Research: As a researcher, I am interested in working on projects that benefit educators and learners of all ages. I enjoy facilitating research-informed improvement to planning, teaching and assessment practices in schools across all sectors.
Cactus Education Collective empowers educators and school leaders to draw on their professional identities and authenticate their curriculum, teaching and assessment activities to their students and themselves!
Education Articles
A collection of education articles by Suzanne Barry in a variety of publications and genres.
Research
Suzanne Barry’s research activities and interests.
Cactus Education Collective
- Curriculum planning and assessment support for authentic, aligned practice.
- Enrichment programs for all educators in authentic and aligned transdisciplinary curriculum planning.
- Professional development in Australian curriculum-aligned assessment, and strategic planning for authentic whole school curriculum and assessment culture.
The image by Rusty Stewart (above far left) is used under creative commons licence and appeared on The Conversation.
About
I am an education researcher and writer, an academic, and a professional development trainer working in Australian schools. With a background in linguistics and languages; writing, editing and publishing, and associated management activities — and many more eclectic functions — I consider myself a transculturally orientated transdisciplinarian.
In fact, I think most of us are inclined towards the integration of areas of human experience with fields of industry and learning. It is this transdisciplinary focus that I bring to all my work, which is repeatedly reinforced through my work with both practising teachers and the preservice teachers I work with as part of my PhD research.
In each area of my work, I witness educators drawing on rich life experiences, prior learning, and cultural backgrounds to do that vital work of connecting curriculum, pedagogy, and context. I love to witness how empowered teachers develop their own ‘signature pedagogy’ through deep engagement with their own identity as both a community member and a professional.
My philosophy:
The Hermetic maxim meaning ‘as above, so below’ could be reframed for the modern times to read, ‘as in the world, so it must be in our education system’… that is, if we truly want “to accomplish the miracles of the One Thing” (Hermes Trismegistus, c. 200 to c. 800 BCE).
Cultural hybridisation through human mobility had been accelerating at a pace, and to an extent, that our species had never experienced when Covid-19 curbed this mobility. Suspicions and misinformation heightened the latent xenophobia in many alarmed citizens of the globe. Nevertheless, this connectivity has become such a feature of our complex world, it seems inevitable the trajectory will prevail.
I believe it is not only the integration of disciplines, but also diverse cultural groups and their valuable perspectives— especially those of First Nations communities — that can collectively meet the multifaceted social, political, and environmental needs of our planet. The global climate action movement spearheaded by our young people is testament to this trend, and this belief will continue to influence both my work and my life as a global citizen.
