Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
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 primary area of research examines social interactions, emotion knowledge and memory in early childhood. These interactions encompass teacher-child, educator-child and parent-child interactions.
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:
- ECED6000 Early Childhood Philosophy and Pedagogy
- 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.
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- 5 Similar Profiles
Network
Projects
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NSW Dept Edu: Mentoring and Coaching for New NSW Early Childhood Teachers
Hadley, F., Andrews, R., Waniganayake, M., Hay, I., Harrison, L. J. & Jones, C.
1/09/20 → 31/12/21
Project: Research
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Elaborative and emotive reminiscing with young children: An intervention study for early childhood educators
1/01/19 → 31/12/20
Project: Research
Research Outputs
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Characteristics of educators’ talk about decontextualised events
Andrews, R. & Van Bergen, P., 1 Dec 2020, In : Australasian Journal of Early Childhood. 45, 4, p. 362-376 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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Quality Improvement Research Project: Final report
Harrison, L. J., Hadley, F., Irvine, S., Davis, B., Barblett, L., Hatzigianni, M., Mulhearn, G., Waniganayake, M., Andrews, R. & Li, P., 28 May 2020, Sydney, NSW: Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA). 35 p.Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report
Open Access -
Use of mental state language during educator-child and mother-child conversations about the past and future
Andrews, R., Van Bergen, P. & Wyver, S., 17 Aug 2020, In : Early Education and Development. 31, 6, p. 838-853 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
1 Citation (Scopus) -
Quality improvement research project
Harrison, L. J., Hadley, F., Irvine, S., Davis, B., Barblett, L., Hatzigianni, M., Mulhearn, G., Waniganayake, M., Andrews, R. & Li, P., Nov 2019, Sydney: Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA). 35 p.Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report
Open AccessFile24 Downloads (Pure) -
Quality Improvement Research Project: Phase 1 report
Harrison, L. J., Brown, J., Andrews, R., Li, P., Hadley, F., Irvine, S., Davis, B., Barblett, L., Hatzigianni, M., Mulhearn, G. & Waniganayake, M., 2019, Quality Improvement Research Project. Harrison, L., Hadley, F., Irvine, S., Davis, B., Barblett, L., Hatzigianni, M., Mulhearn, G., Waniganayake, M., Andrews, R. & Li, P. (eds.). Sydney, NSW: Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA), p. 11-12 2 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Other chapter contribution
Activities
- 5 Presentation
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Educators and mothers offer children different reminiscing and future talk conversation opportunities
Rebecca Andrews (Speaker), Penny Van Bergen (Speaker)2019Activity: Talk or presentation › Presentation
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Realising new conversation opportunities for educators and children in daycare
Rebecca Andrews (Speaker), Penny Van Bergen (Speaker)2019Activity: Talk or presentation › Presentation
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Educator-child reminiscing presents new memory scaffolding opportunities in long day care centres
Rebecca Andrews (Speaker)2017Activity: Talk or presentation › Presentation
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Does Autism Spectrum Disorder exist as a separate diagnosis in children who are blind? A discussion involving the triad of impairments
Rebecca Andrews (Speaker)2005Activity: Talk or presentation › Presentation
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Blindness and autism: Issues in diagnosis and assessment
Rebecca Andrews (Speaker)2005Activity: Talk or presentation › Presentation
Press / Media
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What do your earliest childhood memories say about you?
28/08/18
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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What do your earliest childhood memories say about you?
25/08/18
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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What do your earliest childhood memories say about you?
22/08/18
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment