Career Summary
Biography
Dr Vivien McComb has 17 years of experience working in higher education. As an academic, she taught in undergraduate and postgraduate programs in education and business and has been the project lead on research projects in education, with specialist expertise in qualitative research methods.
Vivien also worked in academic development for 9 years and provided professional development services and programs to academic staff at the university in the method and practice of teaching and in curriculum and assessment design.
Vivien recently completed a PhD focused on the professional development and wellbeing of academic teaching staff. Her teaching and research interests are in educational and developmental psychology applied to her work in training and development.
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy in Education, University of Newcastle
- Bachelor of Education (Honours), University of Newcastle
- Master of Educational Studies, University of Newcastle
- Diploma of Management, Forsythes IT Training Pty Ltd - NSW - RTO
Keywords
- Academic Development
- Curriculum Design and Development
- Educational Development
- Educational Psychology
- Higher Education
- Professional Development
Awards
Scholarship
| Year | Award |
|---|---|
| 2005 |
Australian Research Council Postgraduate Award ARC (Australian Research Council) |
Publications
For publications that are currently unpublished or in-press, details are shown in italics.
Journal article (5 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||||||||
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| 2023 |
McComb V, Eather N, 'Academic developers perceptions of support for sessional staff in Australia', International Journal for Academic Development, 28 124-136 (2023) [C1] There is a need to understand sessional staff experiences of professional development in universities, and as academic developers play a key part in university teaching and learni... [more] There is a need to understand sessional staff experiences of professional development in universities, and as academic developers play a key part in university teaching and learning, they are well placed to provide this insight. The aim of this phenomenological study was to explore academic developers¿ perceptions of support and development for sessional staff in universities. A national multi-institutional qualitative study was conducted with seven academic developers in five Australian universities. Findings highlight sessional staff development is not prioritised in universities, but there may be opportunities to enhance support for sessional staff at the department level.
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Nova | |||||||||
| 2023 |
McComb V, Eather N, 'An investigation of sessional staff support, development, and psychosocial wellbeing in Australian universities', Studies in Higher Education, (2023) [C1] Sessional academic staff form most of the teaching staff cohort in Australian universities. The available literature supports that this important staff cohort often experience pre... [more] Sessional academic staff form most of the teaching staff cohort in Australian universities. The available literature supports that this important staff cohort often experience precarious and insecure work, restricted access to training, support and development, and limited opportunities for career progression (compared to their colleagues in on-going positions). This national embedded mixed methods study explored the perceptions of sessional academic staff regarding support, development, and psychosocial wellbeing in Australian Universities. To complement the semi-structured interviews, sessional staff completed an online questionnaire. Our findings highlight that due to negative sessional academic work conditions, sessional staff have poor career progression and psychosocial wellbeing outcomes in the long-term.
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| 2021 |
McComb V, Eather N, Imig S, 'Casual academic staff experiences in higher education: insights for academic development', International Journal for Academic Development, 26 95-105 (2021) [C1]
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Nova | |||||||||
| 2017 |
McComb VR, Eather N, 'Exploring the Personal, Social and Occupational Elements of Teacher Professional Development', Journal of Education and Training Studies, 5 60-66 (2017) [C1]
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Nova | |||||||||
| Show 2 more journal articles | |||||||||||
Conference (3 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 |
Cooper SA, Lindsay KA, McComb VR, 'Supporting good first year course design: The FY PATI', The International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education, Wellington, New Zealand (2013) [E3]
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| 2011 |
Lambert S, Girgis A, Turner J, Kayser K, McComb VR, Chambers S, et al., 'Use of the coping-together workbook by couples facing cancer: Insights into preferences for and barriers to self-directed learning', Asia-Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology: COSA 38th Annual Scientific Meeting Poster Abstracts, Perth, WA (2011) [E3]
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Nova | |||
| 2011 | Lambert SD, Girgis A, Turner J, Kayser K, McComb VR, Chambers S, et al., 'Preliminary findings of a qualitative evaluation of a coping skills intervention for couples facing cancer: Insights into preferences for self-directed learning', Psycho-Oncology, Antalya, Turkey (2011) [E3] |
Dr Vivien McComb
Position
Adjunct Lecturer
School of Education
College of Human and Social Futures
Contact Details
| vivien.mccomb@newcastle.edu.au |