Rebecca Andrews

Rebecca Andrews is a Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood and the Deputy Director of Initial Teacher Education in the School of Education. She has extensive experience in early childhood.  

Research:
Rebecca’s two primary areas of research examine (1) social interactions, emotion knowledge and memory in early childhood. These interactions encompass teacher-child, educator-child and parent-child interactions and (2) learning within early childhood centres.

Her research focuses on:

• development of autobiographical memory through educator-child reminiscing and future talk
• what elaborative reminiscing looks like for teachers and educators
• differences and similarities between parent and teacher reminiscing and future talk
• how educator-child conversations can enhance children’s understanding and use of temporal and mental state language
• whether quality educator conversations offer an ameliorating benefit for children not engaged in high quality conversations in other contexts
• who with, when and why early childhood teachers reminisce with children
• investigating the benefits of implementing a professional development program focussing on emotive and elaborative reminiscing for early childhood educators and teachers 

Rebecca is also interested in the student experience in Professional Experience placements. This led to investigations in the factors impacting on diploma qualified students as they undertook their first professional experience unit as part of a Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) degree. Her research into diploma students’ experiences in Professional Experience has led to the creation and implementation of support strategies for these students in relevant units. Currently Rebecca is investigating the impact of an intervention designed to improve teacher education students’ culturally responsive pedagogy and pedagogical language awareness. Outcomes will inform the design of international placements in teacher education. 

Rebecca is actively recruiting Higher Degree Research students whose projects lie within her areas of research specialisation. Please email Rebecca (rebecca.andrews@mq.edu.au) to discuss potential topics.

Teaching:
Rebecca has been awarded a Senior Fellowship of Advance HE. This Senior Fellowship award reflects the international benchmarking of her leadership in terms of influencing colleagues’ practices, in particular her commitment to mentoring others through reflexive practice in teaching and learning for enhanced student experience.

Currently Rebecca teaches in the undergraduate and postgraduate early childhood education programs. Professional Experience (practicum) is an integral component to becoming an early childhood teacher. Rebecca has over a decade of experience convening and teaching Professional Experience units. She is interested in early childhood teacher education including early childhood philosophy and pedagogy as part of the student experience in practicums. Rebecca engages final year students in their last professional experience via the Teaching Performance Assessment and encourages students to activley engage with the School of Education's' transition to the profession sessions.

She currently convenes in the undergraduate program:

• EDST2010  Professional Experience 1 Practice of Teaching: Introduction to the Early Childhood Context
• ECHP4240 Professional Experience 7

She currently convenes in the postgraduate program:

• ECED8290 Early Childhood Postgraduate Internship

Rebecca is a professionally accredited Early Childhood teacher by the New South Wales Education Standards Authority.

Community:
Rebecca is Chair of Mia Mia Child and Family Study Centre Advisory Board.