DrClaire Charles

I am a feminist researcher and educator driven by a belief in education’s role in creating a more humane world. I want to understand how schools and universities respond to broader cultural and political challenges related to gender, sexualities, class and race, and to practice ways of teaching and learning that value relationality and connection. To achieve these aims I draw on feminist cultural and educational theory to study issues of gender, sexism, class and race in educational sites, and to practice pedagogies for humanity. My research has been particularly influential for the way I have harnessed feminist cultural theory and the sociology of youth to understand constructions of femininities and masculinities, and address questions of racialised power, in distinct educational settings. I am recognised nationally and internationally for this unique research contribution, especially for shaping the sociology of elite schooling. 

I bring a distinctive feminist academic leadership to my teaching, research and service at Deakin, advancing social justice innovations in curriculum, pedagogy, educational leadership and institutional practice. My approach has supported the advancement of students, graduate researchers, colleagues and collaborators through mentoring, supervision, research leadership and partnership development. Grounded in feminist and critical traditions, this leadership model combines intellectual leadership with a commitment to collective achievement, distinctively advancing Deakin’s purpose of ‘growing researchers’, ‘thinking together’ and ‘achieving impact’ outlined in our Research and Innovation Guiding Plan 2025-2030.

I am co-leader of the major research theme 'Diversity and Social Justice in Education' in Deakin University's Strategic Research and Innovation Centre - Research for Educational Impact (REDI) where I lead initiatives to support colleagues and graduate researchers including a social justice reading group, seminar series and graduate researcher collective. My book, Elite girls' schooling, social class and sexualised popular culture was published by Routledge in 2014. I have published in the following world-leading international journals: Teaching and Teacher Education; British Journal of Sociology of Education; Critical Studies in Education; The International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education; Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education; Feminist Theory; Journal of Youth Studies.