Dr Tania Leach
| Name | Dr Tania Leach |
|---|---|
| Email Address | tania.leach@unisq.edu.au |
| Job Title | Deputy Head of School (Education) |
| Qualifications | BEd USQ, MEd USQ, PhD USQ |
| Department | School of Education |
| ORCID | https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5445-9237 |
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Biography
Dr Tania Leach is an expert in educational leadership at the University of Southern Queensland. Her research focuses on the contemporary challenges of system leaders, and what that this means for how we can better support schools and their leaders to achieve whole of system growth.
She has a particular interest in the interconnection between system and school leadership and the skills and knowledges that are needed to successfully lead systems and schools.
Tania has 18 years of leadership experience across the schooling and university sector, including Associate Dean - LTSS, Principal Education Advisor and Head of School. Her expertise as a system leader was formally acknowledged in 2017 through the Australian Council of Educational Leadership’s Queensland Excellence in Leadership Award. She now works with current leaders, policy makers, and international researchers to highlight the important and complex work of educational leadership today.
Tania’s PhD thesis, awarded by the University of Southern Queensland in 2021, explored the contemporary challenges of system leaders, and what that this means for how we can better support schools and their leaders to achieve whole of system growth. It won the 2022 ‘Research in Educational Leadership and Management Award’ for exceptional academic achievement in advanced studies in educational leadership, as selected by the Australian Council for Educational Leaders and the Excellence in Doctoral Research: for achieving the highest possible result for a Higher Degree by Research thesis examination, as selected by the University of Southern Queensland.
Employment
| Position | Organisation | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Associate Head Professional Engagement | University of Southern Queensland | 2022 | 2023 |
| Associate Dean - Learning Teaching and Student Success | University of Southern Queensland | 2020 | 2022 |
| Professional Experience Director | University of Southern Queensland | 2019 | 2022 |
Expertise
Education System Reform
System Leadership
Education Policy Implementation
Teaching
Data-Driven Practices - Teacher Impact (National TPA course) in Undergraduate ITE and Masters of Learning and Teaching Programs
Fields of Research
- 390115. Work integrated learning (incl. internships)
- 390201. Education policy
- 390399. Education systems not elsewhere classified
- 390403. Educational administration, management and leadership
- 399999. Other education not elsewhere classified
Professional Membership
| Professional Membership | Year |
|---|---|
| ACEL: Australian Council of Educational Leaders | |
| AARE: Australian Association for Research in Education | |
| HERDSA: Higher Education Research ad Development Society of Australia |
BEd
USQ
2001
MEd
USQ
2013
PhD
USQ
2022
Supervision Interests
Educational Leadership
Education Policy
School Leadership
School Improvement
Data Driven Practices in Schools
Current Supervisions
| Research Title | Supervisor Type | Level of Study | Commenced |
|---|---|---|---|
| Associate Supervisor | |||
| An exploration of the inclusivity of Schon¿s notion of reflective practice | Associate Supervisor | Doctoral | 2023 |
| Enlightening a path to increased adoption of active learning opportunities in STEMM Higher Education teaching environments. | Associate Supervisor | Doctoral | 2021 |
| Project title | Details | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Beginning Principals - Flagship Program | The Queensland Department of Education has recently launched its new strategy – Equity and Excellence – realising the potential of every student (attached). A key system initiative of the strategy is educational leadership and teaching expertise, a prioritised agenda to empower educators and leaders to build professional expertise across their career through high quality, targeted development opportunities. This contract research partnership focuses on the use of contemporary research within the department’s pilot flagship Beginning Principals Program. This program aims to contribute to the development of the expertise of the department's emerging school leaders. | 2023 |
| Technology (and Digital Affordances) Demonstrators Special Initiative Grants | The Technology (and Digital Affordances) Demonstrator Special Initiative Grants were awarded to academics to enable solutions to contextualised learning and teaching challenges through trialling of specific technologies and associated digital pedagogies. Grant funding supported small L&T projects that are enmeshed within teaching, curriculum, and/or assessment. My project was focussed on the implementation of PADLET platforms to increase cognitive engagement. This project lead to a wider adoption of the platform. | 2020 |
| QLD Museum STEM Club Project | The University of Southern Queensland undertook a 2 year project on behalf of the Queensland Museum and Inspiring Australia to establish an evaluation framework for Queensland STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) clubs. STEM Club Toolkit - Inspiring Australia Queensland The final toolkit is available on the Inspiring Australia Queensland website: https://www.inspiringqld.com.au › stem-clubs › stem-c... | 2018 |
| Date | Name | Awarding organisation | Underpinning research |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Australian New Voice In Educational Leadership Research | Australian Council of Educational Leadership | System reform: an exploration of policy interpretation and translation through the enacted role of Regional Education Officers |
| 2022 | Excellence in Doctoral Research | University of Southern Queensland | System reform: an exploration of policy interpretation and translation through the enacted role of Regional Education Officers |
| 2022 | Queensland Research in Educational Leadership and Management Award | Australian Council for Educatonal Ledership - Queensland | System reform: an exploration of policy interpretation and translation through the enacted role of Regional Education Officers |
| 2022 | Higher Education Academy Senior Fellow Scholarship | Advance Higher Education |