Dr Annette Raynor is an Associate Professor in Exercise and Sports Science at Edith Cowan University (ECU), specialising in ‘Motor Learning and Control’ in the School of Medical and Health Sciences. Annette’s areas of research interest are in expertise in sport, with a specific focus on decision making, talent identification in sport, movement coordination problems in children and exercise science in aged care.
Annette joined ECU in 2011 and since then has held a number of senior academic leadership roles including Head of School, where she led and managed the people and the finances of a large school with multiple disciplines and many professional accreditation requirements.
In her role as Associate Professor, Annette leads and coordinates the Motor Learning and Control sub-discipline within the Exercise and Sports Science courses and supervises several PhD research students, whilst continuing to develop her research in the aged care sector. Working collaboratively with colleagues in public health and occupational therapy Annette’s passion is to demonstrate the benefits of employing and utilising the knowledge and skills of accredited exercise physiologists and exercise scientists within the aged care sector and thus increase the workforce demand in this area. Annette’s experience and knowledge is also used to support the course coordinator with the internal and external quality assurance requirements of the course such as accreditation and major course reviews.
In 2020, Annette received the Exercise Sports Science Association (ESSA) Fellowship recognising her extensive and long-standing contributions to the exercise and sports science profession, as well her pioneering work at a national level as an ESSA-Accredited (previously known as NUCAP) Course Assessor and NUCAP Executive Member and her high level of professional accomplishment. In 2015 Annette was elected to the board of Starick, a Perth metropolitan-based charity supporting women and children escaping domestic and family violence.
Annette holds a Bachelor of Physical Education (1st class Honours), Diploma of Education and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Western Australia and in 2021 Annette graduated from the Australian Institute of Company Directors Course.
Hear more on her career journey and as an academic in the area of exercise and sports science:
- What or who has inspired you to pursue a career in academia?
I was always planning on being a physical education teacher, as when I was in year 12 that was the main job for people like me who enjoyed their sport and I liked the idea of teaching and coaching others. At the time the only other sport-related course was at ECU (or at least its predecessor, WACAE Churchlands) and it was a new degree in Sports Science but I wasn’t clear of the end-point so I enrolled in a Bachelor of Physical Education at UWA. I enjoyed the course and was then offered an opportunity to do Honours which at the time I knew nothing about, but it was an option I quickly investigated. After working with and learning about children with coordination problems in a final year unit I was very interested in the idea of researching and gaining a better understanding of the problems experienced by these children and working out what was wrong with their system and how we could fix it? When working with a boy of about 5 years of age, who couldn’t run as he couldn’t generate a flight phase with his legs and square gaited with his arms, I wanted to help these kids learn to move better. But being conservative I stuck with my plan to get my teaching qualification, putting the Honours on hold for a year and at the same time, running a small “business” working with children who had coordination problems both privately and in local schools. Despite the offer of employment at a very nice school, I decided to do my Honours and try to find some answers and solutions. From there it snowballed into the offer of one of the first Australian postgraduate PhD scholarships and from that point, academia became the endpoint. I was fortunate to have some great role models at UWA so combining the research and teaching seemed like the best of both worlds to me.
- What challenges you about being an academic in the School of Medical and Health Science and within the exercise and sports science discipline?
I think everyone is challenged by the need to juggle everything all of the time, with very little downtime or clear air when you are just focussing on your teaching or your research or other parts of the role. The changing nature of the student has made me think differently about how I can engage the students and ensure they have the required knowledge and skills to enter the profession. In today’s world where everything is presented in bite-size pieces, unfortunately, many students are only interested in the basics, not the detail. As I tell my students, everything is easy when it works, but when something breaks down you (or someone) needs to know how it works to fix it. This applies to the human body as well, and our students should be learning how to make it work “better”. The joy of teaching comes from the students who want to learn more about how we can make it better.
- Do you have any advice for how women in the science discipline can succeed and thrive within their own research careers?
Take the opportunities that are presented and back yourself. I also encourage my students to spread their wings and engage with people outside your immediate area both from a content and geographical perspective, as there is so much to learn from other people’s experiences and chances are you too will have a similar experience one day. Particularly in the early days, you need to work with others who can support and guide your development whilst giving you the independence to create your own space. As your career progresses, the collaboration might be a more equal partnership but finding people with similar interests and values who can complement your skills and knowledge is very important for both your personal and professional survival in academia.
- You recently received a Fellowship from ESSA recognising your achievements and ongoing work, what advice would you give to others looking to also have these accomplishments?
This was a wonderful acknowledgement of my “work” with ESSA but it has been a very rewarding experience for me. I have chosen to stay involved for so many years as I have thoroughly enjoyed working with and learning from some wonderful academics across Australia, who I would otherwise know fleetingly at best. That increased network of colleagues and the knowledge gained from reviewing so many other programs, has given me a much broader perspective of how I do my job as an academic and a leader. I would encourage others to engage with their profession and do what they can to ensure the quality of our graduates and the future workforce is of the highest standard.
- ECU recently sponsored you to complete the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) Course, how does graduating from the AICD impact your career and what does it mean for you personally?
I was delighted to be offered the opportunity to complete this course as I thought it would provide me with knowledge, skills, and qualification to underpin future roles within academia and my work on external boards. The course was incredibly intense for the 5 days and during the 3 months that you have to complete the assessments but was very engaging and interesting. Whilst there were many areas that I had already learnt through my own experiences, there were other areas to which I had much less exposure to. It was always interesting to learn from a more theoretical perspective and it was fantastic learning from those with a wealth of experience and with many stories to tell. There was a lot of small group work and working with a different group of participants each day was an interesting experience given I was the only participant from the university sector amidst a class of lawyers, chief finance officers and mining executives – very different worlds to the challenges we face as a university.
Similarly, there was a stark contrast between those who sat on the Board of an ASX listed multi-national company, compared to those of us who sat on Not for Profit Boards, but the rules are very similar and I would like to think that the social contribution that the many Not for Profit Boards such as Starick make, is just as important as the ASX listed company and as such needs the same level of expertise on the Board. Good governance and leadership is essential for any organisation to succeed and I feel confident that with the successful completion of the AICD company directors course I have the skills and knowledge to perform the duties expected of a director during both the good times and the challenging times in whatever leadership roles I engage with in the future.
