Dr Rosalie Bunn

Rosalie completed her PhD on “The history and impacts of the University of Newcastle’s Open Foundation Program” in 2018. Prior to retirement she was Coordinator of Part time and Intensive Social Enquiry in the Open Foundation Program at the Ourimbah campus. She has been an Enabling educator since 1996 and is a five year trained primary school teacher including experience as a teacher librarian. Rosalie was Secretary of the NTEU (National Tertiary Education Union) for eight years and was the first female to be awarded life membership of the NTEU at UON. She continues to write chapters on enabling education.

Research Expertise
• History of the Open Foundation program: Rosalie has conducted oral history interviews with a former Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, Deputy Vice Chancellors, senior administrators, long term lecturers and support workers on the history of the program from its pilot in 1974 to 2014, including a collection of memories about Dr Brian Smith, the first Director.
• Impacts of the Open Foundation program: as well as oral histories with staff who were familiar with Open Foundation, Rosalie has conducted a survey of over 350 former students of the program who have provided both quantitative and qualitative responses on how this program has impacted their lives.
• Enabling education: Transition of enabling students into undergraduate courses; Sociology as an effective learning tool for enabling students; Assessing non- traditional academic essays in enabling programs; Dealing with diverse cohorts of student learners and problems in enabling programs; Mentoring enabling students; Art as a useful learning tool for enabling students; OFP changing the habitus of enabling students; reasons students enrol in OFP.
• Power relations in education.
• Vitamin use among fitness leaders and Body builders.
• Alternative medicine use within a randomly selected population.

Teaching Expertise
1998- present Coordinator Social Enquiry (Open Foundation) 1996 – present Lecturer & Tutor Social Enquiry (Open Foundation) 2003 – Coordinator, Lecturer and Tutor 2nd year Nursing Sociology (Sociology) 2003-2007 Tutor; Lecturer, Coordinator Australian Society and Culture (Newstep) 1992-6 Tutor Sociology and ATAS 1994-2003 Casual Primary School teacher (Department of School Education)

Administrative Expertise
1996-present Coordinator, Lecturer or Tutor of Social Enquiry; 2009-present Secretary NTEU 2007 Acting Program Coordinator Foundation Studies Ourimbah Campus; 2003-2007 Coordinator Mentor Scheme Open Foundation; 2012-2017 Academic Advisor OFP Ourimbah Campus; 1973-1978 Clerk Class 2/3 and Acting 4 Commonwealth Government Department of Immigration

Collaborations
Double transition study 2012-3: Bennett, Anna; Southgate, Erica., Cooper, Sharon and Bunn, Rosalie, examining the transition experiences of enabling students into undergraduate programs. Research involved focus groups of Enabling and School of Education staff as well as students from both campuses. 

Dr Annika Westrenius 2016: joint article published on stakeholders in enabling education.