Associate ProfessorTrace Ollis

Associate Professor Tracey Ollis from Deakin University holds a PhD and specialises in Adult Education and lifelong learning in Adult & Community Education (ACE) settings. She has made a significant contribution to how adult learning of all kinds transforms individual lives and communities and has published both nationally and internationally in this area. Her research is driven by social justice education, trauma-informed practices, and issues related to widening access and participation. She draws on ontological, epistemological and ethical concerns regarding ‘practice’ in adult learning. She is the recent past Editor-In-Chief of the Australian Journal of Adult Learning. She has held various leadership positions at Deakin University, such as Discipline Leader for Applied Learning, Professional Education, and Training. She was the Higher Degree by Research Coordinator for the School of Education, which oversaw 160 PhD and master's by research students and the Course Director of the Graduate Certificate in Adult Vocational Education & Training. She uses case study research, poetic enquiry and multiple case study methodologies in various adult and vocational learning research projects. She is on the editorial board of Studies in the Education of Adults and The Australian Journal of Adult Learning, A member of the Australian Council of Dean's Education Vocational Education Group (ACDEVEG) and a member of Research for Education Impact (REDI), a research centre at Deakin University. In 2025, she was nominated Honorary Professor, in the Faculty of Education at Edgehill University in the United Kingdom in recognition of her contribution to adult and lifelong learning.