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DrKatherine Bussey

(She/Her)

Lecturer in Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment

Faculty of Arts and Education/School of Education

Orcid identifier0000-0002-5620-4753 (opens in a new tab)⁠
  • Lecturer in Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment
    Faculty of Arts and Education/School of Education
  • +61 3 924 68183 (Work)
  • Melbourne Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria 3125

BIO

I am the Course Director of the Master of Teaching Early Childhood Education and a Lecturer in Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment in the School of Education. I lecture in units related in early childhood and research in several projects in teacher education and early childhood education. My research primarily involves engaging with a range of participants in education and working with colleagues to enhance our early childhood teacher education programs. 
As a former early childhood teacher and leader in early childhood education and care I am keen to support a sustainable, professional and thriving early childhood community and workforce and am proud to lecture in programs and work on a range of research projects at Deakin that work towards achieving this goal. 
I have worked as a Research Fellow in Education, Research Fellow in Psychology and Educational Psychology in previous roles creating resources to foster and support inclusive education from early childhood through to post-school age. I am passionate about inclusive and socially just education for all.

DEAKIN UNIVERSITY CURRENT APPOINTMENT

  • Lecturer in Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment
    Deakin University, School of Education

ACADEMIC POSITIONS

  • Lecturer in Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment
    Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia17 Feb 2025 - present
  • Research Fellow
    Deakin University, School of Education, Geelong, Australia1 Jul 2019 - 14 Feb 2025
  • Research Fellow
    Monash University, School of Educational Psychology and Counselling, Melbourne, Australia8 Nov 2021 - 29 Jun 2022
  • Research Fellow
    Deakin University, Deakin Childhood Study Centre, School Of Psychology, Geelong, Australia30 Jul 2019 - 5 Nov 2021
  • Senior Research Associate
    Australian Catholic University, Institute of Learning Sciences and Teacher Education, Melbourne, Australia1 Apr 2013 - 24 Dec 2019

NON-ACADEMIC POSITIONS

  • Infant and Toddler Specialist Consultant
    Dr Katherine Bussey Infant and Toddler Specialist, Melbourne, Australia1 Apr 2013 - present
  • Key Educator Lead
    Goodstart Early Learning, National Key Educator Team, Melbourne (team in Sydney), Australia5 Mar 2018 - 26 Jul 2019

DEGREES

  • Doctor of Philosophy
    Australian Catholic University
  • MEd
    University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Child Advocacy
    University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
  • BEd ECE Teaching
    University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

CERTIFICATIONS

  • Pikler Pedagogue
    Pikler House, Budapest, Hungary10 Jun 2022 - present
    I have studied at the Pikler House since 2004 in English and in 2022 I presented and defended my thesis about my work with an Australian childcare centre influenced by the Pikler approach. The process of becoming a Pikler pedagogue requires many different modules focused on topics related to Birth to Three Year olds. I have completed all requirements including observation three times at the Pikler House and 2x 5 days of work case consulting where I shared my work with colleagues.
  • Self-Reg Early Childhood Development
    MEHRIT Centre, Canada
    This online program explores child development from birth to age 10. It gives learners a new and more complete understanding of the factors that affect early development, by looking at development and learning through the lens of Self-Reg. Self-Reg is Dr. Stuart Shanker’s framework for understanding stress and managing energy and tension, in order to support self-regulation.
  • Self-Reg Facilitator
    MEHRIT Centre14 Oct 2024 - present
    The Self-Reg Facilitator’s Program seamlessly weaves together curated science, insights, and narratives from Stuart Shanker and Susan Hopkins, employing a collaborative inquiry approach interwoven with real-world scenarios.

LANGUAGES

  • English
    Can read, write, speak, understand and peer review

FIELDS OF RESEARCH

  • Education systems
  • Curriculum and pedagogy
  • Education policy, sociology and philosophy
  • Specialist studies in education
  • Development studies

AREA/FACULTY

  • Faculty of Arts and Education

DEPARTMENT/SCHOOL/INSTITUTE/DISCIPLINE

  • School of Education

AREAS OF EXPERTISE