Research Theme Champion: Education & Work

Associate Professor Katrina Barker

School of Education
k.barker@westernsydney.edu.au

Katrina is an Associate Professor in Educational Psychology at the Centre for Educational Research in the School of Education and a multi-award-winning educator. She fuses research and teaching to transform curriculum, assessments, and pedagogical approaches with the goal to inspire future teachers and improve their work. She has been nationally recognised for her expertise and innovations through an Australian Learning and Teaching Council citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning, was awarded UniJobs Top 10 Lecturer of the Year, and won the Vice Chancellor’s Excellence in Teaching Award.

Katrina’s research program contributes to reaching the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal 4: Quality Education, Goal 5: Gender Equity, and Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities. Importantly, she has established a research agenda of national and international significance which is committed to improve attainment of those most vulnerable and marginalised in society, thereby providing new pathways to transition between school, tertiary education, and employment.

As an accomplished mixed methods researcher winning over $2.7 million across category 1, 2 and 3 research grants, Katrina has led and contributed to interdisciplinary teams investigating student motivation and engagement, self-efficacy, academic achievement, school retention, educational pathways, classroom management, and inclusive education. She has been at the forefront of designing innovative evaluation metrics for governments and non-government entities to determine the impact of evidence-led practices in schools. Investing in partnerships characterised by co-design and participatory research, Katrina is working with industry partners to improve the quality of education in Papua New Guinea (PNG). These projects address teacher shortages, whilst simultaneously working to improve the knowledge, skills, and pedagogy of in-service and pre-service teachers in PNG.

Katrina draws upon her research and leadership expertise to foster high quality, impactful research across the University which aligns with the Education and Work Research Theme. She facilitates and connects researchers from different Schools, Institutes, SRIs and Centres with industry and community partners, to mobilise research which is responsive to contemporary challenges related to Education and Work. If you have a burgeoning idea or would like support to build new research partnerships, contact Katrina to discuss how she can support your work and aspirations.