Profile - Kim Edmunds
Kim Edmunds
Research Assistant
Research Institute for Social Inclusion and Wellbeing (RISIW)
General Purpose Building, Room: GP1-37
The University of Newcastle
University Drive
Callaghan, NSW 2308 Australia
Ph: + 61 2 492 16011
Fax: + 61 2 492 17818
Email: Kim.Edmunds@Newcastle.edu.au
Profile:
Kim Edmunds was appointed to the Research Institute for Social Inclusion and Wellbeing (RISIW) in March 2008. Kim is a PhD candidate supervised by Professor Stephen Webb and Associate Professor James Ladwig. Her doctoral research examines engagement and issues of social inclusion with Indigenous communities. Kim developed a keen interest in social justice and social exclusion when, while completing her Honours degree in Linguistics, she was involved in bilingual education and language maintenance programs in Indigenous communities in the northwest of Australia. After being awarded a Diploma in Education from the University of Western Australia (UWA), she was employed by the Centre for English as a Second Language in the Faculty of Education at UWA and also worked as a linguistic consultant to secondary and tertiary educational institutions with international students. At this time, she was instrumental in the development of a culturally appropriate language test for international students seeking admission to UWA and in the establishment of a Sino-Australian Centre for the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language, a joint venture between UWA and Tongji Medical University, Wuhan, PRC, where she lived for one year. After returning from China, she was appointed by the University of Newcastle to teach academic English to international students and to lecture in Education. She was also practicum coordinator and supervisor for languages major students in Education and accompanied two cohorts of Chinese language major students to Xian and Beijing for their final practicum. She became increasingly involved with recipients of AusAID Australian Development Scholarships, developing the Introductory Academic Program, an orientation to the Australian knowledge culture, which achieved the highest satisfaction rating among all qualifying tertiary institutions. She was then appointed to the Learning Support Program in the Centre for Teaching and Learning at the University of Newcastle to continue this work, as well as to provide academic skills support to local students and academics.
Kim’s involvement with AusAID students generated an interest in the social change impact of higher education which led to her Masters study in Social Change and Development. In 2002, Kim was awarded a CAPSTRANS (Centre for Asia Pacific Social Transformation Studies) scholarship to support her research. As part of her studies in participatory development and social program evaluation, she was approached to develop an evaluation framework for the Special Needs Unlimited Group (SNUG): An outreach program for rural families of children with disabilities. Kim’s membership on the steering committee and involvement with this dynamic and multidisciplinary team invigorated her interests in evidence-based practice and social inclusion. Her current research interests include issues of social inclusion and public policy, power relations, social networks, and social program evaluation.
Conference presentations:
2007
Refereed paper presented at the 2007 ISANA conference at Glenelg, SA, November 27-30, “The Impact of an Australian Higher Education on Gender Relations in Indonesia”.
Poster presented at the 4th Biennial NSW Primary Health Care Research and Evaluation Conference at Bondi, NSW, November 29-30, “Evaluation Framework for the Special Needs Unlimited Group (SNUG): A Residential Program for Families of Children with Special Needs.”
2006
Paper presented at the 34th annual Australian and New Zealand Comparative and International Education (ANZCIES) conference in Canberra, December 2006, “Can an Australian higher education impact on gender relations in Indonesia?”
2005
Paper coauthored with Roger Baxter, presented at ATLAANZ conference, Dunedin, NZ, November 2005. “The Introductory Academic Program (IAP): A compulsory five week academic orientation course for ADS students.”
2002
Paper presented at the 30tth annual conference of ANZCIES: University of New England, Armidale, NSW, 6 – 8 December 2002, “Motives and Aspirations of Indonesian Australian Development Scholarship (ADS) Recipients”.