Research interests
My research program investigates young people's creation and usage of texts; innovative pedagogy, curriculum design and teaching practices; the policies and conditions of teachers' work. I have a particular interest in the areas of new literacies studies and the arts and am passionate about my ongoing series of research projects in the areas of drama education pedagogy and practices, digital games, emergent literacies and new textual practices.
Teaching interests
I am the Chair of Secondary English Curriculum Inquiry. I have taught secondary English and Drama education in a wide range of school and university settings. I have taught in Melbourne, Ballarat, Brisbane, Vanuatu and Canada, and bring this experience to my research, curriculum design and critique, and teaching.
I am an experienced post-graduate research supervisor and have successfully supervised a range of doctoral and masters students and their projects. I work in partnership with my post-graduate students, supporting them in the pursuit of their chosen project. I have worked across a range of critical theoretical resources and discipline areas. I am particularly interested in the usage of the creative arts as a research method and innovative approaches to research in the field of education. I have a strong record of supporting students through their studies to completion and beyond, assisting them to achieve their research and employment goals.
I believe that you have to start with where people are at and try to take them where they need to/want to go. This student-centred approach to learning and teaching in the context of my Higher Degree Research students means getting to know their working style closely, so that I (and other members of the supervision team) can best help them to draw on their strengths to work towards their goals.
Units taught
Secondary English Curriculum Inquiry (Unit Chair and Lecturer)
Languages, Literacies and Learners (Lecturer)
Publications
No publications found
Funded Projects at Deakin
Australian Competitive Grants
Literacy in the digital world of the twenty-first century: learning from computer games.
Prof Catherine Beavis, Prof Clare Bradford, A/Prof Joanne O'Mara, Dr Christopher Walsh
ARC Linkage - Projects Rnd 1
- 2010: $52,596
- 2008: $41,626
- 2007: $65,295
Intercultural understanding in primary and secondary schools
Adj/Prof Christine Halse, Prof Fethi Mansouri, A/Prof Colin Arrowsmith, Prof Julianne Moss, Hon Prof Ruth Arber, Dr Nida Denson, A/Prof Joanne O'Mara, Dr Naomi Priest
ARC Linkage - Projects Rnd 2
- 2015: $76,337
- 2014: $149,988
- 2013: $108,321
- 2012: $70,097
Serious Play: Using digital games in school to promote literacy and learning in the twenty first century
Prof Catherine Beavis, Dr Michael Dezuanni, A/Prof Joanne O'Mara, Dr Sarah Prestridge, Dr Leonie Rowan, Prof Claire Wyatt-Smith, Dr Jason Zagami, A/Prof Yam San Chee
ARC Linkage - Projects Rnd 2
- 2014: $44,500
- 2013: $39,500
- 2012: $38,500
The contribution of becoming reflective on the employability of teachers and social workers
A/Prof Fran Waugh, Prof Robyn Ewing, A/Prof Wendy Bowles, A/Prof Joanne O'Mara, Prof Joan Fook, Dr Jonothan Doherty, Dr Jane McLenachan, A/Prof Christine Morley, A/Prof Lisa Kervin, Dr Jessica Maneti
OLT Innovation and Development Grants - Office for Learning and Teaching
- 2017: $6,250
Other Public Sector Funding
Literacy in the digital world of the twenty-first century: learning from computer games.
Prof Catherine Beavis, Prof Clare Bradford, A/Prof Joanne O'Mara, Dr Christopher Walsh
DETVic Department of Education and Training Victoria, ACMI -The Australian Centre for the Moving Image
- 2010: $25,000
- 2008: $30,000
- 2007: $25,000
Review of the literature on the connections between physical learning spaces and student learning outcomes
Prof Jill Blackmore, Dr Debra Bateman, A/Prof Joanne O'Mara, Dr Jill Loughlin
DEECD Research Panel - Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
- 2010: $30,844
Innovative Learning Environments Research Study
Prof Jill Blackmore, A/Prof Mary Dixon, A/Prof Joanne O'Mara, Dr Jill Loughlin, Dr Debra Bateman, Hon Prof Anne Cloonan, Dr Kim Senior, Dr Jill Bamforth, Dr George Aranda, Mr Rod Le Cudennec, Ms Kate McCulloch
DEECD Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
- 2011: $143,524
- 2010: $54,000
Intercultural understanding in primary and secondary schools
Adj/Prof Christine Halse, Prof Fethi Mansouri, A/Prof Colin Arrowsmith, Prof Julianne Moss, Hon Prof Ruth Arber, Dr Nida Denson, A/Prof Joanne O'Mara, Dr Naomi Priest
DEECD Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
- 2013: $10,000
- 2012: $125,000
Literacy and Numeracy Strategy - Literature Review
A/Prof Colleen Vale, Prof Damian Blake, A/Prof Glenn Auld, Dr Leicha Bragg, Prof Louise Paatsch, A/Prof Trace Ollis, A/Prof Joanne O'Mara, Dr Gaye Williams, Dr Sarah Ohi
DEECD Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
- 2013: $54,420
Transition: Improved Literacy and Numeracy Outcomes (Survey)
Dr Brian Doig, A/Prof Joanne O'Mara
DETVic Grant - Research - Department of Education and Training Victoria
- 2015: $50,959
Evaluation of NISA project: Supporting implementation of Digital Technologies Curriculum
A/Prof Julianne Lynch, A/Prof Joanne O'Mara, Hon Prof Anne Cloonan, A/Prof Glenn Auld
Australian Curriculum, Assessment & Reporting Authority
- 2020: $47,835
- 2019: $22,500
- 2018: $22,500
- 2017: $5,000
Virtual Learning Principles for Teachers: Best Practices.
A/Prof Joanne O'Mara, Prof Catherine Beavis
DETVic Grant - Research - Department of Education and Training Victoria
- 2019: $45,454
Learner Improvement in Reading in Tasmanian Government Schools.
A/Prof Glenn Auld, Prof Julianne Moss, Prof Louise Paatsch, A/Prof Joanne O'Mara, Dr Maria Nicholas, Dr Sarah Ohi
Department for Education, Children & Young People (Tasmania)
- 2023: $605,126
Industry and Other Funding
Intercultural understanding in primary and secondary schools
Adj/Prof Christine Halse, Prof Fethi Mansouri, A/Prof Colin Arrowsmith, Prof Julianne Moss, Hon Prof Ruth Arber, Dr Nida Denson, A/Prof Joanne O'Mara, Dr Naomi Priest
Together for Humanity Foundation Limited
- 2014: $30,000
- 2013: $30,000
- 2012: $30,000
Evaluation of the Professional Learning Flagship Program: Leading Curriculum Change
Prof Brenton Doecke, Prof Julianne Moss, Hon Prof Anne Cloonan, A/Prof Julianne Lynch, A/Prof Joanne O'Mara
Aust Institute for Teaching and School Leadership
- 2012: $47,117
Literacy Learning in Playful Spaces: Using multimodal strategies to develop narrative with young learners
A/Prof Linda Laidlaw, A/Prof Joanne O'Mara
CSSHRC Grant - Research - Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
- 2014: $18,043
Reimagining literacy education: Being literate in the twenty-first century
A/Prof Linda Laidlaw, Prof Jannifer Rowsell, A/Prof Joanne O'Mara
SSHRCC Grant - Research - Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada
- 2021: $15,597
Improving the outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students Project.
A/Prof Joanne O'Mara, Prof Julianne Moss, A/Prof Tim Corcoran, A/Prof Glenn Auld
Catholic Education Centre
- 2021: $117,066
- 2020: $42,867
Opportunities and Challenges to / of Text Selection in Secondary English Education.
A/Prof Joanne O'Mara
Victorian Association for the Teaching of English Collaborative Research Grant
- 2022: $8,000
Supervisions
Bella Nitza Illesca
Thesis entitled: Storytelling and the Representation of the Everyday Work of English Teachers
Doctor of Philosophy (Education), School of Education
Susan Mullane
Thesis entitled: Coming to Know the Accompanied Solo
Doctor of Philosophy (Education), School of Education
Gary Robert Shaw
Thesis entitled: How might interculturality be developed in an Australian primary school?
Doctor of Philosophy (Education), School of Education
Lucinda McKnight
Thesis entitled: The Glitterbomb: Designing Curriculum and Identity with Girls' Popular Culture
Doctor of Philosophy (Education), School of Education
Michelle Ludecke
Thesis entitled: Using beginning teachers' 'firsts' to understand identity formation and transformation
Doctor of Philosophy (Education), School of Education
Margaret Milne
Thesis entitled: Doing Without School! Spaces becomes places: adolescent identity and engagement
Doctor of Philosophy (Education), School of Education
Ena Herni Wasli
Thesis entitled: Using Drama Methodology to Teach Traditional Malay Literature in Brunei
Doctor of Philosophy (Education), School of Education
Fiona Phillips
Thesis entitled: Becoming Musical: Stories from The Staff
Doctor of Philosophy (Education), School of Education
Maureen Patricia Cann
Thesis entitled: Literacy Reform in an Australian Secondary School: Living the Discourses of Recontextualisation
Doctor of Philosophy (Education), School of Education
Kynan Mackintosh Robinson
Thesis entitled: Enabling Collective Creativity in Schools using Minecraft: Serious Play
Doctor of Philosophy (Education), School of Education
Luke Conrad Jackson
Thesis entitled: The Role of the Writer in Creating Narrative-Driven Digital Educational Games
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Education
Benjamin Whitburn
Thesis entitled: Critical Engagement with Insider Accounts of Inclusive Schooling
Doctor of Philosophy (Education), School of Education
Nishta Devi Rosunee
Thesis entitled: Who's culture, where and why? - identity, culture and artistic expression
Doctor of Philosophy (Education), School of Education
Jodi Williams
Thesis entitled: Peeling back the wallpaper: Postfeminist discourses in the senior Literature classroom
Doctor of Philosophy (Education), School of Education
Brandi Nichole Fox
Thesis entitled: Intercultural subjectivities of the everyday: A study of Australian school kids
Doctor of Philosophy (Education), School of Education
Lisa Breen
Thesis entitled: Teacher professional practice and an ethic of care: an everyday problematic
Doctor of Philosophy (Education), School of Education