Biography
Dr. Tebeje Molla (Mekonnen) is a Research Fellow (ARC-DECRA) in the School of Education at Deakin University. Tebeje holds degrees in history education (Bahir Dar University, 2004), curriculum (Addis Ababa University, 2007), sociology of education (Aarhus University, 2009) and sociology (Monash University, 2013).
Tebeje has established a research program that focuses on understanding educational inequality and policy responses at systemic (national) and institutional (universities and schools) levels.
Tebeje has extensive experience in undertaking large-scale research projects. As a research fellow and a CI, he participated in a number of nationally funded projects that examined different aspects of educational disadvantage and equity instruments. He has also received internal funding support from Deakin University to investigate equity issues in higher education as well as in the early childhood education and care sector.
Tebeje has published in high-impact international journals in his field. He also writes newspaper commentaries on Ethiopian politics and occasionally appears on the media (e.g. SBS Amharic) to discuss current affairs in relation to African communities in Australia.
Read more on Tebeje Molla's profileBiography summary
Dr Tebeje Molla's research focuses on education policy, social inclusion, educational justice, research training policy, and teacher professional learning. Theoretically, his work is informed by critical sociology and a capability approach to social justice and human development.
On completing his postdoctoral fellowship, Tebeje has been awarded Australian Research Council's Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA, 2019-2021). His DECRA project explores higher education participation of refugee-background African youth in Australia.
Research interests
- Education policy analysis
- Educational justice
- Social inclusion and education
- Educational experiences of refugee-background African youth
- Graduate research training and employability
- Teacher professional learning
Teaching interests
- Education policy
- Sociology of education
- Sociology
- Qualitative research method
Units taught
EDX704 Research Paper
EDX706 Minor Thesis
Topics:
1. Positioning the Role of Teacher Librarians in the Brisbane Hearings of the 2010 House of Representatives Committee Inquiry; completed, 2019
2. Educational Experiences of South Sudanese Heritage Students
Knowledge areas
- Education policy
- Equity in education
- Teacher professional learning
- Graduate research training and employability
Expertise
- Africa
- Education
- Higher education
- Policy
- Refugees
- Youth/young people's issues
Conferences
Tebeje has presented his work at annual educational/sociological conferences including:
- AARE: Australian Association for Research in Education
- BERA: British Educational Research Association
- ECER: European Conference on Educational Research
- ICES: International and Comparative Education Society (USA)
- TASA: The Australian Sociological Association
- TIES: The Inclusive Education Summit
Professional activities
Tebeje is a member of the Refugee Council of Australia’s Education Special Interest Group. He is currently a co-convenor of AARE’s CALD SIG, and serves as a member of expert groups in ARC projects. He is also a member of the College of Reviewers (CoR) for the Higher Education Research and Development journal. In addition, Tebeje reviews manuscripts submitted to the following journals:
- Critical Studies in Education
- Higher Education
- Discourse
- Studies in Higher Education
- European Educational Research Journal
- Policy Futures in Education
- Global Public Policy
- Review of African Political Economy
Research groups
Research for Educational Impact (REDI)
Awards
Discovery Early Career Award, DECRA (ARC, 2019)
Endeavour Research Leadership Award (DET, 2019)
Publications
Refugees and equity policy in Australian higher education
Tebeje Mekonnen
(2021), Vol. 5, pp. 5-27, Policy Reviews in Higher Education, London, Eng., C1
Critical policy scholarship in education: An overview
T Molla
(2021), Vol. 29, pp. 1-30, Education Policy Analysis Archives, Tempe, Ariz., C1
The politics of critical policy sociology: mobilities, moorings and elite networks
G Savage, J Gerrard, T Gale, T Molla
(2021), pp. 1-16, Critical studies in education, Abingdon, Eng., C1
Preparing African students with refugee backgrounds for transition: school practices
Tebeje Mekonnen
(2021), pp. 1-21, Australian journal of education, London, Eng., C1
Teacher agency and professional practice
T Molla, A Nolan
(2020), Vol. 26, pp. 67-87, Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, London, Eng., C1
African Refugees in Australia: Social Position and Educational Outcomes
T Molla
(2020), pp. 1-18, Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies, Abingdon, Eng., C1
Building teacher professional capabilities through transformative learning
A Nolan, T Molla
(2020), pp. 1-16, Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, London, Eng., C1
African refugee youth in Australia: higher education participation
Tebeje Molla
(2020), pp. 1-15, Higher Education Research & Development, Abingdon, Eng., C1
Identifying professional functionings of early childhood educators
T Molla, A Nolan
(2019), Vol. 45, pp. 551-566, Professional development in education, Abingdon, Eng., C1
T Molla, A Harvey, S Sellar
(2019), Vol. 38, pp. 307-323, Higher education research and development, Abingdon, Eng., C1
Positional matters: school leaders engaging with national equity agendas
T Molla, T Gale
(2019), Vol. 34, pp. 858-876, Journal of education policy, Abingdon, Eng., C1
Human Development Optimism and Political Pitfalls in Ethiopia
T Molla
(2019), Vol. 46, pp. 367-391, Forum for Development Studies, London, Eng., C1
Tebeje Molla
(2019), pp. 1-19, International journal of inclusive education, Abingdon, Eng., C1
Supporting teacher professionalism through tailored professional learning
Andrea Nolan, Tebeje Molla
(2019), Vol. 17, pp. 126-140, London review of education, London, Eng., C1
Researching professional recognition in a pre-school setting: a critical realist approach
T Molla, A Nolan
(2019), pp. 1-12, International journal of research & method in education, London, Eng., C1
T Molla, A Nolan
(2019), Vol. 63, pp. 322-339, Australian Journal of Education, London, Eng., C1
Educational aid, symbolic power and policy reform: the world bank in Ethiopia
T Molla
(2019), Vol. 17, pp. 331-346, London review of education, London, Eng., C1
Higher education in Ethiopia: structural inequalities and policy responses
T Molla
(2018), Berlin, Germany, A1
T Mekonnen, D Cuthbert
(2018), Vol. 53, pp. 250-267, Journal of Asian and African studies, London, Eng., C1
Teacher professional learning in Early Childhood education: insights from a mentoring program
A Nolan, T Molla
(2018), Vol. 38, pp. 258-270, Early years : an international research journal, London, Eng., C1
Teacher professional learning through pedagogy of discomfort
A Nolan, Tebeje Molla
(2018), Vol. 19, pp. 721-735, Reflective practice: international and multidisciplinary perspectives, Abingdon, Eng., C1
The illusion of meritocracy and the audacity of elitism: expanding the evaluative space in education
Trevor Gale, Tebeje Molla, Stephen Parker
(2017), Vol. 1, pp. 7-21, Policy and inequality in education, Singapore, B1
C Mills, T Molla, T Gale, R Cross, S Parker, C Smith
(2017), Vol. 38, pp. 856-871, British journal of sociology of education, Basingstoke, Eng., C1
Teacher professional learning as a social practice: an Australian case
A Nolan, T Mekonnen
(2017), pp. 1-23, International studies in sociology of education, Abingdon, Eng., C1
Deliberations on the deliberative professional: thought-action provocations
Trevor Gale, T Mekonnen
(2016), pp. 247-262, Practice theory and education : diffractive readings in professional practice, Abingdon, Eng., B1
T Molla, D Cuthbert
(2016), Vol. 14, pp. 635-654, Policy futures in education, London, Eng., C1
Teacher confidence and professional capital
A Nolan, T Mekonnen
(2016), Vol. 62, pp. 10-18, Teaching and teacher education, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, C1
D Cuthbert, T Mekonnen
(2015), pp. 95-111, Technology and workplace skills for the twenty-first century: Asia Pacific universities in the globalized economy, Basingstoke, Eng., B1-1
D Cuthbert, T Molla
(2015), Vol. 69, pp. 33-53, Higher education, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, C1-1
Inequality in Ethiopian higher education: reframing the problem as capability deprivation
T Molla, T Gale
(2015), Vol. 36, pp. 383-397, Discourse: studies in the cultural politics of education, London, Eng., C1
Social justice intents in policy: an analysis of capability for and through education
T Gale, T Mekonnen
(2015), Vol. 30, pp. 810-830, Journal of education policy, London, Eng., C1
T Molla, D Cuthbert
(2015), Vol. 42, pp. 237-256, Australian educational researcher, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, C1-1
Higher education in Ethiopia: Widening access and persisting inequalities
T Molla
(2014), pp. 125-138, Equality in Education: Fairness and Inclusion, B1
The World Bank and higher education reform in Ethiopia: knowledge aid and its undesirable effects
T Mekonnen
(2014), pp. 86-100, World yearbook of education 2014. Governing knowledge: comparison, knowledge-based technologies and expertise in the regulation of education, Abingdon, Eng., B1-1
Neoliberal policy agendas and the problem of inequality in higher education: the Ethiopian case
T Molla
(2014), Vol. 12, pp. 297-309, Policy futures in education, Oxford, Eng., C1
T Molla
(2014), Vol. 50, pp. 229-248, Comparative education, Abingdon, England, C1-1
Higher education development and knowledge economy optimism in Ethiopia
T Mekonnen, T Gale
(2014), Vol. 2, pp. 1-17, Knowledge cultures, Woodside, N.Y., C1-1
Qualitative inequality: experiences of women in Ethiopian higher education
T Mekonnen, D Cuthbert
(2014), Vol. 26, pp. 759-775, Gender and education, London, Eng., C1-1
Higher education policy reform in ethiopia: The representation of the problem of gender inequality
T Molla
(2013), Vol. 26, pp. 193-215, Higher Education Policy, C1-1
T Molla
(2013), Vol. 2, pp. 167-192, International journal of sociology education, Barcelona, Spain, C1-1
T Molla
(2011), Vol. 12, pp. 35-55, World studies in education, Melbourne, Vic, C1-1
T Molla
(2010), Vol. 12, pp. 7-22, Widening participation and lifelong learning, Stoke-on-Trent, England, C1-1
T Molla
(2010), Vol. 25, pp. 27-45, Educational research journal, Hong Kong, C1-1
Funded Projects at Deakin
Australian Competitive Grants
Enhancing Higher Education Participation of African Refugee Youth
Dr Tebeje Molla Mekonnen
ARC DECRA - Discovery Early Career Researcher Award
- 2021: $80,946
- 2020: $131,612
- 2019: $110,668
Other Public Sector Funding
COVID-19 Online Learning Landscapes and CALDMR students: Opportunities and Challenges
Dr Lisa Hartely, A/Prof Loshini Naidoo, Dr Rachel Burke, Dr Tebeje Molla Mekonnen, Dr Clemence Due, Dr Joel Anderson, Dr Teresa De Fazio, Carolina Morison, Dr William Mude, A/Prof Ravinder Sidhu
- 2020: $3,046
Industry and Other Funding
Cottage by the Sea-Where Young People Matter: Mentor Program
Prof Louise Paatsch, A/Prof Amanda Mooney, Prof Andrea Nolan, Prof Julianne Moss, Dr Tebeje Molla Mekonnen, Dr Sarah Healy
- 2021: $29,997
Supervisions
No completed student supervisions to report