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Associate Professor Gill Kirk

Associate Dean (Early Childhood)

Staff Member Details
Telephone: +61 8 6304 2715
Email: g.kirk@ecu.edu.au
Campus: Joondalup  
Room: JO8.229  
ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6386-9016

Associate Professor Gill Kirk is Associate Dean (Early Childhood Studies) and a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education.

Background

With over 20 years in early childhood education, Gillian’s experiences in early years extends beyond the classroom to early years consultancy for a school sector, and various roles within the university. At the university level, she has worked in both undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

Research areas and interests

Gillian researches pedagogy that supports social and emotional development and practices that maximise engaged learning in the classroom context. In addition, her research extends to examining the National Quality Standard in both early learning centres and school contexts.

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Murdoch University, 2014.
  • Bachelor of Education with Honours, Edith Cowan University, 2001.

Research Outputs

2025

Journal Articles

  • Wallace, R., Ruscoe, A., Costello, L., Kirk, G., Sambell, R., Devine, A. (2025). Little Aussie Bugs: piloting health literacy educational resources at Early Childhood Education and Care. Health Promotion International, 40(3), Article number daaf053. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daaf053.
  • Boylan, F., Nociti, K., Kirk, G. (2025). Drawing on international pre-service teachers’ funds of knowledge to enhance professional experience. The Australian Educational Researcher, 2025(Article in press), pp. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-025-00837-1.

2024

Journal Articles

  • Kirk, G., Adam, H., Boylan, F., Sanbrook, C. (2024). Supporting mid-career students’ psychological needs to improve motivation and retention in post-graduate courses. The Australian Educational Researcher, 2024(Article in press), 20 pages. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-024-00745-w.

2023

Journal Articles

  • Franks, D., Barblett, L., Kirk, G. (2023). Teachers’ Understanding of the Major Sources of Self‑efficacy in Early Childhood. Early Childhood Education Journal, 2023(Article in press), 11 pages. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-023-01566-9.
  • Kirk, G., Knaus, M., Adkin, B. (2023). No time for silence, just repeat after me: A three study perspective on teacher and child interactions over time. International Journal of Educational Research, 120(January 2023), Article number 102209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2023.102209.
  • Adam, H., Barblett, L., Kirk, G., Boutte, GS. (2023). (Re)considering equity, inclusion and belonging in the updating of the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia: The potential and pitfalls of book sharing. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 24(2), 189-207. https://doi.org/10.1177/14639491231176897.

2022

Journal Articles

  • Kirk, G. (2022). How can we address the wicked problem of university student attrition? A BEd (Early Childhood) case study. Issues in Educational Research, 32(3), 982-1000. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworks2022-2026/1385.
  • Kirk, G., Barblett, L. (2022). Implementing the National Quality Standard in schools: Leadership that motivates improvement initiatives through psychological ownership. The Australian Educational Researcher, 49(2), 367-385. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-021-00446-8.
  • Kirk, G., Knaus, M., Rogers, S. (2022). An Appraisal of the CLASS Instrument as an Observational Measurement Tool for Evaluation of Student and Teacher Interactions in Western Australian Classrooms. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 47(6), 85-104. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2022v47n6.6.

2021

Journal Articles

  • Knaus, M., Kirk, G., Roberts, P., Barblett, L., Adkin, B. (2021). Improving assessment accountability in initial teacher education programs through benchmarking. Benchmarking: an international journal, 28(7), 2299-2314. https://doi.org/10.1108/BIJ-06-2020-0289.

2020

Journal Articles

  • Kirk, G. (2020). Gender differences in experiences and motivation in a Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood Studies) course: Can these explain higher male attrition rates?. The Australian Educational Researcher, 47(5), 873–892. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-019-00374-8.

2019

Journal Articles

  • Roberts, P., Kirk, G. (2019). Introducing an ePortfolio into practicum-based units: Pre-service teachers’ perceptions of effective support. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 44(5), 79-93. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2018v44n5.5.

2018

Journal Articles

  • Barblett, L., Kirk, G. (2018). National quality standards in school: Leadership enabling power and agency. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 43(3), 43-51. https://doi.org/10.23965/AJEC.43.3.05.
  • Kirk, G. (2018). Retention in a Bachelor of Education (Early childhood studies) course: Students say why they stay and others leave. Higher Education Research and Development, 37(4), 773-787. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2018.1455645.
  • Kirk, G., Jay, J. (2018). Supporting Kindergarten children’s social and emotional development: Examining the synergetic role of environments, play and relationships. Journal of Research in Childhood Education: an international journal of research on the education of children, 32(4), 472-485. https://doi.org/10.1080/02568543.2018.1495671.

2017

Journal Articles

  • Kirk, G., Maccallum, J. (2017). Strategies that support kindergarten children's social and emotional development: One teacher's approach. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 42(1), 85-93. https://doi.org/10.23965/AJEC.42.1.10.

Reports

  • Barblett, L., Kirk, G. (2017). Shared leadership to improve quality: Four public schools journey with the National Quality Standard. Australia. Department of Education of WA.

Research Projects

  • Amplify 2: The Story of Three Schools, Association of Independent Schools of WA, AISWA - Grant, 2017 ‑ 2026, $30,000.
  • Do Personal values (i.e., motivational goals) impact the wellbeing of children and adolescents in WA remote aboriginal communities?, Edith Cowan University, Early-Mid Career Researcher Grant Scheme 2022 (Stream 2), 2023 ‑ 2024, $39,944.
  • Maximising student engagement for learning through teacher and student interactions, Association of Independent Schools of WA, AISWA - Grant, 2019 ‑ 2020, $14,500.
  • National Quality Standard in Western Australian Government Schools, Department of Education WA, Office of Early Childhood Development and Learning Grant, 2016 ‑ 2018, $37,316.

Research Student Supervision

Current Supervisions

Principal Supervisor

  • Doctor of Philosophy, An Investigation into Early Childhood Musical Experiences between Families and the Preschool Child

Associate Supervisor

  • Master of Education, Investigating Self-Efficacy: Examining teacher understandings of student self-efficacy and the strategies used, modelled and taught in middle childhood by primary school teachers (grades 3-6) in Western Australia.

Completed Supervisions

Associate Supervisor

  • Doctor of Philosophy, What Does Well-Being Mean To Me? Students' Perceptions of Well-Being and Well-Being Programs
  • Master of Education, Investigating self-efficacy: Early childhood teachers' understanding of self-efficacy
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Place Literacies Emerging from the Common Worlds of Place and Children

Assistant Supervisor

  • Master of Education, Towards an evidence-informed differentiated learning consolidation process to support classroom instruction
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