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  • Associate Professor Helen Adam

    Associate Professor Helen Adam

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Associate Professor Helen Adam

Associate Professor

Staff Member Details
Telephone: +61 8 6304 2376
Email: h.adam@ecu.edu.au
Campus: Mount Lawley  
Room: ML17.116  
ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3005-7142

Helen is an Associate Professor and Researcher in the School of Education.

Background

Helen has a background in primary education and has worked and researched in literacy and socially just education since 2007. Prior to this Helen worked for eight years supporting children with literacy and numeracy difficulties. Helen completed her PhD in 2019 in which she investigated the use of culturally diverse literature to support principles of diversity in early years education. The outcomes of her work have been published in internationally renowned journals garnering extensive international print and digital media coverage. Helen’s work has impacted classroom culture, teacher practice and children’s engagement in reading.
In 2022 Helen was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to travel to the USA and UK to carry out her project: To enhance expertise in children's books as vehicles for disrupting prejudice and discrimination. Helen officially became a Churchill Fellow in November 2023.

Current teaching

  • LAN6260 - Foundations of Literacy Learning
  • LAN6280 - English in the Middle Years of School
  • LIT4260/6260 Children's Literature in the Classroom

Professional Associations

  • Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE)
  • Primary English Teaching Association of Australia (PETAA) - Board President
  • Children's Book Council of Australia, WA Branch (CBCAWA)
  • Golden Key International Honour Society
  • International Literacy Association (Member)

Awards and Recognition

National and International Awards

  • 2023 - Churchill Fellow
  • 2022 - Australian Educational Publishing Awards - Second Place (Highly Commended) in the Primary Reference Resource Category for Transforming Practice: Transforming lives through diverse children’s literature

University and National Teaching Awards

  • 2022 - Edith Cowan University School of Education Teaching and Learning Award - Enhancing the capabilities of ITE Preservice teachers (PSTs) for Teaching children with diverse needs through targeted learning of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy
  • 2012 - ECU Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching
  • 2011 - ECU Dean's Prize, Faculty of Education and Arts
  • 2011 - ECU State School Teachers' Union of WA prize

National and international Research Awards

  • 2022 - Edith Cowan University School of Education Research Awards - Best Paper with and International Partnership
  • 2021 - Edith Cowan University School of Education Research Awards - Best Paper from an Early Career Researcher
  • 2020 - Edith Cowan University Early and Mid Career Symposium - Best Presentation for Research in Society and Culture
  • 2020 - Edith Cowan University - Best Research Media Campaign by an Early Career Researcher
  • 2020 - Edith Cowan University School of Education Research Awards - Best Paper from an Early Career Researcher
  • 2020 - Edith Cowan University School of Education Research Awards - Winner of Equity and Inclusion within education Program of Research

Research Interests

  • Children's literature to support principles of diversity - (current focus in early childhood)
  • Children's literature and its importance in the social and emotional development of the child
  • Diversity and inclusivity
  • Effective literacy instruction across the curriculum

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Edith Cowan University, 2019.
  • Master of Education, Edith Cowan University, 2011.
  • Bachelor of Education, Edith Cowan University, 2006.
  • Diploma of Teaching, Churchlands College, 1981.

Research Outputs

2025

Journal Articles

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.
  • Adam, H., Byrne, M. (2024). ‘I’m not from a country, I’m from Australia.’ Costumes, scarves, and fruit on their heads: The urgent need for Culturally Responsive Pedagogy when sharing diverse books with children. The Australian Educational Researcher, 51(4), 1121-1140. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-023-00631-x.
  • Adam, H., Murphy, S., Urquhart, Y., Ahmed, K. (2024). Where Are the Diverse Families in Australian Children’s Literature? Impacts and Consideration for Language and Literacy in the Early Years. Education Sciences, 14(9), Article number 1006. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14091006.

2023

Journal Articles

  • 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.
  • Ross, K., Galaudage, S., Clark, T., Lowson, N., Battisti, A., Adam, H., Ross, AK., Sweaney, N. (2023). Invisible women: Gender representation in high school science courses across Australia. Australian Journal of Education, 67(3), 231-252. https://doi.org/10.1177/00049441231197245.
  • Adam, H., Harper, L. (2023). Gender equity in early childhood picture books: A cross-cultural study of frequently read picture books in early childhood classrooms in Australia and the United States. The Australian Educational Researcher, 50(2), 453-479. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-021-00494-0.
  • Adam, H., Urquhart, Y. (2023). A Cause for Hope or an Unwitting Complicity? The Representation of Cultural Diversity in Award-Listed Children's Picturebooks in Australia. Bookbird: a journal of international children's literature, 61(2), 48-58. https://doi.org/10.1353/bkb.2023.0023.
  • Adam, H., Barratt-Pugh, C. (2023). Book sharing with young children: A study of book sharing in four Australian long day care centres. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 23(3), 348-373. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798420981745.

Reports

  • Adam, H. (2023). Culturally responsive pathways to a more equitable education for Australian children. Australia. Winston Churchill trust.

2022

Journal Articles

  • Thwaite, A., Adam, H., Urquhart, Y., Hill, S. (2022). Introduction of Phonological Concepts in an Initial Teacher Education Literacy Unit. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 47(1), 30-48. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2022v47n1.3.

2021

Books

Journal Articles

  • Adam, H., Hays, M., Urquhart, Y. (2021). The exclusive white world of preservice teachers’ book selection for the classroom: Influences and implications for practice. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 46(8), 51-69.
  • Adam, H. (2021). When Authenticity Goes Missing: How Monocultural Children’s Literature Is Silencing the Voices and Contributing to Invisibility of Children from Minority Backgrounds. Education Sciences, 11(1), Article number 32. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11010032.

2020

Journal Articles

  • Adam, H., Barratt-Pugh, C. (2020). The challenge of monoculturalism: what books are educators sharing with children and what messages do they send?. The Australian Educational Researcher, 47(5), 815–836. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-019-00375-7.

2019

Journal Articles

  • Adam, H., Barratt-Pugh, C., Haig, Y. (2019). "Portray cultures other than ours": How children's literature is being used to support the diversity goals of the Australian Early Years Learning Framework. The Australian Educational Researcher, 46(3), 549-563. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-019-00302-w.

2017

Journal Articles

  • Adam, H., Barratt-Pugh, C., Haig, Y. (2017). Book collections in long day care: Do they reflect diversity?. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 42(2), 88-96. https://doi.org/10.23965/AJEC.42.2.11.

Research Projects

  • Looking back to look forward through historical and contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children's literature , Edith Cowan University, Early-Mid Career Researcher Grant Scheme 2022 (Stream 2), 2023 ‑ 2024, $39,988.
  • Investigating overt and covert perpetuation of prejudice and bigotry in children's picture books recently published in Australia., Australian National University, Herbert & Valmae Feilich Foundation Early Career Researcher Small Grants Scheme, 2019 ‑ 2021, $5,000.

Research Student Supervision

Current Supervisions

Associate Supervisor

  • Master of Education, Investigating critical literacy in upper primary years using dialogic teaching principles to explore metafictive devices in postmodern picturebooks

Completed Supervisions

Associate Supervisor

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Fostering Engagement: Building Connections with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CaLD) Families in the Early Years of School
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