Biography
Dr. Steven Lewis is an ARC DECRA Fellow at the Education Governance and Policy (EGP) group within the REDI (Research for Educational Impact) Centre of Deakin University. He completed his Ph.D. in the School of Education at The University of Queensland in 2016. His research investigates how school reform, teacher learning and educational governance is being reshaped by new forms of international evidence, data infrastructures and online software platforms. In 2019, Steven commenced an ARC DECRA Fellowship, entitled "Globalising School Reform Through Online Teacher Professional Learning (DE190101141)", funded to the value of $447,772.
Steven has more than 13 years-experience as an educator, including six years as a high school mathematics and science teacher in Queensland, and seven years as a university lecturer and researcher in Queensland, Kansas (USA) and Victoria. After working as a Research Fellow on several Australian Research Council-funded projects, based at The University of Queensland and the University of Melbourne, and a Visiting Scholar at Kansas State University, Steven relocated to Deakin University in 2017 to pursue a research-intensive trajectory. He has published more than 30 journal articles, book chapters and scholarly reports on how new global modes of standardised testing and data, and emergent forms of international schooling evidence, help reshape global education policymaking and governance, as well as local schooling practices, teachers’ work and student learning. These works have been published in leading journals within the field, such as the British Journal of Sociology of Education, Comparative Education, Critical Studies in Education and Journal of Education Policy. Steven has contributed to prestigious handbooks and encyclopaedias, including the Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Sociology, the Oxford Research Encyclopaedia of Education (OUP) and the Handbook of Human and Social Conditions in Assessment (Routledge). He has also participated in public debates around schooling policy and accountability, writing in outlets such as The Conversation, Unite for Quality Education and EduResearch Matters, and appearing live on Media Centre for Education Research Australia media briefings.
Steven’s work has been acknowledged through a variety of esteemed awards and prizes. He has been the recipient of an ARC DECRA Fellowship (2019-2022); the Outstanding Early-Career Paper Award by the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) in 2018; the N.V. Varghese Award for Comparative Education by The University of Queensland in 2017; the Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in 2017; and the Research in Educational Leadership and Management Award by the Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL) in 2016.
Read more on Steven's profileCareer highlights
2019: Research Fellowship: Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) Fellowship, Australian Research Council
2018: Research Award: Outstanding Early Career Paper Award, Comparative and International Education Society
2017: Joining REDI (Research for Educational Impact) Centre, Deakin University
2017: Research Fellowship: Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Deakin University
2017: Research Award: N.V. Varghese Prize for Comparative Education, The University of Queensland
2016: Research Award: Research in Educational Leadership and Management Award, Australian Council for Educational Leaders
2015: Research Award: Carolynn D. Baker Memorial Scholarship, The University of Queensland
2012: Australian Postgraduate Award, Commonwealth of Australia
Research interests
OECD and PISA
NAPLAN
Education policy and governance
Accountability and data
Online software platforms
Teacher professional learning
Comparative and international education
Poststructural theory
Affiliations
Research for Educational Impact (REDI)
American Educational Research Assoication (AERA)
Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE)
Co-Coordinator: Policy and Politics in Education Special Interest Group (AARE)
Comparative and International Education Society (CIES)
Teaching interests
Research Methods
Educational Governance and Policy
Accountability and Data
Teacher Profesional Learning
School Leadership
Knowledge areas
- OECD, PISA, PISA for Schools, PISA4U
- NAPLAN
- Teacher and teaching standards
- Education policy and governance
- Accountability and data
- Comparative and international education
- Poststructural theory
See publications within the field of education:
- https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Steven_Lewis13
- https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?hl=en&user=5Unla90AAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate
- https://theconversation.com/profiles/steven-lewis-301546
Conferences
Annual Conference of the Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE)
Annual Conference of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES)
Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA)
European Conference on Educational Research (ECER)
Media appearances
Lewis, S. (2020, May 14). Where to for NAPLAN? Live MCERA media Q&A. MCERA. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrcKciiOJKE.
Lewis, S. (2019, December 4). Radio interview: PISA 2018 results. 2SM Radio.
Lewis, S. (2019, September 13). Radio interview: Should NAPLAN results be on your resume? 2SER 107.3 Radio. Retrieved from https://2ser.com/should-naplan-results-be-on-your-resume/.
Holloway, J., & Lewis, S. (2019, August 29). No, minister! Keep NAPLAN results away from student job applications. The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/no-minister-keep-naplan- results-away-from-student-job-applications-122629.
Lewis, S., & Holloway, J. (2019, August 29). Opinion: NAPLAN has lost sight of its main purpose. Herald Sun, 29.
Holloway, J., & Lewis, S. (2019, August 27). NAPLAN results not so reliable this year, Deakin experts warn. Deakin University Media Release. Retrieved from https://www.deakin.edu.au/about- deakin/media-releases/articles/naplan-results-not-so-reliable-this-year,-deakin-experts-warn.
Lewis, S. (2019, May 10). Expert interview regarding NAPLAN 2019. Comments reported in, NAPLAN results do not measure individual performance, experts argue. Education HQ Australia. Retrieved from https://au.educationhq.com/news/59339/naplan-results-do-not-measure-individual-performance-experts-argue/
Goss, P., Lewis, S., & Irvine, S. (2019, April 3). Don’t be fooled, billions for schools in Budget 2019 aren’t new. The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/dont-be-fooled-billions-for-schools-in-budget-2019-arent-new-and-what-happened-to-the-national-evidence-institute-114193.
Lewis, S. (2018, September 13). Expert interview regarding OECD Education at a Glance 2018. Comments reported in, At an OECD glance, we’re an education mélange. Campus Review. Retrieved from https://www.campusreview.com.au/2018/09/at-an-oecd-glance-were-an-education-melange/
Savage, G.C., Holloway, J., & Lewis, S. (2018, August 28). NAPLAN 2018 summary results: A few weeks late, but otherwise little change from previous years. The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/naplan-2018-summary-results-a-few-weeks-late-but-otherwise-little-change-from-previous-years-102096.
Lewis, S. (2018, August 8). MCERA expert comment: Online NAPLAN results under fire. Media Centre for Education Research Australia (MCERA). Comments reported in, Experts weigh in on NAPLAN debacle. Education HQ Australia. Retrieved from https://au.educationhq.com/news/50428/experts-weigh-in-on-naplan-debarcle/
Lewis, S. (2018, May 10). What NAPLAN can and can’t tell us: NAPLAN and education policy media briefing. Media Centre for Education Research Australia (MCERA). Retrieved from https://app.livestorm.co/p/2cc21d38-310e-4ad0-b55f-8aa4e72274d1
Gorur, R., & Lewis, S. (2017, November 17). NAPLAN has done little to improve student outcomes. The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/naplan-has-done-little-to-improve-student-outcomes-86049
Hogan, A., & Lewis, S. (2017, March 15). Fast policy: Reform first and ask questions later? Unite for Quality Education. Retrieved from https://www.unite4education.org/global-response/fast-policy-reform-first-and-ask-questions-later/
Lewis, S., & Hogan, A. (2016, September 12). Fast policy: When educational research morphs into quick fixes and ‘silver bullets’. AARE EduResearch matters. Retrieved from http://www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=1755#comment-218292
Savage, G.C., & Lewis, S. (2016, September 23). Gonski was corrupted, but Labor and Coalition both to blame. The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/gonski-model-was-corrupted-but-labor- and-coalition-are-both-to-blame-65875.
Research groups
Education Governance and Policy (EGP)
Research for Educational Impact (REDI)
Awards
2019: Research Fellowship: Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) Fellowship, Australian Research Council
2018: Research Award: Outstanding Early Career Paper Award, Comparative and International Education Society
2017: Research Fellowship: Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Deakin University
2017: Research Award: N.V. Varghese Prize for Comparative Education, The University of Queensland
2016: Research Award: Research in Educational Leadership and Management Award, Australian Council for Educational Leaders
2015: Research Award: Carolynn D. Baker Memorial Scholarship, The University of Queensland
2012: Research Fellowship: Australian Postgraduate Award, Commonwealth of Australia
Projects
2020-present: Feasibility of the AllPlay Learn Professional Development Course for Early Childhood Educators and Primary School Teachers: A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial (Associate Investigator). Deakin University
2019-present: Globalising School Reform Through Online Teacher Professional Learning (DE190101141) (Chief Investigator). Deakin University.
2017-2020: The Global History of the OECD in Education (Associate Investigator). Aalborg University.
2017-2019: Data-driven Modes of International Evidence and the Reshaping of Local Schooling Reform (Chief Investigator). Deakin University
Publications
'Becoming European'? Respatialising the European schools system through PISA for schools
S Lewis
(2020), Vol. 29, pp. 85-106, International studies in sociology of education, Abingdon, Eng., C1
Steven Lewis
(2020), pp. 1-19, Comparative education, Abingdon, Eng., C1
Steven Lewis
(2020), pp. 1-16, Critical studies in education, Abingdon, Eng., C1
Policy mobilities and methodology: a proposition for inventive methods in education policy studies
S Lewis, K Gulson, B Lingard, C Lubienski, K Takayama, P Webb
(2019), pp. 100-117, Education and the mobility turn, Abingdon, Eng., B1
Steven Lewis
(2019), pp. 269-289, The OECD's historical rise in education : the formation of a global governing complex, Cham, Switzerland, B1
S Lewis, A Hogan
(2019), Vol. 60, pp. 1-18, Critical studies in education, Abingdon, Eng., C1-1
Datafying the teaching 'profession': remaking the professional teacher in the image of data
S Lewis, J Holloway
(2019), Vol. 49, pp. 35-51, Cambridge journal of education, Abingdon, Eng., C1
Standards without standardisation? Assembling standards-based reforms in Australian and US schooling
Steven Lewis, Glenn Savage, Jessica Holloway
(2019), pp. 1-28, Journal of education policy, Abingdon, Eng., C1
S Lewis
(2018), pp. 349-356, Structuring the thesis: matching method, paradigm, theories and findings, Singapore, B1
Visibility, invisibility, and visualisation: the danger of school performance data
I Hadry, S Lewis
(2018), Vol. 26, pp. 233-248, Pedagogy, culture and society, Abingdon, Eng., C1
PISA 'yet to come': governing schooling through time, difference and potential
S Lewis
(2018), Vol. 39, pp. 683-397, British journal of sociology of education, Abingdon, Eng., C1
J Sefton-Green, S Lewis, J Holloway
(2018), [Burwood, Vic.], A6
PISA for schools: respatializing the OECD's global governance of education
S Lewis
(2017), pp. 181-206, Impact of the OECD on education worldwide, Bingley, Eng., B1
Accountabilities in schools and school systems
B Lingard, S Sellar, S Lewis
(2017), pp. 1-28, Oxford research encyclopedia of education, Oxford, Eng., B1
Governing schooling through 'what works': the OECD's PISA for schools
S Lewis
(2017), Vol. 32, pp. 281-302, Journal of education policy, London, Eng., C1-1
The 'doublethink' of data: educational performativity and the field of schooling practices
I Hardy, S Lewis
(2017), Vol. 38, pp. 671-685, British journal of sociology of education, London, Eng., C1-1
Book review : Fast policy: experimental statecraft at the thresholds of neoliberalism
S Lewis
(2017), Vol. 38, pp. 298-304, Discourse: studies in the cultural politics of education, Abingdon, Eng., C1-1
Tracking the topological: the effects of standardised data upon teachers' practice
S Lewis, I Hardy
(2017), Vol. 65, pp. 219-238, British journal of educational studies, London, Eng., C1-1
Policy mobilities and methodology: a proposition for inventive methods in education policy studies
K Gulson, S Lewis, B Lingard, C Lubienski, K Takayama, P Webb
(2017), Vol. 58, pp. 224-241, Critical studies in education, Abingdon, Eng., C1-1
Placing PISA and PISA for schools in two federalisms, Australia and the USA
B Lingard, S Lewis
(2017), Vol. 58, pp. 266-279, Critical studies in education, Abingdon, Eng., C1
The phantom national? Assembling national teaching standards in Australia's federal system
G Savage, S Lewis
(2017), pp. 1-25, Journal of Education Policy, United Kingdom, C1
S Lewis
(2017), pp. 1-20, Comparative Education, United Kingdom, C1
S Lewis
(2017), Vol. 25, pp. 1-25, Education policy analysis archives, Tempe, Ariz., C1
Globalization of the Anglo-American approach to top-down, test-based educational accountability
B Lingard, S Lewis
(2016), pp. 387-403, Handbook of human and social conditions in assessment, Abingdon, Eng., B1-1
PISA for schools: topological rationality and new spaces of the OECD's global educational governance
S Lewis, S Sellar, B Lingard
(2016), Vol. 60, pp. 27-57, Comparative education review, Chicago, Ill., C1-1
The multiple effects of international large-scale assessment on education policy and research
S Lewis, B Lingard
(2015), Vol. 36, pp. 621-637, Discourse: studies in the cultural politics of education, Abingdon, Eng., C1-1
Funding, reputation and targets: the discursive logics of high-stakes testing
S Lewis, I Hardy
(2015), Vol. 45, pp. 245-264, Cambridge journal of education, Abingdon, Eng., C1-1
The OECD, PISA and educational governance: a call to critical engagement
S Lewis
(2014), Vol. 35, pp. 317-327, Discourse-Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, United Kingdom, C1-1
Funded Projects at Deakin
Australian Competitive Grants
Globalising school reform through online teacher professional learning
Dr Steven Lewis
ARC DECRA - Discovery Early Career Researcher Award
- 2020: $95,651
- 2019: $123,376
Supervisions
No completed student supervisions to report