Dr Karen Wallace

Karen has worked closely with her local Aboriginal community, pre-service educators, principals, teachers, students and parents to increase respectful relationships that can help support Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children. Listening to her local community on the issues and their local needs forms the foundation of Karen's teaching and research approaches. Karen has redesigned higher education courses, developed professional learning and development for schools and community organisations resulting in a greater level of support for Aboriginal children in mainstream education. Students who have completed Karen's courses have gone on to lead the Aboriginal Education Team and Indigenous education in numerous schools across the Central Coast and Hunter regions. She continues to mentor students throughout their employment as they become leaders in their communities.

Karen's passion for inspiring and generating genuine, respectful teachers of Aboriginal students has resulted in the highest student satisfaction and an increased ability for pre-service teachers to consult with and be connected to their local Aboriginal communities and cultures. She has consistently improved the quality of courses she teaches on with students' requesting for Karen to provide professional learning for schools where her students gain employment. Her idea to establish an Aboriginal education conference for educational stakeholders on the Central Coast was implemented in 2022 with great success.