Kim Rowston

Dr Kim Rowston

Senior Lecturer
Faculty of Education and Arts

Areas of expertise: design and digital technologies curriculum and pedagogical practice; the relationship between self-efficacy and digital technologies; teacher wellbeing; initial teacher education; culturally responsible ways to support indigenous flourishing

Phone: 9701 4747

Email: Kim.rowston@acu.edu.au

Location: ACU Strathfield Campus

ORCID ID: 0000-0002-4414-0895

HDR Supervisor accreditation status: Full

Dr Kim Rowston is a senior lecturer (Design and Digital Technologies) in the Faculty of Education and Arts at Australian Catholic University. Dr Rowston has extensive experience as an educator of Design and Digital Technologies curriculum, with 20 years as a secondary school teacher before entering academia. As an interdisciplinary researcher, Dr. Rowston applies psychological theories to explore teacher well-being, design pedagogies, and developments in disruptive technologies and technologies pedagogies. Dr Rowston is a research affiliate of ACU’s Institute for Positive Psychology and Education (IPPE). She works with Professor Rhonda Craven, Director of IPPE, and Wonnarua Nation Aboriginal Corporation (WNAC), as a chief investigator in the Indigenous Game Changers Research Program. This research program aims to identify strategies for education, families, community, and psychological thriving for Indigenous youth, families, and communities.

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Select publications

Journal Publications

• Blannin, J., Lee, J., Mason, T., Rowston, K., Abril, J., Bower, M., & Redmond, P. (under review) Examining the Determinants of Teacher Self-Efficacy to Teach Digital Technologies in Australian Schools.
• Rowston, K., Bower, M., & Woodcock, S. (2022). Career-changers’ technology integration beliefs and practice in initial teacher education: A summative cross-case analysis. International Journal of Educational Research, 116, 102079.
• Rowston, K., Bower, M., & Woodcock, S. (2022). The impact of prior occupations and initial teacher education on post-graduate pre-service teachers’ conceptualization and realization of technology integration. International journal of technology and design education, 32(5), 2631-2669.
• Rowston, K., Bower, M., & Woodcock, S. (2021). Reciprocal causation and the effect of environmental determinants upon the technology beliefs and practice of career-change pre-service teachers. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 30(2), 323-344.
• Rowston, K., Bower, M., & Woodcock, S. (2020). The lived experiences of career-change pre-service teachers and the promise of meaningful technology pedagogy beliefs and practice. Education and Information Technologies, 25(2), 681-705.

Book Chapters

• Rowston, K., Murphy, P. & von Mengersen, B. (In Press). Students as  Creative Designers using Technology. In M. Bower & B. von Mengersen (Eds.), Creative  technologies education: Students as digital designers. Routledge.
• Ellis, D., Rouse, R., Rowston, K., Puddicombe, C., von Mengersen, B. & Levins, M. (In Press). Role of Making in Technologies Education. In M. Bower & B. von Mengersen (Eds.), Creative technologies education: Students as digital designers. Routledge.
• Bower, M., Wang, T., Falloon, G., Murphy, P., Mason, J., Mason, T., Rowston, K., Cameron, L., Lee, J. & Wang, T. (In Press). Technologies Education: Lessons learnt and future directions. In M. Bower & B. von Mengersen (Eds.), Creative technologies education: Students as digital designers. Routledge

Conference Publications

• Rowston, K., McMaugh, A., & Lockyer, L. (2016, January). Graduate-entry pre-service teachers: The relationship between their experience using technology in their previous occupations and their technological pedagogical beliefs. In AARE 2016 Conference (pp. 1-20). Australian Association for Research in Education.
• Cameron, L., & Rowston, K. (2014, March). Using technology to facilitate the integration of the theory and the practice of pre-service teacher education. In Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 852-859). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).

Projects

GRANTS

ARC Grants

Discovery Project (DPEI250100899) Deadly Teaching: Enhancing Indigenous School Attendance and Well-being (Primary). Role: Chief Investigator. Awarded: $1,479,777

Industry Grants

2025 NSW Department of Education – Best practice in Screen Use for Education – Empowering Students, Teachers, and School Communities for Digital Learning. Role: Chief Investigator. Awarded: $469,637

2024 Australian Catholic Primary Principals Association (APPA) and Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) Understanding the Impact of Offensive Behaviours on School Leaders - The Unveiling the Ripple Effect Funding. Role: Chief Investigator.  Awarded: $80,000

2024 The Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success: Deadly Secondary Teacher Education. Role: Chief Investigator. Awarded: $149,929

Internal Grants

2023 Deadly language programs: What works and impact on primary school community. ACU Faculty of Health Sciences Competitive Project Grant 2023. Role: Chief Investigator. Funding awarded: $10,000

PROJECTS

ACU Institute of Positive Psychology and Education (IPPE) Deadly Game Changers Projects

• Deadly Home Reading Pilot: Development of 7-10 digital books and the piloting of parent-delivered home reading intervention
• Deadly Start: Literacy, numeracy and wellbeing intervention delivered to preschool children in the Wonnarua
• Deadly Futures: Literacy and numeracy intervention delivered online by tutors for students in years 3-4.
• Deadly Universities: Investigating the drivers and barriers to Indigenous students’ success at university
• Deadly Teaching: Teacher training intervention to build motivation and engagement of primary and secondary students
• Deadly PhD: The enablers of Indigenous University Students’ PhD Completion
• Deadly Parenting: Positive parenting program delivered in the Wonnarua
• Deadly Languages: Impact of teaching Aboriginal languages in schools

External

2025 The Hills Grammar School Future Now Task force

Awards

• 1995 The Teachers' Guild of NSW's Early Career Teacher Award

Appointments and Affiliations

Appointments

ACU Institute for Positive Psychology and Education

• 2024 Research Affiliate

Faculty of Education and Arts | School of Education

• 2025 Faculty of Education and Arts - Board Member
• 2024 Senior Lecturer
• 2024 Faculty of Education and Arts – Probation Review Committee
• 2019 - 2023 Lecturer
• 2012 - 2018 Sessional Lecturer

Professional Associations

Member of Australian Technologies Teacher Education Network (ATTEN)

The Teachers’ Guild of NSW

Editorial roles

Journal Reviewer

• Computers & Education
• Asia-Pacific Journal of Education
• Canadian Journal of Learning and Teaching
• Journal of Education for Teaching

Public engagement activities

• 2020 ACU News: Teaching with TEAMS - Checking in with Senior Lecturer Kim Rowston