DrRebecca Cairns

My curriculum inquiry research investigates how we do curriculum. It examines the complex practices of people and organisations and how these curriculum actors engage with curriculum discourses, texts and spaces. Exploring the intersection of history education, Asia-related education and decolonising approaches is central to this work.

With a career in education that spans 25 years, I have worked as an educator across all settings from pre-school to PhD. I started in secondary schools as a Humanities and English teacher and now enjoy working with pre-service teachers and graduate researchers, particularly in relation to Humanities education and curriculum inquiry. Based at the Waurn Ponds Campus, I live and work on Wadawurrung Country. 

My co-authored monograph, The Asia literacy dilemma: a curriculum perspective (Cairns & Weinmann, 2023), makes an innovative contribution to long-standing global and national debates about Asia-related learning and teaching. The co-edited Decolonising Australian history education: fresh perspectives from beyond the ‘history wars’ (Cairns, Fricker & Weuffen Eds., 2024) is the first of its kind in Australia. The research-informed strategies showcased in the book provide guidance on applied decolonising approaches, providing pre- and in-service teachers, in all education contexts, an essential resource for navigating the decolonisation of Australian history education.