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  • Dr Kay Ayre

    Dr Kay Ayre

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Dr Kay Ayre

Senior Lecturer

Staff Member Details
Telephone: +61 8 6304 5253
Email: k.ayre@ecu.edu.au
Campus: Mount Lawley  
ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8505-6940

Kay is a senior lecturer in early childhood studies in the School of Education.

Current teaching

  • EDU4310 - Understanding and managing challenging behaviour in young children
  • EDU6004 - Trauma informed practice
  • ECE6260 - The Art of Early Childhood Pedagogy

Background

Kay has a background in early years teaching and behaviour support. She has worked extensively with disengaged and disruptive children, their teachers and schools. Kay has a passion for helping build the capacity of teachers to develop and maintain positive, inclusive classrooms with a focus on supporting children affected by trauma who demonstrate serious, disruptive behaviour. Her research interests are in children's behaviour, positive behaviour support, trauma-informed practice and parent-school engagement.

Professional associations

  • Positive Education Schools Association (PESA)
  • Association of Positive Behaviour Support Australia (APBSA)
  • Early Childhood Australia (ECA)

Research areas and interests

  • Children's challenging behaviour;
  • Trauma-informed practice;
  • Positive behaviour support; and
  • Parent-school engagement.

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Education, Queensland University of Technology, 2013.

Research Outputs

2025

Journal Articles

  • Krishnamoorthy, G., Antonaglia, D., Dallinger, V., Berger, E., March, S., Ong, S., Sherman, K., Goodwin, N., Eiby, N., Rees, B., Koslouski, J., Ayre, K. (2025). Embedding Coaching and Local Education Champions in Implementing Trauma Informed Practice. Psychology in the Schools, 2025(Article in press), TBD. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.23539.

2024

Journal Articles

  • Krishnamoorthy, G., Harrison, E., Ayre, K., Forooshani, SA., Berger, E., Rees, B., Wheeler, K., Eiby, N., Ong, S., Dallinger, V., Ulhaq, A. (2024). The impact of trauma-informed practices on academic outcomes of First Nations children: a pilot study of culturally responsive supports in Australia. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11(1), article number 1385. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03892-8.
  • Gavin, T., Krishnamoorthy, G., Ayre, K., Bryce, I., Trimmer, K. (2024). Trauma-informed behavior support with youth in flexible learning and vocational education settings: Exploring the acceptability of an online trauma-informed education program. Preventing School Failure, 68(1), 8-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/1045988X.2022.2132197.

2023

Journal Articles

2022

Journal Articles

  • Bellamy, T., Krishnamoorthy, G., Ayre, K., Berger, E., Machin, T., Rees, BE. (2022). Trauma-Informed School Programming: A Partnership Approach to Culturally Responsive Behavior Support. Sustainability, 14(7), article number 3997. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14073997.
  • Saltmarsh, S., Ayre, K., Tualaulelei, E. (2022). Schools, separating parents and family violence: a case study of the coercion of organisational networks. Critical Studies in Education, 63(4), 516-533. https://doi.org/10.1080/17508487.2021.1919165.
  • Ayre, K., Krishnamoorthy, G., Rees, B., Berger, E. (2022). Balancing the Needs of the School Community: Implementing Trauma-Informed Behaviour Supports in an Australian Regional Primary School. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 47(9), 43-61. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2022v47n9.3.
  • Krishnamoorthy, G., Ayre, K. (2022). Sustaining interdisciplinary work in trauma-informed education. The Australian Educational Researcher, 49(3), 529-546. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-021-00483-3.
  • Saltmarsh, S., Tualaulelei, E., Ayre, K. (2022). ‘A damn sight more sensitivity’: gender and parent-school engagement during post separation family transitions.. Gender and Education, 34(1), 64-79. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2021.1902483.
  • Schimke, D., Krishnamoorthy, G., Ayre, K., Berger, E., Rees, B. (2022). Multi-tiered culturally responsive behavior support: A qualitative study of trauma-informed education in an Australian primary school. Frontiers in Education, 7(3 June 2022), Article Number 866266. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.866266.

2021

Journal Articles

  • Saltmarsh, S., Tualaulelei, E., Ayre, K. (2021). ‘I’m trying to tell you this man is dangerous… and no one’s listening’: family violence, parent–school engagement and school complicity. The Australian Educational Researcher, 48(4), 771-794. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-020-00415-7.

2020

Books

2019

Book Chapters

  • Kerby, M., Baguley, M., Lowien, N., Ayre, K. (2019). Australian not by blood, but by character: Soldiers and refugees in Australian children's picture books. The Palgrave handbook of Artistic and Cultural Responses to War since 1914: The British Isles, the United States and Australasia (309-326). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96986-2_18.

Research Projects

  • Emotional Literacy Mindfulness Academy Research program evaluation, Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation, Grant, 2023 ‑ 2024, $47,086.

Research Student Supervision

Current Supervisions

Associate Supervisor

  • Master of Education, Trauma-Informed practice in early childhood education: Educational leader's knowledge

Completed Supervisions

Principal Supervisor

  • Master of Education, Challenging behaviour in the early years: Investigating teacher perceptions

Associate Supervisor

  • Doctor of Philosophy, An Exploration of Turnover and Retention of Teachers in Western Australia who have Experienced Teacher Directed Violence (TDV)
  • Doctor of Philosophy, An exploration into the influence of a literacy-based text messaging program on home literacy practices
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