Bronwyn Parkin

Bronwyn Parkin

School of Humanities

Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics

My background is in education, specifically in the area of language and literacy and pedagogy. I have spent most of my professional life working in Aboriginal education, from remote to metropolitan, and from Junior Primary to tertiary.
My research interest is the development of academic language with educationally marginalised students: Indigenous, English as a Second Language, and low-socioceconomic students. I draw on three theoretical fields: systemic functional linguistics (Halliday), sociocultural theory (Vygotsky), and educational sociology (Bernstein).

My research interests are in language and pedagogy; specifically looking at the development of academic language in educationally marginalised primary aged students through classroom dialogue. I come from the perspective of Vygotskian developmental psychology, systemic functional linguistics and Bernstein's sociology. 

  • Appointments
    Date Position Institution name
    2016 - ongoing Adjunct lecturer University of Adelaide
    2014 - ongoing Literacy consultant Self-employed
    2005 - 2013 Project Officer SA Department of Education
    2000 - 2005 Project Officer SA Department of Education
    1989 - 1996 Lecturer in Language and Literacy University of South Australia
    1986 - 1988 Induction Officer Anangu Lands SA Department of Education

  • Education
    Date Institution name Country Title
    2009 - 2014 University of Adelaide Australia Doctorate of Philosophy
    2005 - 2006 Charles Darwin University Australia Graduate Certificate in Accelerated Literacy
    2000 University of South Australia Australia Masters in Education
    1982 - 1984 Sturt C.A.E. Australia Graduate Diploma in Community and School
    1978 - 1979 Murray Park C.A.E. Australia Graduate Diploma in Education
    1974 - 1976 University of Adelaide Australia Bachelor of Arts (Linguistics, Music)

  • Research Interests
    Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Education Linguistics Sociology of Education

  • Journals
    Year Citation
    2023 Harper, H., & Parkin, B. (2023). A subversive pedagogy to empower marginalised students: an Australian study. Educational Review, 16 pages.
    DOI
    2020 Parkin, B. M., & Harper, H. (2020). The application of three exotropic theories in education. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 27(3), 233-248.
    DOI Scopus1

  • Books
    Year Citation
    2021 Parkin, B., & Hayes, J. (2021). Teaching the language of climate change science (1 ed.). Newtown, NSW: Primary English Teaching Association of Australia.
    2019 Parkin, B. M., & Harper, H. (2019). Teaching with Intent: a literature-based literacy program (1 ed.). Newtown, NSW: PETAA.
    2018 Parkin, B., & Harper, H. (2018). Teaching with intent: scaffolding academic language with marginalised students. Newtown, NSW: PETAA.

  • Book Chapters
    Year Citation
    2023 Harper, H., & Parkin, B. (2023). Scaffolding dialogue with marginalised students in the middle years.. In P. Jones, A. Simpson, & A. Thwaite (Eds.), Dialogic Pedagogy: Discourse in contexts from pre-school to university (Vol. 1, 1 ed.). Routledge.
    2020 Harper, H., Parkin, B., & Rennie, J. (2020). Supporting EAL/D and Indigenous writers. In T. Daffern, & N. Mackenzie (Eds.), Teaching writing: effective approaches for the midde years (1 ed., pp. 209-228). Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.
    2020 Harper, H., & Parkin, B. (2020). Children who can guess what's in the teacher's head: Understanding engagement in schooling from a sociocultural perspective. In R. Midford, G. Nutton, B. Hyndman, & S. Silburn (Eds.), Health and Education Interdependence: Thriving from Birth to Adulthood (pp. 91-108). Singapore: Springer.
    DOI
    2020 Parkin, B. M., & Harper, H. (2020). Language and literacy education in remote Indigenous schools: the pedagogic roundabout. In P. Mickan, & I. Wallace (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Language Education Curriculum Design (pp. 109-126). New York, NY; USA: Routledge.
    Scopus1
    2019 Parkin, B., & Harper, H. (2019). Scaffolding alphabetic knowledge when teaching and learning about texts. In L. Beveridge, R. Cox, & S. Feez (Eds.), The Alphabetic principle and beyond...surveying the landscape. Newtown, NSW; Australia: Primary English Teaching Association Australia.
    2019 Parkin, B. (2019). Good theory, good systems: an instance of Accelerated Literacy pedagogy implementation. In J. Rennie, & H. Harper (Eds.), Literacy education and Indigenous Australians: Theory, Research and Practice (Vol. 19, pp. 271-291). Singapore: Springer.
    DOI
    2019 Parkin, B. M., & Harper, H. (2019). Talking and writing to develop mathematical meanings in a remote Indigenous context. In J. Rennie, & H. Harper (Eds.), Literacy education and Indigenous Australians: Theory, Research and Practice. (Vol. 19, pp. 109-126). Singapore: Springer.
    DOI
    2018 Parkin, B., Harper, H., & Lotherington, M. (2018). Carrying the conversation in my head: classroom dialogue in a remote Aboriginal setting. In P. Jones, A. Simpson, & A. Thwaite (Eds.), Talking the Talk: Snapshots from Australian Classrooms (pp. 75-87). Newtown, NSW: PETAA.

  • Report for External Bodies
    Year Citation
    2017 Parkin, B. M., & Harper, H. (2017). Scaffolding academic language with educationally marginalised students. Newtown, NSW: PETAA.

  • Theses
    Year Citation
    2014 Parkin, B. M. (2014). Scaffolding science with educationally marginalised students. (PhD Thesis, University of Adelaide).

Primary English Teaching Association of Australia (PETAA) Research grant recipient 2016-2017 with Dr Helen Harper, UNE.

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