Plenary & Keynote speakers

Please Note:

  1. Plenary & Keynote speakers are in alphabetical order

  2. Details of other prominent speakers.

Professor Peter Freebody, University of Sydney, Australia

Professor Peter Freebody is in the Faculty of Education and Social Work, UniversitProf Freebodyy of Sydney. He is a Professorial Research Fellow whose interests are literacy education, educational disadvantage, classroom interaction and research methodology. He has authored or edited 10 books and over 20 research reports to government. He has published in international journals such as Reading Research Quarterly, Harvard Educational Review, American Educational Research Journal and the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. He has also contributed numerous invited entries in international handbooks and encyclopedias on literacy, critical literacy, and research methodology, and is on the editorial boards of 11 Australian and international journals. He has served on numerous Australian state and national advisory groups in the area of literacy education and curriculum design. He was evaluator of the Australian national on-line curriculum initiative conducted by the Australian Curriculum Corporation, a co-founder of the Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice at the National Institute of Education, Singapore, and lead consultant in the development of the Australian English Curriculum. He is currently a member of the New South Wales State Literacy and Numeracy Advisory Board and is the Australian Commonwealth Government’s nominee on the National Literacy and Numeracy Expert Group.
His current projects:

  • An observation and interview study of community-school relations in socio-economically disadvantaged areas.
  • An observation and intervention study of the building of knowledge in classroom interaction.
  • An intervention study of the teaching of digital literacy capabilities and the effects on students' learning and teachers' sense of fulfilment and job satisfaction.

Professor Ian Hay, University of Tasmania, Australia

Professor Ian Hay is the Dean of the Faculty of Education, University of TasmaniaProf Hay, which he was appointed to in 2007. Before coming to UTAS, he was Professor and Head of the School of Education, University of New England. He has also held Associate Professor positions at the University of Queensland and Griffith University. Professor Hay has published more than 100 book chapters, refereed journal articles, reports, and other articles in a range of international and national peer review publications. As a chief investigator, he has been awarded competitive research funds in excess of 1.25 million dollars, and has supervised some 20 higher degree research students. His main research interests are in the domain of students with literacy and academic difficulties, the role of motivation in learning, and students’ cognitive development.

Professor Ian Hay and his research team have just been granted a major ARC research grant for four years to examine the factors that influence student retention in schooling beyond the compulsory years in rural, regional and disadvantaged communities. The goal of the project is to enhance the quality of education for a diverse population of students.

Selected recent publications:

  • Hay, I., & Ashman, A.F. (in press). Self-concept. In R. J.R. Levesque (Ed.), Encyclopaedia of adolescence (pp xx xx). New York: Springer Publication.
  • Hay, I., Fielding-Barnsley, R. (in press). Social learning, language and literacy. Australian Journal of Early Childhood.
  • Hay, I., & Woolley, G. (2011). The challenge of reading comprehension. In T. Lê, Q. Lê & M. Short (Eds.), Language and literacy in a challenging world (pp. 123-136). New York: Nova Science Publishers.
  • Hay, I., & Fielding-Barnsley, R. (2011). Responding to the challenge of transiting children into effective literacy. In T. Lê, Q. Lê & M. Short (Eds.), Language and literacy in a challenging world (pp. 209-222). New York: Nova Science Publishers
  • Simmons, N., & Hay, I. (2010). Early adolescents’ friendship patterns in middle school: Social-emotional and academic implications. Australian Journal of Educational and Developmental Psychology, 22, 59-69

Professor Sue Kilpatrick, Director of Centre for University pathways and Partnerships, University of Tasmania, Australia

Professor Sue Kilpatrick was appointed Research Professor of Regional CommunitiProf Kilpatrickes in April 2011. Previously she was Pro Vice-Chancellor (Rural and Regional), Deakin University. Prior to joining Deakin University, she was Director of the Department of Rural Health, University of Tasmania, Chair of the Australian Rural Health Education Network and previously Director of the Centre for Research and Learning in Regional Australia. She has had a career-long interest in rural and regional development through education and research.

Professor Kilpatrick has a PhD in the Economics of Education and a Master of Economics in Labour Economics. She is passionate about higher education access for rural and remote students and lifelong learning. Her research interests are education and learning in rural and regional Australia, rural health systems, social capital, rural workforce, community participation, learning for natural resource management and primary industry, and community leadership. She has over 150 publications and has received numerous research grants in these areas besides working as a consultant with local communities. Membership of boards and committees in areas related to her research has complemented her research career, including school education, the early years, farmer education and training, economic development, rural health research and community care.

Dr Thao Lê, University of Tasmania, Australia

"Once upon a peaceful day, I was born, long time ago. my mother told me that when I started to go to school at the age of childhood innocence, my country was crazily divided into two parts by powerful people in Geneva in 1954 . Like an unlucky star, my home province, Quang Tri, was chosen to be the place of political demarcation. From then, people in my village were like lost birds without a sense of direction. War and peace have danced as a tune in the stream of my life" (T.L)

Thao Lê completed B.A in English linguistics at Saigon University in 1969. With a sThao pecial interest in ethnography and an enthusiasm of a young graduate, he moved on to undertake a research Masters in Jarai, a highland minority language in Central Highlands of Vietnam. However his dream of living with culturally isolated mountain people as a part of his research fieldwork was dashed due to the fierce war taking place throughout Vietnam at that time.

Finally in 1970 Monash University gave him a new direction. Like a lost bird, he started to learn to fly again in the far-away horizon of Melbourne where he gained M.A and PhD in theoretical linguistics.

Thao Lê was offered a lectureship at the University of Tasmania in 1974 and has been teaching in the Faculty of Education till now. He has held various positions and played important roles in the development of the University such as: Senior Lecturer, Assistant Dean, Director of the Masters Program, Graduate Research Coordinator and Associate Dean (Research). Currently he is lecturing in postgraduate courses and supervising eighteen research students. He was awarded: University of Tasmania’s Teaching Excellence Award and University of Tasmania’s Award for Excellent Contribution to Graduate Supervision and Research.

Thao Lê has been invited to be a keynote speaker at international conferences in Phuket, Lisbon, Iloilo, Paris, Penang, and Istanbul on educational research, globalization, applied linguistics and computer-supported education. His new research books are:

  • Lê, T. and Lê, Q. (in press): Conducting research in a changing and challenging world. New York: Nova Science Publishers.
  • Lê, T. & Lê, Q. (2011). Technologies for Enhancing Pedagogy, Engagement and Empowermentin Education: Creating Learning-Friendly Environments. Pennsylvania: CGI Global.
  • Lê, T. and Lê, Q. (2011): Linguistic diversity and cultural identity: A global perspective. New York: Nova Science Publishers.
  • Lê, T. & Le, Q., Short, M. (2010) : Language and Literacy Education in a Challenging World. New York NOVA Science Publishers.
  • Lê, T. and Le Q. (2009): Critical Discourse Analysis: an interdisciplinary perspective. New York: Nova Science Publishers

Dr Sivanes Phillipson, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong

Dr. Sivanes Phillipson is an assistant professor in the Department of EducationDr Phillipson Studies at the Hong Kong Baptist University, where she teaches in the broad area of educational psychology, classroom pedagogy and gifted education. Trained as an English teacher, Sivanes obtained her PhD from University of New England (Australia). Her research interests include the synthesis of structural models of academic achievement in relation to parental involvement and expectations. Sivanes has been awarded a number of research grants, resulting in research publications in books and many international peer reviewed journals, including Educational Psychology. Sivanes is the co-editor of Talent Talks, official newsletter of the International Research Association of Talent and Development. She is also a member of the International Society for Cultural Activity Research, AmericanPsychological Association (APA) and Association for Psychological Science (APS). Her latest project is a colloquium at the end of 2011 and book entitled Constructing School Achievement: A Sociocultural Perspective.

Her recent publications:

  • Phillipson, S., Raquel, M. R., & Gube, J. C. (2011). English and its role in Hong Kong cultural identity. In T. Le & Q. Le (Eds.), Linguistic Diversity and Cultural Identity: A Global Perspective (pp. 11-22). New York: Nova Science.
  • Phillipson, S. (2011). Evaluating tertiary student perception of English Teaching Assistants' role in teaching and learning: A Rasch analysis. In R. F. Cavanagh & R. F. Waugh (Eds.), Applications of Rasch Measurement in Learning Environments Research (pp. 245-262). Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
  • Raquel, M. R., & Phillipson, S. (2011). Creating theatre in Hong Kong: Transforming students’ perceptions of English learning. International Journal of Language, Society and Culture, 32, 79-87.
  • Phillipson, S., & Forlin, C. (2011). Newly qualifying teachers’ perspectives of diversity and inclusion: Understanding through visual representations. International Journal of Whole Schooling, 7(1), 1-19.
  • Phillipson, S., & Phillipson, S. N. (2010). The involvement of Hong Kong parents in the education of their children: A validation of the Parents' Attributions and Perception Questionnaire. Educational Psychology, 30(6), 625-649.
  • Phillipson, S. (2010). Parental role and students’ cognitive ability: An achievement model. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher. 19(2), 229-250.
  • Phillipson, S. (2010). Modeling parental role in academic achievement: Comparing high-ability to average- and low-ability students. Talent Development and Excellence. 2(1), 83-103.

Professor Margaret Robertson, La Trobe University, Australia

Margaret Robertson is Professor of Education at La Trobe University. Her researchProf Robertson interests include cross-cultural understandings, mobile learning and social media. Current projects include a cross-cultural study of adolescents' views and visions of their futures and an interest in the theme of schooling for sustainability. She has authored and edited more than 100 publications including 10 books, 30 book chapters and 30 articles in peer reviewed journals. Currently Margaret leads an ICSU funded project team investigating 'landscapes in transitions' in the Australasian region. She is a member of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority's reference committee for the development of the Australian Curriculum for Geography and is currently Deputy Chair of the Australian Academy of Science's National Committee for Geography.