Dr Yuzhe Zhang

I have a background in Chinese language and literature (Bachelor of Arts, China), and linguistics and applied linguistics (Master of Arts, China), with a focus on teaching Chinese to speakers of other languages. I received a doctoral degree in Education (Australia) in 2014. My doctoral thesis explored the trends and challenges of Chinese education in the global context from comparative and international perspectives, with a focus on Australia’s unique experience with Chinese language and teacher education. 

I have been working as casual research assistant and casual academic since 2014 on research projects, curriculum innovation and course assessment roles with the School of Education, School of Architecture and Built Environment, and School of Engineering at the University of Newcastle, Australia.

I have extensive research experience through work on a series of research projects. These include research focused innovation in school education, higher education, and teacher education in both Australian and global contexts. My roles include preparing documents for funding application/ethics application through to data management, data analysis, and publication. Topics of the projects that I have participated as a co-investigator include:

Current projects:

• Technology in Education – Project “Best Practice in Screen Use for Education – Empowering Student, Teachers and School Communities for Digital Learning”. https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/projects/best-practice-in-screen-use-for-education-empowering-student-teac/

• Simulation technology in teacher education – Project “SimTeach mixed-reality simulation: Preparing ITE students for the complex realities of the teaching profession” – explored the application of simulation technology in initial teacher education.

• STEM education – Projects “STEM and Makerspaces in Educational Settings”, “Google Educator PD Grant Workshop”, “Mechatronics in an Educational Context” - evaluated the outcome of professional development workshops for STEM teachers, to inform future developments in STEM courses, integration of coding and computational thinking in school curriculum, professional development of pre-service and in-service teachers, and collaboration with stakeholders in STEM education.

Past projects:

• 21^st century education - Projects “The influence of social media and technology on pre-service teachers’ intercultural and social understanding/awareness/competency”, “Cultural competence of pre-service teachers”, “Cooperative Learning for Intercultural Understanding”, “Young students’ personal and social capability”, “Assessing global competence in teacher education programmes, “Collaborative learning and mathematics” - collected data from Australia, UK, and Sweden to assess the cultural competence and inclusive strategies of preservice teachers and implement a global education component in teacher education programmes at UoN.

• Work Integrated Learning (WIL)– Project “Evaluation of the 'Apprenticeship Incubator Program'” - assessed the outcome of the program that aimed to match capable students with potential employers, to provide students with an in-depth insight into their chosen industry.

• Equity groups in education – Projects “Equity in WIL: Accessibility for Mature Female Students”, “The Impact of Life Events on Higher Education Students from Diverse Background”, ”Success from the Perspective of the Successful: Low SES Students, Success and Completion in Higher Education” - explored the experience/challenges of students from equity groups with WIL and higher education, to search for coping strategies and organisational support. https://www.newcastle.edu.au/current-students/careers/employability-excellence-awards/previous-award-recipients/2025/staff-awards

• Widening participation - Project “Career Pathways for Women in Building Surveying & Quality Surveying” - explored opportunities and challenges faced by recruiting and retaining female building surveyors and quantity surveyors, to promote career path of females in the traditionally male dominated construction industry.

• Policy and planning - Projects “Qualitative and Quantitative Measures for Effectiveness of Ecological Disaster Resilience”, “Changes in Land Use Planning Decision-making that Considers Significant Natural Hazards in the Last Ten Years”, “Climate Change Adaptation to Increasing Heat Waves Impacting the Elderly” - explored construction, environmental, and medical measures to build resilient community for post-disaster recovery and promote community resilience and health.

• Sustainable development – Projects “Fostering an Australian-Indian Zero-Carbon building construction network”, “Circular Economy Approach for Post-disaster Reconstruction”, to promote collaboration in the construction industry and construction education sector to cope with climate change and achieve sustainable development. [The several courses I provided teaching support with also have a focus on promoting sustainable education in school education, higher education, and teacher education sectors.]

Through working with leading teams on a wide range of educational and industrial initiatives, I have gained in-depth understanding, and demonstrated strong skills, of managing research projects at various stages and providing professional support for research and teaching activities in diverse subject areas.