Professor Megan Watkins
Professor,
Dean's Unit, School of Education
Adjunct Professor - School of Education,
Dean's Unit, School of Education
Professor,
Primary Education
Professor,
Dean's Unit, School of Education
Biography
Megan Watkins is Professor in the School of Education and Institute Fellow of the ICS. Her research interests lie in the cultural analysis of education and the formation of human subjectivities. In particular, her work engages with issues of pedagogy, embodiment, discipline and affect and the interrelation of these to human agency. These interests mesh with her exploration of the impact of cultural diversity on education and the ways in which different cultural practices can engender divergent habits and dispositions to learning. Megan also has extensive experience as a literacy educator, conducting pioneering work in the field of genre-based approaches to teaching writing and post-progressivist pedagogies. She is currently undertaking research into the impact of Asian migration on Australian society in two ARC Discovery Projects: Schooling, Parenting & Ethnicity: Asian Migration and Australian Education and Civic Sinoburbia? New Chinese migrants and everyday citizenship in Sydney.
This information has been contributed by Professor Watkins.
Qualifications
- PhD University of Western Sydney,Nepean
- MAppLing Macquarie University
- BA Macquarie University
- DipEd Macquarie University
Organisational Unit (School / Division)
- Dean's Unit, School of Education
- Dean's Unit, School of Education
- Primary Education
- Dean's Unit, School of Education
Contact
| Email: | M.Watkins@westernsydney.edu.au |
|---|---|
| Phone: | (02) 9685 9600 (02) 9685 9600 |
| Mobile: | |
| Location: | EM.1.04 Parramatta |
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Teaching
Previous Teaching Areas
- 102071 Culture, Subjectivities and Schooling, 2015
- 102071 Culture, Subjectivities and Schooling, 2016
- 102071 Culture, Subjectivities and Schooling, 2017
- 102071 Culture, Subjectivities and Schooling, 2018
- 102071 Culture, Subjectivities and Schooling, 2020
Publications
Books
- Watkins, M. and Noble, G. (2021), 'Doing Diversity Differently in a Culturally Complex World: Critical Perspectives on Multicultural Education', : Bloomsbury Academic 9781350013001.
- Watkins, M., Ho, C. and Butler, R. (2019), 'Asian Migration and Education Cultures in the Anglosphere [Edited book]', : Routledge 9780367180379.
- Watkins, M., Noble, G. and Driscoll, C. (2015), 'Cultural Pedagogies and Human Conduct [Edited book]', : Routledge 9781138014411.
- Watkins, M. and Noble, G. (2013), 'Disposed to Learn: Schooling, Ethnicity and the Scholarly Habitus', : Bloomsbury Academic 9781441177117.
- Watkins, M. (2011), 'Discipline and Learn: Bodies, Pedagogy and Writing', : Sense Publishers 9789460916977.
- Watkins, M. and Knapp, P. (2005), 'Genre, Text and Grammar: Technologies for teaching and assessing writing', : UNSW Press 0868406473.
Chapters in Books
- Watkins, M. (2021), 'The persistence of inequality : education, class and cultural capital', Fields, Capitals, Habitus: Australian Culture, Inequalities and Social Divisions, Routledge 9781138392298.
- Watkins, M. (2016), 'Gauging the affective : becoming attuned to its impact in education', Methodological Advances in Research on Emotion and Education, Springer 9783319290478.
- Watkins, M. (2016), 'Cultural studies, pedagogy and reimagining multicultural education : working with teachers to effect change in schools', The Pedagogies of Cultural Studies, Routledge 9781138916319.
- Watkins, M. (2015), 'Multicultural education : contemporary heresy or simply another doxa ', Controversies in Education: Orthodoxy and Heresy in Policy and Practice, Springer 9783319087580.
- Watkins, M. (2015), 'Unpacking pedagogy : didactics, paideia and how we come to be', Cultural Pedagogies and Human Conduct, Taylor & Francis 9781138014411.
- Watkins, M., Noble, G. and Driscoll, C. (2015), 'Pedagogy : the unsaid of socio-cultural theory', Cultural Pedagogies and Human Conduct, Taylor & Francis 9781138014411.
- Watkins, M. and Noble, G. (2015), 'Pedagogies of incorporation : touch and the technology of writing', Cultural Pedagogies and Human Conduct, Taylor & Francis 9781138014411.
- Watkins, M. (2015), 'Culture, hybridity and globalisation : rethinking multicultural education in schools', Understanding Sociological Theory for Educational Practices, Cambridge University Press 9781107477469.
- Noble, G. and Watkins, M. (2014), 'The 'schooled identities' of Australian multiculturalism : professional vision, reflexive civility and education for a culturally complex world', Advancing Race and Ethnicity in Education, Palgrave 9781137274755.
- Watkins, M. (2010), 'Discipline Diversity and Agency: Pedagogic Practice and Dispositions to Learning', Re-Theorising Discipline in Education: Problems Politics and Possibilities, Peter Lang 9781433109669.
- Watkins, M. (2010), 'Desiring Recognition, Accumulating Affect', The Affect Theory Reader, Duke University Press 9780822347583.
- Watkins, M. and Noble, G. (2010), 'The productivity of stillness: composure and the scholarly habitus', Stillness in a Mobile World, Routledge 9780415572620.
- Watkins, M. (2009), 'Deleuze, Habit and the Literate Body', Multiple Literacies Theory: A Deleuzian Perspective, Sense Publishers 9789087909093.
Journal Articles
- Watkins, M. (2023), '[In Press] Techne and technology : young men, literacy and the facility to write', Pedagogy, Culture and Society, .
- Watkins, M. and Noble, G. (2022), 'Reconstituting teachers' professional knowledge : using Cultural Studies to rethink multicultural education', Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies, vol 36, no 5 , pp 671 - 684.
- Watkins, M. and Noble, G. (2019), 'Lazy multiculturalism : cultural essentialism and the persistence of the Multicultural Day in Australian schools', Ethnography and Education, vol 14, no 3 , pp 295 - 310.
- Watkins, M. (2018), 'Little room for capacitation : rethinking Bourdieu on pedagogy as symbolic violence', British Journal of Sociology of Education, vol 39, no 1 , pp 47 - 60.
- Watkins, M. (2018), 'Time, space and the scholarly habitus : thinking through the phenomenological dimensions of field', Educational Philosophy and Theory, vol 50, no 13 , pp 1240 - 1248.
- Watkins, M. (2017), 'Can space teach? : theorising pedagogies of social order', Geographical Research, vol 55, no 1 , pp 80 - 88.
- Watkins, M. (2017), ''We are all Asian here' : multiculturalism, selective schooling and responses to Asian success', Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, vol 43, no 14 , pp 2300 - 2315.
- Watkins, M., Ho, C. and Butler, R. (2017), 'Asian migration and education cultures in the Anglo-sphere', Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, vol 43, no 14 , pp 2283 - 2299.
- Watkins, M., Lean, G. and Noble, G. (2016), 'Multicultural education : the state of play from an Australian perspective', Race, Ethnicity and Education, vol 19, no 1 , pp 46 - 66.
- Watkins, M. and Noble, G. (2016), 'Thinking beyond recognition : multiculturalism, cultural intelligence, and the professional capacities of teachers', Review of Education, Pedagogy and Cultural Studies, vol 38, no 1 , pp 42 - 57.
- Dunn, K., Lean, G., Watkins, M. and Noble, G. (2014), 'The visibility of racism : perceptions of cultural diversity and multicultural education in state schools', International Journal of Organizational Diversity, vol 15, no 1 , pp 17 - 29.
- Bennett, T., Dodsworth, F., Noble, G., Poovey, M. and Watkins, M. (2013), 'Habit and habituation : governance and the social', Body & Society, vol 19, no 2-3 , pp 3 - 29.
- Watkins, M. (2011), 'Teachers' tears and the affective geography of the classroom', Emotion, Space and Society, vol 4, no 3 , pp 137 - 143.
- Watkins, M. (2011), 'Complexity reduction, regularities and rules : grappling with cultural diversity in schooling', Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies, vol 25, no 6 , pp 841 - 856.
- Watkins, M. and Noble, G. (2011), 'Losing touch: Pedagogies of incorporation and the ability to write', Social Semiotics, vol 21, no 4 , pp 503 - 516.
- Noble, G. and Watkins, M. (2009), 'On the arts of stillness : towards a pedagogy of composure', Media / Culture, vol 12, no 1 .
- Watkins, M. (2008), 'Teaching bodies/learning desire: rethinking the role of desire in the pedagogic process', Pedagogy, Culture & Society, a journal of educational discussion and debate, vol 16, no 2 , pp 113 - 124.
- Watkins, M. (2007), 'Book Review: Critical Theory and Critical Pedagogy Today: Toward a New Critical Language in Education by Illan Gur Ze'ev (ed.) Haifa: University of Haifa Press, 2005', Theory Culture and Society, vol 24, no 4 , pp 146 - 152.
- Watkins, M. (2007), 'Disparate bodies: the role of the teacher in contemporary pedagogic practice', British Journal of Sociology of Education, vol 28, no 6 , pp 767 - 781.
- Watkins, M. (2007), 'Thwarting desire : discursive constraint and pedagogic practice', International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, vol 20, no 3 , pp 301 - 318.
- Watkins, M. (2006), 'Pedagogic Affect/Effect: Embodying a Desire to Learn', Pedagogies: An International Journal, vol 1, no 4 , pp 269 - 282.
- Watkins, M. (2005), 'No Body, Never Mind : Interest, Affect and Classroom Practice', M - C Journal, vol 8, no 6 .
- Watkins, M. (2005), 'Discipline, Consciousness and the Formation of a Scholarly Habitus', Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies, vol 19 , pp 545 - 557.
- Watkins, M. (2005), 'The Erasure of Habit: Tracing the pedagogic body', Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, vol 26, no 2 , pp 167 - 181.
- Watkins, M. and Noble, G. (2003), 'So, how did Bourdieu Learn to Play Tennis? Habitus, Consciousness and Habituation', Cultural Studies, vol 17, no 3 , pp 520 - 538.
Conference Papers
- Watkins, M. (2004), 'Losing the Habit: A Genealogy of the Literate Body', UWS Education Research Conference (re) visioning education 2003, UWS, Parramatta Campus.
Other Publications
- 2019, 'It's Complex! Working with Students of Refugee Backgrounds and Their Families in New South Wales Public Schools', Report
- 2014, 'Rethinking Multiculturalism, Reassessing Multicultural Education. Project Report Number 3: Knowledge Translation and Action Research', Report
- 2014, 'Rethinking Multiculturalism, Reassessing Multicultural Education. Project Report Number 2: Perspectives on Multicultural Education', Report
- 2013, 'Rethinking Multiculturalism, Reassessing Multicultural Education. Project Report Number 1: Surveying New South Wales Public School Teachers', Report
- 2011, 'Rethinking Multiculturalism, Reassessing Multicultural Education: International Symposium, Institute for Culture and Society, University of Western Sydney, 30-31 August 2011: Report', Report
- 2009, 'Parents, Diversity and Cultures of Home and School', Report
- 2008, 'Cultural Practices and Learning: Diversity, Discipline and Dispositions in Schooling', Report
Megan's research interests lie in the cultural analysis of education and the formation of human subjectivities. In particular, her work engages with issues of pedagogy, embodiment, discipline and affect and the interrelation of these to human agency. These interests mesh with her exploration of the impact of cultural diversity on education and the ways in which different cultural practices can engender divergent habits and dispositions to learning. Megan also has extensive experience as a literacy educator, conducting pioneering work in the field of genre-based approaches to teaching writing and post-progressivist pedagogies. She is currently undertaking research into the impact of Asian migration on Australian society in two ARC Discovery Projects: Schooling, Parenting & Ethnicity: Asian Migration and Australian Education and Civic Sinoburbia? New Chinese migrants and everyday citizenship in Sydney.
This information has been contributed by Professor Watkins.
Current Projects
| Title: | Rethinking Health Experience and Active Lifestyles (REHEAL): Chinese Communities in Australia |
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| Funder: |
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| Western Researchers: | Megan Watkins |
| Years: | 2017-08-25 - 2025-12-31 |
| ID: | P00024130 |
| Title: | Civic Sinoburbia? New Chinese migrants and everyday citizenship in Sydney |
| Funder: |
|
| Western Researchers: | Ien Ang, Megan Watkins, Bonnie Pang and Gregory Noble |
| Years: | 2020-01-01 - 2024-12-31 |
| ID: | P00026013 |
Previous Projects
| Title: | Questions of Desire and Subjectivities of Teaching |
|---|---|
| Funder: |
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| Western Researchers: | Megan Watkins |
| Years: | 2004-01-20 - 2005-06-30 |
| ID: | P0010270 |
| Title: | Discipline and Diversity: Cultural Practices and Dispositions of Learning |
| Funder: |
|
| Western Researchers: | Gregory Noble and Megan Watkins |
| Years: | 2005-11-30 - 2008-06-30 |
| ID: | P0014558 |
| Title: | Reassessing Multicultural Education Pilot Project |
| Funder: |
|
| Western Researchers: | Megan Watkins and Gregory Noble |
| Years: | 2008-06-12 - 2011-12-31 |
| ID: | P00016217 |
| Title: | Rethinking Multiculturalism/Reassessing Multicultural Education |
| Funder: |
|
| Western Researchers: | Megan Watkins, Gregory Noble and Kevin Dunn |
| Years: | 2010-11-12 - 2017-06-30 |
| ID: | P00017819 |
| Title: | Schooling, Parenting and Ethnicity: Asian Migration and Australian Education |
| Funder: |
|
| Western Researchers: | Megan Watkins and Gregory Noble |
| Years: | 2020-03-31 - 2024-03-30 |
| ID: | P00025590 |
| Title: | Mapping the Educational Experiences of Refugee Students (MEERS) |
| Funder: |
|
| Western Researchers: | Megan Watkins and Gregory Noble |
| Years: | 2017-11-13 - 2018-12-01 |
| ID: | P00024604 |
Supervision
Professor Watkins is available to be a principal supervisor for doctoral projects
Current Supervision
| Thesis Title: | Manifestations of cultural diversity in Australian higher education institutions: Strategic vision versus enacted strategy |
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| Field of Research: | |
| Thesis Title: | In what ways might in-country education experience contribute to the development of "interculturality"? |
| Field of Research: |
Previous Supervision
| Thesis Title: | Accumulating Resilience: An Investigation of the Migration and Resettlement Experiences of Young Sudanese People in the Western Sydney Area |
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| Field of Research: | Society And Culture |
| Thesis Title: | Enhancing the Resilience of Asylum Seekers: Towards a Strengths-Based Model for Immigration Detention |
| Field of Research: | Society And Culture |
| Thesis Title: | Walking the Vocational Tightrope: narratives of aspiration, creativity and precarious labour |
| Field of Research: | Society And Culture, N.e.c. |
| Thesis Title: | "...diversity is regarded as a strength and an asset": Multiculturalism as Understood, Valued and Lived in Two Regional Australian High Schools |
| Field of Research: | Curriculum And Education Studies; Policy Studies; Sociology |
| Thesis Title: | Educating RINA: A Study of Generation 1.5 in the Australian Higher Education System |
| Field of Research: | Education; Other Society And Culture; Linguistics |
| Thesis Title: | Digital Capital and Socio-Economic Disadvantage: An Examination of the Digital Practices and Online Career Information Seeking of Year 11 Students in New South Wales Government Schools. |
| Field of Research: | Education |
| Thesis Title: | Issues of 'Interculturality' in Indonesian language teaching |
| Field of Research: | Society And Culture, N.e.c.; Society And Culture; English As A Second Language Teaching; Teacher Education |