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  • Dr Cath Ferguson

    Dr Cath Ferguson

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Dr Catherine (Cath) Ferguson

Senior Lecturer

Staff Member Details
Telephone: +61 8 6304 6852
Mobile: 0418 936 147
Email: c.ferguson@ecu.edu.au
Campus: Joondalup  
ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6204-7301

Cath is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education.

Background

Cath has worked in tertiary education since 2000, and at ECU since 2009. She has held a range of positions during that time that involve both research and teaching. She employs her multidisciplinary background in her teaching and research.

Current Teaching

  • EDU6172: Inquiry based practice

Research Areas and Interests

  • Adult learning
  • Adult literacy

Qualifications

  • Graduate Certificate of Adult Language, Literacy and Numerac, Charles Sturt University, 2025.
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Edith Cowan University, 2009.
  • Graduate Diploma in Education, Murdoch University, 2004.
  • Bachelor of Arts with Honours (Cl 2A) in Psychology, Edith Cowan University, 2000.

Research Outputs

2026

Journal Articles

  • Merga, M., Ferguson, C. (2026). Are School Newsletters Easy to Understand at Home, and Why Does This Matter?. Literacy, 60(2), article number e70027. https://doi.org/10.1111/lit.70027.
  • Sharma, R., Gringart, E., Allan, A., Pestonjee, DM., Ferguson, C., Hancock, P., Khurana, N., Sinha, N., Pal, S. (2026). Stories of work, well-being and inclusive empowerment: a qualitative exploration of young women in India's textile industry. Health Education, 2026(article in press), pp. https://doi.org/10.1108/HE-08-2025-0158.

2025

Journal Articles

  • Ferguson, C. (2025). A researcher’s journey to the use of AI for qualitative data analysis: Findings from a test case with ChatGPT. Issues in Educational Research, 35(1), 126-141.

2023

Journal Articles

  • Ferguson, C., Winn, S. (2023). Readability of Australian Road Safety Information for the General Public. Journal of Road Safety, 34(3), 10 pages. https://doi.org/10.33492/JRS-D-21-00061.
  • Morris, J., Lummis, G., Ferguson, C., Lock, G., Hill, S., Nykiel, A. (2023). Balancing school improvement strategies with workload pressures: a participatory action research case study. Educational Action Research, 31(4), 633-652. https://doi.org/10.1080/09650792.2021.2000878.
  • Erskine, M., Ferguson, C., Ayre, K. (2023). “I don’t want to come back now”: Teacher directed violence. Issues in Educational Research, 33(3), 920-936. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworks2022-2026/3314.

2022

Journal Articles

  • Lummis, G., Morris, J., Ferguson, C., Hill, S., Lock, G. (2022). Leadership teams supporting teacher wellbeing by improving the culture of an Australian secondary school. Issues in Educational Research, 32(1), 205-224. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworks2022-2026/569.

2021

Journal Articles

  • Ferguson, C., Merga, M. (2021). How can an adult literacy tutoring program help participants build confidence and meet their goals?. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 44(1), 75-83. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworkspost2013/10288.
  • Merga, M., Ferguson, C. (2021). School librarians supporting students’ reading for pleasure: A job description analysis. Australian Journal of Education, 65(2), 153-172. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004944121991275.
  • Gower, G., Ferguson, C., Forrest, S. (2021). Building effective school-community partnerships in Aboriginal remote school settings. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 50(2), 359-367. https://doi.org/10.1017/ jie.2020.11.
  • Ferguson, C., Merga, M., Winn, S. (2021). Communications in the time of a pandemic: the readability of documents for public consumption. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 45(2), 116-121. https://doi.org/10.1111/1753-6405.13066.

2020

Journal Articles

  • Morris, J., Lummis, G., Lock, G., Ferguson, C., Hill, S., Nykiel, A. (2020). The role of leadership in establishing a positive staff culture in a secondary school. Educational Management Administration and Leadership, 48(5), 802-820. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143219864937.

2019

Journal Articles

  • Lummis, G., Lock, G., Freeman, C., Ferguson, C. (2019). Transforming learning in first-year Australian preservice primary teacher. Journal of Transformative Education, 17(4), 299-317. https://doi.org/10.1177/1541344619849043.

2018

Reports

  • Barratt-Pugh, C., Barblett, L., Cooper, T., Knaus, M., Hill, S., Ferguson, C., McLean, C. (2018). Evaluation of the KindiLink Pilot Initiative in Western Australia Volume 4: Reflective Journal. Australia. Department of Education of WA. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworkspost2013/11989.
  • Barratt-Pugh, C., Barblett, L., Cooper, T., Knaus, M., Hill, S., Ferguson, C., McLean, C. (2018). Evaluation of the KindiLink Pilot Initiative in Western Australia Volume 2: Survey Data (2016-2018). Australia. Department of Education of WA. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworkspost2013/11987.
  • Barratt-Pugh, C., Barblett, L., Cooper, T., Knaus, M., Hill, S., Ferguson, C., McLean, C. (2018). Evaluation of the KindiLink Pilot Initiative in Western Australia Volume 1: Overview and Key Findings. Australia. Department of Education of WA. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworkspost2013/11986.
  • Barratt-Pugh, C., Barblett, L., Cooper, T., Knaus, M., Hill, S., Ferguson, C., McLean, C. (2018). Evaluation of the KindiLink Pilot Initiative in Western Australia Volume 3: Case Studies (2016-2018) June 2018. Australia. Department of Education of WA. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworkspost2013/11988.

2017

Book Chapters

  • Ferguson, C. (2017). Managing and Motivating Sustainable Travel Behaviour Change. Planning Boomtown and Beyond (592-615). UWA Publishing.
  • Corkill, J., Brooks, D., Pooley, JA., Cohen, L., Harris, K., Ferguson, C., Harms, C. (2017). The use of resilience indicators to assist in the selection of personnel for employment in classified and covert environments. The Routledge International Handbook of Psychosocial Resilience (436-450). Routledge.

Journal Articles

  • Gately, N., Ferguson, C., Rock, S., Cock, R. (2017). The Prisoners Review Board of Western Australia: What Do the Public Know about Parole?. Current Issues in Criminal Justice, 28(3), 293-310. https://doi.org/10.1080/10345329.2017.12036076.

2016

Journal Articles

  • Ferguson, C. (2016). Prediction tool for parole breach: Testing the U.S. salient factor score in a population of Western Australian parolees. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 23(6), 941-955. https://doi.org/10.1080/13218719.2016.1168275.

2015

Book Chapters

  • Cooper, T., Ferguson, C., Chapman, B., Cucow, S. (2015). Success Stories from Youth Suicide Prevention in Australia: The Youth Work Contribution. Youth and Inequality in Education (71-93). Routledge.

Journal Articles

  • Ferguson, C. (2015). Parole in Western Australia: An analysis of parole cancellations of female offenders. Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, June 2015(501), 7p..
  • Ferguson, C., Robson, R. (2015). A legal and social analysis of one punch cases in Western Australia. University of Western Sydney Law Review, 18(2014/15), 19-45.

2014

Reports

  • Cooper, T., Bessant, J., Broadbent, R., Couch, J., Edwards, K., Jarvis, J., Ferguson, C. (2014). Australian youth work education: Curriculum renewal and a model for sustainability for niche professions. Sydney, NSW. Department of Local Government and Communities.

2013

Journal Articles

  • Ferguson, C., Harms, C., Pooley, JA., Cohen, L., Tomlinson, S. (2013). Crime Prevention: The Role of Individual Resilience within the Family.. Psychiatry Psychology and Law, 20(3), 423-430. https://doi.org/10.1080/13218719.2012.707971.

2012

Book Chapters

  • Ferguson, C., Cohen, L., Pooley, JA., Guilfoyle, A. (2012). The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and speeding behaviour of young drivers. In Advances in Traffic Psychology (149-156). Ashgate Publishing Limited.

2011

Journal Articles

  • Cohen, L., Ferguson, C., Harms, C., Pooley, JA., Tomlinson, S. (2011). Family systems and mental health issues: A resilience approach. Journal of Social Work Practice, 25(1), 109-125. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650533.2010.533754.
  • Cohen, L., Pooley, JA., Ferguson, C., Harms, C. (2011). Psychologists’ understanding of resilience: implications for the discipline of psychology and psychology practice.. The Australian Community Psychologist, 23(2), 7-22.

2010

Conference Publications

  • Brooks, D., Corkill, J., Pooley, JA., Cohen, L., Ferguson, C., Harms, C. (2010). National security: A propositional study to develop resilience indicators as an aid to personnel vetting. Proceedings of the 3rd Australian Security and Intelligence Conference (35-43). Security Research Centre, Edith Cowan University.

2009

Conference Publications

  • Ferguson, C., Cohen, L., Pooley, JA., Guilfoyle, A. (2009). Elicitiing the beliefs of young drivers about driving risks: An analysis of two methodologies. Proceedings of the 2009 Australasian Road Safety Research, Policing and Education Conference : Smarter, Safer Directions (826-838). NSW Centre for Road Safety.

Reports

  • Ferguson, C., Allan, A. (2009). A Literature Review of Risk Assessment Tools for use with Offenders in Western Australia. Perth, W.A.. Edith Cowan University.

Research Projects

  • Optimising social return on investment of the Foodbank WA School Breakfast Program through integrated, whole-school approaches to supporting disadvantaged students., Foodbank, Scholarships to support Industry Engagement PhD Projects, 2020 ‑ 2025, $45,000.
  • Foodbank WA School Breakfast Program Social Return on Investment, Foodbank, Grant, 2023 ‑ 2024, $9,119.
  • Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis of the Foodbank Sensations for Adults program, Foodbank, Grant, 2021 ‑ 2023, $60,000.
  • Factors Affecting Travel Behaviour Change, Planning and Transport Research Centre, PATREC - Grant, 2017, $70,000.
  • Travel behaviour change research, Planning and Transport Research Centre, PATREC - Grant, 2015, $4,500.
  • Scale Development: Individual and Family Resilience, Edith Cowan University, ECU Industry Collaboration - Grant, 2010 ‑ 2011, $29,558.
  • Staff Climate Survey 2010, Department of Corrective Services WA, Grant, 2010, $5,741.
  • Department of Corrective Services Literature Review on Risk Assessment Tools, Department of Corrective Services WA, Grant, 2009, $3,027.

Research Student Supervision

Current Supervisions

Principal Supervisor

  • Master of Education, Education and training programs and desistance from crime: Aboriginal ex-offenders perspectives
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Calming the chaos: A mixed methods study on how relief teachers manage student misbehaviour.
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Individual and collaborative approaches to critical and creative thinking education: Experiences and perceptions of secondary school teachers and teacher-librarians.

Associate Supervisor

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Minoritised Educator Attrition in Australia’s Education Sector: A Critical Narrative Inquiry
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Generative artificial intelligence adoption for English as a foreign language learning among university students in Vietnam

Completed Supervisions

Principal Supervisor

  • Doctor of Psychology, Work-related exposure to child exploitation material: The experiences of Western Australian digital forensic officers and their spouses
  • Doctor of Philosophy, An Exploration of Turnover and Retention of Teachers in Western Australia who have Experienced Teacher Directed Violence (TDV)
  • Master of Criminal Justice by Research, An investigation of mobile phone use while driving: An application of the theory of planned behavior
  • Doctor of Philosophy, “Give me a path to follow”: A Deweyan inquiry into training volunteer EAL tutors of adult refugees
  • Master of Criminal Justice by Research, Can a procedural justice approach to enforcement reduce low level speeding?
  • Master of Education, Using metafictive devices to explore the postmodern picturebook

Associate Supervisor

  • Doctor of Philosophy, The role of resilience in individual innovation
  • Doctor of Philosophy, In the eyes of the Other: Parental Perspectives on Youth Mental Illness
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