Dr Ruth Aston
Senior Lecturer
School of Education
College of Education, Behavioural and Social Sciences
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD (as Co-Supervisor) - email supervisor to discuss availability.
Ruth Aston is a Senior Lecturer in Education at the School of Education, University of Adelaide. Ruth has fifteen years of research experience and is currently working on several evaluations in education and health, including the Evaluation of the School Mental Health Fund and Menu initiative and the development of an Implementation Guide for Health Promoting Institutions in Malaysia. Ruth holds honorary appointments at the University of Melbourne and the Centre for Adolescent Health at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute.
Ruth has a background in health systems and health services research, program evaluation and educational evaluation. Her research at the University of Auckland involved working primarily on a three-year national project investigating the workforce effectiveness of health promotion workers in New Zealand. Ruth completed her PhD in 2018, focussing on understanding implementation indicators of complex public health interventions taking action on the social determinants of health. She developed success criteria for articulating success in achieving outcomes in complex multi-level, multi-site interventions in communities aiming to achieve social change in health and education outcomes.
| Date | Position | Institution name |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 - ongoing | Honorary Fellow | University of Melbourne |
| 2024 - ongoing | Senior Lecturer | University of Adelaide |
| 2022 - 2024 | Senior Lecturer | University of Melbourne |
| 2020 - ongoing | Honorary Fellow | Murdoch Children's Research Institute |
| 2020 - 2022 | Lecturer | University of Melbourne |
| 2018 - 2019 | Research Fellow | University of Melbourne |
| 2017 - 2018 | Consultant | Organisation For Economic Co-Operation and Development |
| 2016 - 2016 | Visiting Scholar | Claremont Graduate University |
| 2016 - 2016 | Research Officer | Effective Change |
| 2015 - 2016 | Research Assistant | Murdoch Children's Research Institute |
| 2012 - 2014 | Senior Projects Manager | University of Melbourne |
| 2009 - 2011 | Research Assistant | University of Auckland |
| Date | Institution name | Country | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Melbourne | Australia | PhD | |
| University of Auckland | New Zealand | BHSC(Hons) |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Aston, R., Linnell, D., & Westine, C. (2025). Editor's notes: Moving research on evaluation forward. New Directions for Evaluation, 2025(187), 7-11. |
| 2025 | Aston, R., Tan, K., Franks, K., & White, S. (2025). Using Research on Evaluation in Oceania: Informing Priorities for Future Research on Evaluation. New Directions for Evaluation, 2025(187), 49-57. Scopus4 |
| 2025 | Bandilovska, A., Aston, R., Sawyer, S., & Raniti, M. (2025). Teacher Readiness for Health Promotion: a Survey of Australian Pre-service Teachers’ Knowledge, Attitudes and Skills. International Journal of Wellbeing, 15(2), 1-32. |
| 2025 | Cleveland, B., Imms, C., Merrick, N., Imms, W., Aston, R., Candido, C., . . . Graham, L. (2025). Inclusive learning spaces in Australian schools: an exploration of stakeholder participation, perspectives and priorities. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 21 pages. |
| 2023 | Smith, L., Aston, R., Clinton, J., & White, M. (2023). Defining the concept of teacher readiness to support student mental health and wellbeing: A scoping review. OSF Preregistration. |
| 2021 | Sawyer, S. M., Raniti, M., & Aston, R. (2021). Making every school a health-promoting school. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 5(8), 539-540. |
| 2020 | Aston, R. (2020). Are Ethics Procedures Keeping Pace with Complex Evaluation Designs? Lessons from Participatory Evaluations. The Evaluator, Summer, 26-27. |
| 2014 | Cairns, K., McLaren, P., Clinton, J., & Aston, R. (2014). Evaluation Methods for Vulnerable Populations: The Case for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Learning Communities: International Journal of Learning in Social Contexts, 14, 166-179. |
| - | Aston, R., Raniti, M., & Shinde, S. (2023). Editorial: The role of schools in adolescent mental health in low- and middle-income countries: considerations and future directions. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14. |
| - | Joyce, A., Dabrowski, A., Aston, R., & Carey, G. (2016). Evaluating for impact: what type of data can assist a health promoting school approach?. Health Promotion International, daw034. |
| - | Hyatt, A., Chung, H., Aston, R., Gough, K., & Krishnasamy, M. (2022). Social return on investment economic evaluation of supportive care for lung cancer patients in acute care settings in Australia. BMC Health Services Research, 22(1). |
| - | Hyatt, A., Gough, K., Chung, H., Wood, W., Aston, R., Cockwill, J., . . . Krishnasamy, M. (2024). Development of consensus quality indicators for cancer supportive care: a Delphi study and pilot testing. BMC Health Services Research, 24(1). |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2023 | Aston, R., Clinton, J. M., & Paproth, H. (2023). Are Schools as Community Hubs Worth It?. In B. Cleveland, S. Backhouse, P. Chandler, I. McShane, J. M. Clinton, & C. Newton (Eds.), Schools as Community Hubs (pp. 323-334). Springer Nature Singapore. DOI |
| 2023 | Paproth, H., Clinton, J. M., & Aston, R. (2023). The Role of Evaluative Thinking in the Success of Schools as Community Hubs. In B. Cleveland, S. Backhouse, P. Chandler, I. McShane, J. M. Clinton, & C. Newton (Eds.), Schools as Community Hubs (pp. 309-321). Springer Nature Singapore. DOI |
| 2023 | Clinton, J. M., Aston, R., & Paproth, H. (2023). An Evaluation Framework for Schools as Community Hubs. In B. Cleveland, S. Backhouse, P. Chandler, I. McShane, J. M. Clinton, & C. Newton (Eds.), Schools as Community Hubs (pp. 293-308). Springer Nature Singapore. DOI |
| 2023 | Cleveland, B., McShane, I., Chandler, P., Backhouse, S., Aston, R., & Clinton, J. M. (2023). Renewed Aspirations for Schools as Community Hubs. In B. Cleveland, S. Backhouse, P. Chandler, I. McShane, J. M. Clinton, & C. Newton (Eds.), Schools as Community Hubs (pp. 3-10). Springer Nature Singapore. DOI |
| 2022 | Clinton, J., Aston, R., & Dawson, G. (2022). Issues of teacher effectiveness. In R. Tierney, F. Rizvi, & K. Ercikan (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Education. Elsevier Science. |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2019 | Aston, R. (2019). The Performing Sciences. In Proceedings of the Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Education (2018). Sydney, Australia. |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Ong, J., Backhouse, S., Cleveland, B., Moore, S., Austin, R., Merrick, N., . . . Loh, P. (2025). Inclusive learning spaces for students with neurodiversity, disability or requiring adjustments: Annotated bibliography of a scoping review. DOI |
| 2023 | Aston, R., Paproth, H., Clinton, J., Cleveland, B., McShane, I., Chandler, P., & Backhouse, S. (2023). National Patterns of School Facility Sharing: Report from the Connecting Schools + Communities Survey. The University of Melbourne. DOI |
| 2022 | Aston, R., & Tse, J. (2022). Youth Engagement Evaluation Framework. APO: Analysis and Policy Observatory. |
| 2021 | Aston, R., Bennett, K., Cehun, E., de Nicolás Izquierdo, C., Fridgant, M., Raniti, M., & Sawyer, S. (2021). Making every school a health-promoting school. World Health Organization. |
| 2021 | Raniti, M., Aston, R., Bennett, K., Cehun, E., de Nicolás Izquierdo, C., Fridgant, M., & Sawyer, S. (2021). Making every school a health-promoting school: Global standards and indicators. |
| 2021 | Aston, R., de Nicolás Izquierdo, C., Raniti, M., & Sawyer, S. (2021). Making every school a health-promoting school: Country case studies. |
| 2019 | Clinton, J., Aston, R., Qing, E., & Keamy, K. (2019). Teaching Practice Evaluation Framework. |
| 2018 | Clinton, J., Aston, R., & Quach, J. (2018). Promoting evidence uptake in schools: A review of the key features of research and evidence institutions. DOI |
| 2018 | Clinton, J., Aston, R., & Koelle, M. (2018). Investigating the key characteristics of effective teachers: A systematic review. DOI |
| 2015 | Quach, J., O'Connor, M., Goldfeld, S., Gold, L., Hopkins, D., Beatson, R., & Aston, R. (2015). Approaches to the provision of educational support for children and young people with additional health and developmental needs: Dyslexia. |
| 2015 | Clinton, J., Dinham, S., Savage, G., Aston, R., Dabrowski, A., Gullickson, A., . . . Arbour, G. (2015). Evaluation of the Implementation of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers: Final Report. |
| 2013 | Astbury, B., & Aston, R. (2013). Evaluation of ‘enhancing emotional literacy through visual arts’. |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2018 | Aston, R. (2018). Creating Indicators for Social Change in Public Health. (PhD Thesis). |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2018 | Physical health and well-being in children and youth (2018). . Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). DOI |
Ruth has taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses in evaluation design, causal modelling, mixed methods research and program design and development in public health.
She currently supervisors PhD students in wellbeing education, educational evaluation and implementation science in education.
| Date | Role | Research Topic | Program | Degree Type | Student Load | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Co-Supervisor | Developing an Adaptive and Sustainable AI- Enhanced system for Teacher Development: A Pathway in Promoting Teacher Lifelong Learning | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Ms Sabila Hikmah Syafiulia |
| 2025 | Co-Supervisor | Developing an Adaptive and Sustainable AI- Enhanced system for Teacher Development: A Pathway in Promoting Teacher Lifelong Learning | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Ms Sabila Hikmah Syafiulia |
| 2024 | Co-Supervisor | This qualitative study investigates the impact of strength-based teacher professional practices on student literacy to promote wellbeing. The findings aim to address a significant gap in wellbeing education research centering on teacher professional practice. | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Part Time | Mr Adam John Slater |
| 2024 | Co-Supervisor | This qualitative study investigates the impact of strength-based teacher professional practices on student literacy to promote wellbeing. The findings aim to address a significant gap in wellbeing education research centering on teacher profession | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Part Time | Mr Adam John Slater |
| Date | Role | Research Topic | Location | Program | Supervision Type | Student Load | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 - ongoing | Co-Supervisor | Demystifying drivers of modifiable student abseentism | University of Melbourne | - | Doctorate | Full Time | Nadine Rissik |
| 2024 - ongoing | Co-Supervisor | Exploring factors that influence school teachers' readiness to support student mental health and wellbeing | University of Melbourne | - | Higher Doctorate | Full Time | Laura Smith |
| 2024 - ongoing | Co-Supervisor | Applying Implementation Science to Evidence-based Innovations: Case of RTI and Literacy | University of Melbourne | - | Higher Doctorate | Part Time | Beth Shingles |
| 2022 - ongoing | Co-Supervisor | Evaluative thinking in education | University of Melbourne | - | Higher Doctorate | Part Time | Hayley Paproth |
| Date | Role | Board name | Institution name | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 - ongoing | Director | CHASE Board | Community Health Advancement and Student Engagement | Australia |
| Date | Institution | Department | Organisation Type | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 - ongoing | Victorian Department of Education | Performance and Evaluation Division | Scientific research | Australia |
| 2024 - ongoing | Cybercy | Not applicable | Business and professional | Australia |
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