News

ACU Executive Dean appointed to expert education panel

Australian Catholic University’s Executive Dean of Education and Arts, Professor Mary Ryan, has been appointed to an expert Government panel investigating literacy and numeracy performance in the ACT.

The inquiry will develop recommendations about how to improve literacy and numeracy in ACT schools with a focus on class, whole-school, and system-wide approaches, as well as attending to issues of equity.

Professor Ryan, who was appointed to the five-member Literacy and Numeracy Education Expert Panel by ACT Minister for Education and Youth Affairs Yvette Berry, said she was looking forward to the opportunity to share her expertise.

“We know how important literacy and numeracy education is to students’ futures, so I commend the ACT Government for its commitment to this inquiry and I am delighted to be a part of it,” she said.

“It is important educators remain lifelong learners committed to reflecting on and improving their understandings and practice.

“This is one of the key reasons ACU has established the Australian Centre for the Advancement of Literacy and has committed to developing a STEM Centre for Education Excellence to ensure we have a robust evidence-base for educators to draw on in these vital areas of teaching and learning.”

Professor Ryan is an active researcher in areas including student literacy and the preparation of preservice teachers for diverse classrooms. She is also the President of the New South Wales Council of Deans of Education and Chair of the Education Research Council for Australian Independent Schools New South Wales.

She will be joined on the ACT Literacy and Numeracy Education Expert Panel by chair Professor Barney Dalgarno, of the University of Canberra, Professor Catherine Attard, of Western Sydney University, Associate Professor Pauline Jones, of the University of Wollongong, and Tim McCallum, of the NSW Department of Education.