Julie Matthews

Julie Matthews

School of Education

Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.


My work is orientated by a deep concern with how education might contribute to the achievement of social and environment justice. I am a sociologist of education, and my main areas of research interest are: i) radicalisation and education, ii) refugee education, and iii) education and environmental sustainability

My research is informed by expertise in post-colonial theory, feminist theory and the work of Michel Foucault. I have previously undertaken studies in the fields of minority education, anti-racist education, reconciliation, international education and education for sustainability, and I am familiar with theories relating to racism, anti-racism, cultural diversity, internationalisation and globalisation.

I am interested in supervising students in these areas: i) radicalisation and education, ii) refugees and education, iii) racism and antiracism, iv) international education, and v) sustainability and education.

I have published over 100 refereed journal articles, book chapters and conference papers and delivered public lectures in Japan, Korea, Thailand, China, Canada, UK, Singapore, Hong Kong and South Africa. I supervise 7 PhD and MPhil students in the fields of radicalisation and education, sustainability education, international education, Indigenous education, professional development, and refugee education. I have previously supervised to completion 11 PhD students, 3 MA students and 7 honours students.

Before joining the University of Adelaide in 2013 I was Associate Professor in Social Sciences, Director of Research in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and Associate Director of the Sustainability Research Centre at the University of the Sunshine Coast.

My Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in The School of Education at The University of Queensland focused on International education, internationalisation and schools.

I established and co-convened the Sociology of Education thematic group in the Australian Sociological Association (TASA from 2010-2013. I have been actively involved with the Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) and the International Sociological Association (ISA).

Associate Professor Julie Matthews is a sociologist of education with a background in education, sociology, anthropology and cultural studies. Her work is orientated by issues of social and environmental justice and she uses postcolonial and feminist theories to examine and address the relationship between knowledge and power.

She has won 3 ARC Discovery grants and a large Category 1 grant. She has published over 100 refereed journal articles, book chapters and conference papers and delivered public lectures in Japan, China, Canada, UK, Singapore, Hong Kong and South Africa. 

    • Appointments

      Date Position Institution name
      2012 - 2014 Associate Director, Sustainability Research Centre University of the Sunshine Coast
      2011 - 2014 Director of Research, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences University of the Sunshine Coast
    • Education

      Date Institution name Country Title
      1997 University of South Australia Australia PhD, Making Spaces: ‘Asian’ Girls in School. A school ethnography investigating educational achieve
      1983 University of Leicester United Kingdom PGCE, Social Studies/English as a Second Language, Thesis: Revealing Women: Combating the Male-bias
      1981 Oxford Brookes University United Kingdom BA (Hons), Anthropology / Sociology, Thesis: Education or Liberation: The Women of the Nomadic Tribe

    Australian Research Council, Discovery Grant, 2010–2013. Negotiating a Space in the Nation: the case of the Ngarrindjeri. Investigates governmentality in relation to caring for country, community leadership and governance, economic development, media representation and international coalition building. 

    The South East Queensland Climate Adaptation Research Initiative (SEQ CARI)/CSIRO, 2009 - 2011, Australian Department of Climate Change, Queensland Government, Griffith University, University of Queensland and CSIRO. Investigated the adaptive capacity theme of the initative.

    Australian Research Council, Discovery Grant, 2005–2007. Schooling, globalisation and refugees in Queensland. Analysed international, national and state policy informing the education of refugee background students. 

    Australian Research Council, Discovery Grant, 2004–2006. Rethinking reconciliation and pedagogy in unsettling times. Recognising that 'reconciliation' is a contested concept with different kinds of salience in different political contexts, the project explored the conceptual and pedagogical foundations of reconciliation imperatives in Australia and South Africa.

    Current Teaching

    Qualitative Research Methods (MEd)

    Research Projects (MEd)

    Research Design (MEd)

    Previous Teaching

    Education, Culture and Diversity

    Education, Access and Equity

    Gender and Society

     

    • Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

      Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
      2019 Principal Supervisor Anti-Radicalisation and Education in Indonesia Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Yuli Astiana
    • Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

      Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
      2019 - 2020 Co-Supervisor ‘Music is my Oxygen’: an Exploration of Bioecological Influences on Pathways to University Music Study in Australia Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Mr Garry Robert Jones
      2019 - 2023 Co-Supervisor Vygotsky's theory as a tool of imagination development in primary school Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mrs Valeriia Sibakova
      2018 - 2023 Co-Supervisor Transition of Saudi Women Students in South Australia: Push-Pull Factors, Academic and Socio-cultural Experiences, Supporting Factors and Acculturation Strategies Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mrs Safiah Nasser M Hakami
      2018 - 2022 Principal Supervisor Decolonising the Curriculum: Fostering Sustainability in Higher Education in Zambia Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mutinta Sifelani Musindo
      2016 - 2020 Co-Supervisor The Enablers and Barriers to Professional Development for In-Service Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in the Vietnamese Higher Education Context Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mrs Thi Thu Thuy Hoang

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