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Dr

Natalie Robertson

Associate Head of School, Teaching and Learning

Faculty of Arts and Education/School of Education

Orcid identifier0000-0001-8480-2235
  • Associate Head of School, Teaching and Learning
    Faculty of Arts and Education/School of Education
  • +61 3 924 43767 (Work)
  • Melbourne Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria 3125

BIO

Natalie Robertson is a Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Education at Deakin University and the Associate Head of School for Teaching and Learning in the School of Education. Before working as an academic, Natalie was an early childhood teacher and bringer her passion for children's learning and the profession into her current work. Natalie's research is focused on the quality of education systems. Natalie leads and publishes research that focusses on building a sustainable early childhood workforce that can deliver high-quality education and care, including teacher preparation, graduate outcomes and retention. She has been leading large projects funded by the Victorian Department of Education including the Early Childhood Professional Practice project (2019 - 2024) and a suite of three projects focussed on employment-based pathways to strengthen attraction and access to early childhood teaching degrees (2021 - present). My research on employment-based pathways is expanding across the educator sector, including initial teacher education of primary and secondary teachers.

Natalie's research also has a focus on pedagogical approaches to play-based learning that provide high-quality teaching programs to young children and has worked on projects nationally and internationally that are focussed on this passion. This interest contributes to her teaching and learning at Deakin University where is often leads units delivering early childhood curriculum and pedagogy, professional practice and teacher inquiry.

Natalie is a pragmatic researcher, drawn mostly to mixed methods research for its flexibility and adaptability to research needs and problems. She supervisors Masters and PhD students on topics of early childhood curriculum, teacher practice and the teaching workforce, including teacher education.

DEAKIN UNIVERSITY CURRENT APPOINTMENT

  • Associate Head of School, Teaching and Learning
    Deakin University, School of Education

DEGREES

  • Doctor of Philosophy
    Deakin University
  • Bachelor of Early Childhood Studies
    Deakin University

FIELDS OF RESEARCH (2020)

  • Curriculum and pedagogy
  • Education systems
  • Early childhood education
  • Education policy, sociology and philosophy

AVAILABILITY FOR SUPERVISION

  • Masters by Research and PhD supervision

AREA/FACULTY

  • Faculty of Arts and Education

DEPARTMENT/SCHOOL/INSTITUTE

  • School of Education