Staff Profile

Career Summary

Biography

Qualifications

• PhD, University of Newcastle, 25/07/2006
• Bachelor of Education (Honours), University of Sydney, 21/03/2000

Research

Research keywords

• Curriculum History, Theory, & Philosophy
• History Education, Historical Literacy & History Didactics
• Pedagogy as Social Practice
• Philosophy of History, Historiography, & Hermeneutics
• Politics of Teacher Education
• Postmodernism, Poststructuralism, and Post-Colonial Studies

Research expertise

Robert's scholarly interests and contributions are located within the field of Curriculum & Pedagogy studies, with a particular focus on three main areas: History, Humanities, and Social Science Education; Teacher Education; and Curriculum Theory. Robert has particular expertise in historical and philosophical (poststructural, postcolonial and hermeneutic) research methodologies; and has taught Post-Reconceptualist Curriculum Inquiry at the AARE Theory workshops. He is foundation convenor of the HERMES History Education Research Group, and is currently supervising research students whose projects are focused at the interface of History education, historical consciousness, and public history. Robert's research and scholarship has contributed to understandings of History curriculum as postmodern, post-colonial, and political text; the curriculum politics of Teacher Education; and poststructural curriculum theory. His current scholarly projects focus in various ways on the meta-historical literacies required by history educators to navigate rival narratives, and include a joint book project with Professor Monika Vinterek (Darlana University, Sweden), Dr Anna Clark (University of Technology Sydney, Australia), and Henrik Åström Elmersjö (Umeå University, Sweden), exploring possible pedagogical responses from around the globe to the History and Culture Wars.

Fields of Research

Memberships

Body relevant to professional practice.

• Member - NSW Teacher Education Council [NSW TEC] (2008 - 2011)
• Member - The History Teachers' Association of NSW [HTANSW]
• Member - History Educators Network of Australia [HENA]

Committee/Associations (relevant to research).

• Member - Australian Teacher Education Association [ATEA] (2007 - 2011)
• Member - International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning in History [HistorySOTL]
• Member - The Historical Association (UK) [HA]
• Member - Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia
• Member - International Society for History Didactics
• Member - Australian Association for Research in Education [AARE]
• Member - Australian Curriculum Studies Association [ACSA]
• Member - International Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies [IAACS]

Editorial Board.

• Editor - Historical Encounters: A Journal of Historical Consciousness, Historical Cultures, and History Education
• Member - Sungraphô (Peer Review Section of AGORA) Journal of History Teachers Association of Victoria (HTAV)
• Editor - Academic Bytes [ Independent Academic Publishing House ]

Appointments

Awards

Distinction.

Research Award.

Invitations

Collaboration

	HERMES is a History Education research group based at the University of Newcastle, Australia. Find out more information, including projects, publications, news and events, and possible affiliation, from the: HERMES website.
	The History Network for Teachers and Researchers is a professional community for history educators in universities, schools, museums, and heritage organisations, based in the Hunter region of NSW, Australia. You can participate in HNTR by clicking here to join our facebook group.
	For those colleagues, affiliates, and students who like to keep up with breaking news, discuss ideas, or share new finds and resources, Robert invites you to join him on Twitter the online social networking and microblogging service.
	If you are an academic anywhere in the world with shared interests, Robert invites you to join him on Academia.edu an online social networking community for university teachers and professors.

Honours and Research Higher Degree Supervision

Robert has significant expertise in poststructural and postcolonial theory, and document-based historical, philosophical, and hermeneutic research methodologies. He welcomes potential Honours or Research Higher Degree students, who are interested in:

• Curriculum change (explored through its History, Theory, or Politics);
• History, Humanities, or Social Science Curriculum or Pedagogy;
• The didaktik (pedagogical content) knowledge of History, Humanities, or Social Science teachers;
• Influences of Postmodernism, Poststructuralism, or Post-colonialism on the Educational Imagination.

Administrative

Administrative expertise

Robert was appointed to the role of Deputy Head of School, Teaching and Learning, in February 2008, and continued in the role for two terms of office, providing academic leadership during a period of significant policy change within the field of teacher education specifically, and the higher education sector more generally. During his terms of office, Robert chaired the School of Education Teaching & Learning Committee, and had portfolio responsibilities within the School of Education - one of the largest providers of initial teacher education in Australia - for a wide range of academic matters including program accreditation and transition, course quality and availability, complaint resolution, and curriculum renewal. Robert has also contributed to Academic senate working parties on course outlines, course levels, and policy streamlining; piloted and assisted in the refinement of the University's course related ethics approval (CREA) process; served on a range of committees including School of Education interview panels, the Faculty of Education and Arts Progress and Appeals Committee, Faculty A-C Promotion Committee, and University Equity and Teaching & Learning Grant Committees; and acted in the role of Assistant Dean Teaching & Learning for the Faculty of Education and Arts, Program Convenor of the Bachelor of Teaching (Secondary)/Bachelor of Arts program (Callaghan Campus), and Chair of the Streamlining Academic Policies working party for Academic Senate (late 2011). He has been both a seconded and elected member of the executive committee of the Australian Teacher Education Association (ATEA) and maintained their official website from 2008-2011. He has recently accepted nomination to the NSW Board of Studies Curriculum Committee for Senior History, and has accepted a 3-year appointment by the Minister of Education (NSW) as the Tertiary Sector representative on the Hunter Institute of TAFE Advisory Council.

Teaching

Teaching keywords

• Curriculum Studies
• History Education
• Media Literacy
• Screen Technologies
• Society & Culture
• Studies of Religion

Teaching expertise

Robert's diverse teaching career has included work in various capacities as a full-time martial arts instructor (5th Dan Black Belt in Togakure Ryu Ninjutsu, and instructor licenses in Wing Chun and Non-Classical Kung-Fu and Arnis/Kali); communication consultant; lecturer in and practitioner of Shiatsu and Oriental Medicine; School Network Administrator; History, Technology and Learning Support Teacher in suburban high schools in Sydney; and sessional tutor and lecturer in TESOL at the University of Sydney. His first full time appointment as a university lecturer was to Charles Sturt University (Bathurst) where he coordinated courses in a diverse range of areas, and gained a reputation for pedagogical innovation [recognised through invited presentations to the: Faculty of Education Biennial Forum; Centre for Learning and Teaching; Foundation of University Learning and Teaching program; and Charles Sturt University Professors' Forum]. He has significant experience and expertise in university program and course design, and teaches courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels in the area of curriculum leadership, history and social education, and screen media literacies.

Teaching philosophy

Robert uses various approaches in his teaching, including project based learning, cognitive apprenticeship, authentic assessment, and a range of cooperative learning pedagogies. As a teacher, he seeks to foster a learning environment characterised by high intellectual challenge, high engagement, and appropriate support; moving as required between 'the sage on the stage' and 'the guide on the side'. He approaches teaching and learning as hermeneutic activities where the goal is the recognition or transformation of our epistemological, axiological, and ontological horizons; and applying poststructural theory to educational design, he encourages the development of practical capacities and meta-theoretical understanding, seeking to produce thoughtful educators who can provide defensible and informed justification for their actions, while navigating the complexities of the pedagogical encounter.

Teaching responsibilities

• EDUC1751 - Knowledge and Communication Technologies / Coordinator (Port Macquarie)
• EDUC2101 - Introduction to Specialist Studies / HSIE Specialist (Callaghan)
• EDUC4093 - Specialist Studies in Social Science 2C / Coordinator (Callaghan)
• EDUC6224 - Issues and Debates in History Education / Coordinator (Weblearn)
• EDUC6241 - Screen Education / Coordinator (Weblearn)
• EDUC6452 - Curriculum Leadership in Tertiary Education / Coordinator (Callaghan)
• EDUC6751 - Knowledge and Communication Technologies / Coordinator (Callaghan)

Program responsibilities

• Master of Educational Studies (History Education Specialisation) Coordinator

The History Education Specialisation is available as a pathway for qualified teachers wanting an additional approval to teach History, or practicing History teachers wanting professional renewal. This specialisation is offered as part of the Alliance with the Australian National University.