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  • Dr Fiona Boylan

    Dr Fiona Boylan

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Dr Fiona Boylan

Senior Lecturer

Staff Member Details
Email: f.boylan@ecu.edu.au
Campus: Joondalup  
ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2531-3559

Fiona is a Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Studies in the School of Education.

Background

Fiona is a qualified early childhood educator and has taught across early childhood from kindergarten to year three in government schools for 25 years. Her PhD research focused on early childhood educator perceptions of mindset and devised a set of design principles to assist early childhood educators to foster the development of children's growth mindset for learning. Fiona is currently a Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Studies in undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Current Teaching

  • LAN6120: Language and Literacy Birth to 5 Years
  • ECS4335: Wellbeing for Early Childhood Educators and Children
  • ECE6150: Contemporary and Comparative Perspectives in Early Childhood Education
  • LAN1375: English 1: Oral Communication

Professional associations

  • Teachers Registration Board WA (Member No. 32007808)
  • Early Childhood Australia (Member)
  • Positive Education in Schools (PESA) WA Committee
  • SCSA Curriculum Advisory Committee K-2 (Member)
  • Australian Early Childhood Teacher Education Network (AECTEN) (Co-Chair)

Awards and recognition

National and International Awards

  • 2019 - PESA (Positive Education in Schools Australia) state conference scholarship
  • 2011 - WA Premier Teacher of the Year Award semi-finalist

University and National Teaching awards

  • 2025 - School of Education Emerging Scholar award
  • 2025 - Vice Chancellors Staff Excellence Award – Citation for an outstanding contribution to student learning

Research areas and interests

  • Mindset
  • Design based research
  • Metacognition
  • Play and pedagogy
  • Social emotional development and learning
  • Wellbeing of children and teachers
  • Digital technologies
  • Transitions in the early years

In the media

  1. 2020 Mindsets Matter: Early Childhood Australia Research in Practice Series  - http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/our-publications/research-practice-series/research-practice-series-index/2020-issues/mindset-matters/
  2. 2020 Blog post for The Spoke - How can schools nurture children as they start formal schooling during a pandemic? http://thespoke.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/can-schools-nurture-children-start-formal-schooling-pandemic/

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Edith Cowan University, 2021.
  • Bachelor of Education Early Childhood, Curtin University of Technology, 1992.

Research Outputs

2025

Book Chapters

  • Boylan, F., Nociti, K. (2025). Comic-making as Wellbeing: Supporting International Students during Professional Experience. Creating Wellbeing: The Role of Making Practices in Academic Contexts (38-50). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003664123-5.

Journal Articles

  • Ruscoe, A., Lavina, L., Barblett, L., Boylan, F. (2025). Funds of knowledge and the transition to school: A scoping review. Review of Education, 13(2), Article number e70092. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.70092.
  • Roberts, P., Boylan, F., Collins, PR., Barblett, L. (2025). Co-Designing Health-Related Digital Tools with Children: A Scoping Review of Current Practice. Education Sciences, 15(6), Article number 671. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15060671.
  • Barblett, L., Lavina, L., Boylan, F., Ruscoe, A. (2025). Co‐Designing a Children's Transition Charter for the Transition to School: Opening Participatory Spaces to Hear Children's Voices. Children and Society: the international journal of childhood and children's services, 39(5), 962-972. https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12964.
  • Boylan, F., Nociti, K., Kirk, G. (2025). Drawing on international pre-service teachers’ funds of knowledge to enhance professional experience. The Australian Educational Researcher, 52(3), 2797-2819. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-025-00837-1.
  • Kirk, G., Adam, H., Boylan, F., Sanbrook, C. (2025). Supporting mid-career students’ psychological needs to improve motivation and retention in post-graduate courses. The Australian Educational Researcher, 52(2), 879-898. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-024-00745-w.
  • Barblett, L., Enriquez-Watt, M., Collins, PR., Boylan, F., Roberts, P., Costello, L. (2025). Digital Provision, Educators’ Attitudes and Use in Early Learning Settings: Ready to Implement the EYLF V2.0?. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 61(3), 301-307. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/1836939125137671.

Reports

2024

Journal Articles

  • Boylan, F., Barblett, L., Knaus, M. (2024). I think I can, I think I can’t: design principles for fostering a growth mindset in the early years. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 45(1), 96-117. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/10901027.2023.2251924.
  • Boylan, F., Barblett, L., Lavina, L., Ruscoe, A. (2024). Transforming transitions to primary school: using children’s funds of knowledge and identity. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 32(4), 704-718. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2023.2291354.

Reports

2023

Reports

  • Barblett, L., Akifeva, R., Lavina, L., Boylan, F. (2023). Digital literacy: A review of literature. Perth, WA. Edith Cowan University. https://doi.org/10.25958/wb7c-g264.
  • Barblett, L., Ruscoe, A., Boylan, F. (2023). Transforming Transitions to School: Using Funds of Knowledge and Identity. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal. Edith Cowan University. Early Childhood Research Group. https://doi.org/10.25958/n8qh-em74.
  • Barblett, L., Ruscoe, A., Boylan, F. (2023). Transforming transitions to school: Project Report, January 2023. Edith Cowan University. Early Childhood Education Group.

2021

Journal Articles

  • Roberts, P., Barblett, L., Boylan, F., Knaus, M. (2021). Revitalising reflective practice in pre-service teacher education: developing and practicing an effective framework. Reflective Practice, 22(3), 331-344. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2021.1881888.

2018

Journal Articles

  • Boylan, F., Barblett, L., Knaus, M. (2018). Early childhood teachers' perspectives of growth mindset: Developing agency in children. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 43(3), 16-24. https://doi.org/10.23965/AJEC.43.3.02.

Research Projects

  • ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child - An educator's guide to the digital intent of the Early Years Learning Framework V2.0 (EYLF), Australian Research Council, Grant - Centres of Excellence (CEE126), 2025 ‑ 2027, $65,000.
  • Enhancing Transitions with Digital Bridges: Empowering Educator-Family Connections, Association of Independent Schools of WA, AISWA - Grant, 2026 ‑ 2027, $50,000.
  • Developing a TPA for Australian Early Childhood Education and Care Initial Teacher Education Programs: Collaborating for Quality and Consistency, Australian Council of Deans of Education, Grant, 2025 ‑ 2026.
  • Transforming Transitions 2- Building for children’s engagement and success at school, Association of Independent Schools of WA, AISWA - Grant, 2022 ‑ 2026, $128,931.
  • Transforming Transitions - Using students' social capital to recast transitions, Association of Independent Schools of WA, AISWA - Grant, 2020 ‑ 2026, $124,910.
  • AISWA STEM Maker Space Action Research Project: Developing a maker mindset, Association of Independent Schools of WA, AISWA - Grant, 2025 ‑ 2026, $29,050.
  • Better Beginnings Research into Digital Literacy in the Early Years, State Library of WA, Grant, 2023 ‑ 2025, $45,323.
  • Critical Reflection through a growth mindset, Association of Independent Schools of WA, AISWA - Grant, 2023 ‑ 2025, $40,000.

Research Student Supervision

Current Supervisions

Principal Supervisor

  • Master of Education, Forming an Identity as an Early Childhood Teacher: An Investigation into Pre-Service Teachers Perspectives of their Professional Identity During Professional Placement

Completed Supervisions

No data available
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