I am a tertiary educator based in the Faculty of Education, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, where I have worked since 2006. My teaching areas relate to educational psychology and pedagogy, as well as the economics curriculum. I contribute to the Graduate Diploma of Teaching initial teacher education program, and teach educational psychology courses for the Bachelor of Arts degree.
I gained my PhD in 2013. My doctoral thesis was entitled "Applying funds of knowledge in a New Zealand high School: The emergence of team-based collaboration as an approach." My research interests include multicultural education, funds of knowledge, assessment, professional development design, home-school collaboration, teacher perceptions and beliefs, teacher education, and self-study. Current projects include supervision of post-graduate students in their investigation of perceptions about funds of knowledge within the teaching and learning process.
Prior to my academic career, I was a teacher and middle manager in secondary schools in New Zealand and the Cook Islands for over 20 years. Other roles included advisory work in secondary schools, and diverse consultancy and contract work related to secondary education.
Photography by Michael O’Neil