teachers in the profession. In conjunction with Independent Schools Queensland, Deborah is leading research on the Sunshine Coast that explores the development of partnerships between Universities, schools and peak bodies that support the development of quality teachers. This work makes a contribution towards the development of initial teacher education programs. Deborah is committed to the development of the scholarship of teaching and has been involved as part of a team of researchers exploring the use of peer evaluation in the context of postgraduate education. A team from USC in conjunction with colleagues at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Fredonia, explored a variety of approaches to the development of teaching, learning and assessment within the Master of Education in 2014-2015. Currently Deborah working with teacher educators from the University of Cenderawaish (UNCEN) in Jayapura to explore ways to improve teacher education in Papua, Indonesia. This research explores the policy and practice context of teacher education and the implications for the development of quality education in Papua, Indonesia. This work will expand in late 2016 to explore ways of developing teacher education within the Papuan Teacher Education Colleges (KPG)."

Research Interest

Initial teacher education, reflective practice and teacher professional development: Communities of Practice, Most Significant Change information and communication technologies in teacher education, school renewal, science education, peer review as professional learning, engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities for education, education for sustainability.