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  • Dr Olivia Johnston

    Dr Olivia Johnston

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Dr Olivia Johnston

Olivia is a Senior Lecturer in Postgraduate and HASS Education in the School of Education.

Background

Olivia’s research aims to increase equity in education and break cycles of disadvantage by challenging mainstream ideas and practices. Her research projects have generated new knowledge about class ability grouping and teachers’ expectations, increasing student voice in these research areas.

Her teaching background also keeps students at the centre. She draws on her decade of experience teaching secondary HASS and English in a range of WA private and public schools. Olivia models a classroom environment that is inclusive and celebrates diversity, built on a foundation of positive student-teacher relationships.

Current teaching

  • EDU6150 - Supportive Learning Environments
  • HSS6711 - Humanities and Social Sciences Education Foundations
  • HSS6712 - Secondary Humanities and Social Sciences Education
  • EDU6416 - Education for Social Justice
  • CUR6210 - Curriculum Enrichment for the Major Secondary Specialisation

Professional Associations

  • 2026 - Present: New Zealand Association for Research in Education - Member
  • 2024 - Present: Western Australian Institute for Educational Research (WAIER) – Member and current committee member
  • 2022 - 2023: Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) – Current member and previous executive committee member
  • Ballajura Secondary College School Board

Awards and recognition

National and international awards

  • Recipient of Edith Cowan University Early-Mid Career Researcher Grant Scheme 2022 (Stream 1), 2023 ‑ 2024
  • Western Australian Institute for Educational Research (WAIER) – Annual Research Grant, 2019
  • Fogarty Foundation Postgraduate Student Researcher Prize 2019

National and international research awards

  • Nomination for the Australian Association of Educational Research’s Ray Debus Award for excellence in Doctoral Research in Education - 2021
  • The Cameron Prize for Education – best PhD thesis in 2020
  • Dr Teck Jin Lian Memorial Prize in Education for 2020 -  best track record of research achievements over period of PhD candidature
  • UWA Dean's List Award Recipient for PhD Thesis - 2020
  • 3Minute Thesis: Matariki Network International Finals - Runner-up

Research Interests

Topics:

  • Teacher expectations
  • Ability grouping/streaming
  • Adolescent perspectives of their education
  • Student-teacher interactions
  • Inclusive education and meeting diverse student needs

Methods:

  • Grounded theory
  • Composite narratives

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