Dr Carmel Taddeo is a senior lecturer in Research Methods and Postgraduate Supervision at UniSA Education Futures. She ia full member of the Centre for Research in Educational and Social Inclusion and an affiliate member of the Centre for Change and Complexity in Learning (C3L). Dr Taddeo is a change analyst and has expertise in developing and applying change theories to various contexts, including measuring behaviour and attitudinal change and also has expertise in the ethical use of technology to achieve positive learning outcomes and to promote youth health and wellbeing. Her other areas of research strengths include website evaluation & analytics, as well as leadership. She is a mixed method researcher with extensive experience in online survey methods and quantitative data analysis using SPSS, SMARTPLS & AMOS software packages along with qualitative methods and incorporating youth voice.
Dr Taddeo has successfully attracted research funding from state & federal government agencies. She has collaborated on significant national and state-based projects including: ‘Safe and Well Online’ project as part of the Young and Well CRC; Evaluation of the Safe School's Hub; and ARC funded projects, such as ‘Behaviour at School Study’ and the ‘Professionals Protecting Children’ initiative (Australian Centre for Child Protection).
Dr Taddeo boasts over two decades of experience in the education sector, including practical experience as classroom & specialist teacher & university lecturer. She is an academic member of the National Technology Wellbeing Roundtable: an alliance of research, non-profit, government & industry organisations (including Facebook & Google) that promotes the benefits of technology for youth. Dr Taddeo has also provided her professional expertise to ReachOut - Australia’s leading online mental health organisation for young people.
In 2016, Dr Taddeo was a finalist in the Australian Effie Awards for the positive messaging social media campaign ‘Appreciate a Mate’, and in the same year was awarded best paper submission in the technology strand at the Australasian Ethics Network Conference. Her other notable distinctions include Outstanding Achievement in International Engagement awarded by the Australian/Indian Research Collaboration at UniSA and Best Collaborative/Multi-disciplinary Project awarded for her ‘Professionals Protecting Children’ initiative.
Dr Taddeo has been a nominated reviewer for high impact journals including Computers & Education and the International Journal of Mental Health Systems. She has also convened the national symposium on New Technologies and Ethics in Wellbeing Research and been an invited presenter at the Australian College of Educators as well as the National Research in Education Network.