DrZoe Avner

I am an education and research focused academic and an internationally recognised emergent leader in sociocultural studies of sports coaching. I research sports coaching, sport, leisure, and physical activity through a sociocultural and feminist lens. One stream of my work focuses on the design and integration of innovative critically informed coach learning and development to promote more effective and ethical coaching practices. My other stream focuses on understanding and addressing the challenges that women and girls and other equity-deserving groups face within sport, leisure, and physical activity contexts to promote more inclusive and socially just outcomes for these populations.

I completed my PhD in 2014 at the University of Alberta, Canada before moving to Northumbria University, UK as a Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in sports coaching in 2018. The title of my PhD thesis was "What can Foucault tell us about fun in sport? A Foucauldian critical examination of the discursive production and deployment of fun within coaching contexts."

I am a member of the Centre for Sport Research (CSR) within the Deakin Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN) and the IPAN-CSR Women in Sport Research Co-Lead. I am also an Associate Editor for two leading sport journals (Sports Coaching Review and the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport) and was awarded Sports Coaching Review "Reviewer of the Year" in 2024 for my services to my scholarly community. 

Research Groups

Institute of Physical Activity and Nutrition/Centre for Sport Research (IPAN-CSR)
https://ipan.deakin.edu.au/research/centre/centre-for-sport-research/

IPAN-CSR Women in Sport Research Lead

https://ipan.deakin.edu.au/research/centre/centre-for-sport-research/women-in-sport/

Body, Movement, and Culture Research Group (BMC)
https://sites.google.com/ualberta.ca/bmc-research-group/home