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  • Athanassia Iosifidou Lima

    Athanassia Iosifidou Lima

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Athanassia Iosifidou Lima

Master of Education (2016)

When Athanassia first decided to research a postgraduate teaching degree to study, she was at a crossroads in her career.

“I came to ECU as a postgraduate student after completing my undergraduate and graduate degrees at a different Perth university. After four years of theory and research in Psychology and Education, I entered the language teaching sector feeling unprepared and struggling to deal with everyday student issues, the teaching load and how to best work with management.” says Athanassia.

“I almost left teaching entirely before I decided to look for a practical Educational Leadership degree and give it one last go.”

For Athanassia, the decision to study the Master of Education at ECU was an easy one.

“ECU was a clear choice in terms of a ‘hands-on’ Master of Education. The subjects and topics matched my interests and were also broad enough so that I could move within the education sector. It was delivered in hybrid online/in person model (not so common in 2015!), so that was a bonus.”

Since graduating from ECU, Athanassia’s career has gone from strength to strength, thanks to the practical strategies and skills learnt through the Master of Education.

“The course focused on practical strategies and drew case studies from our own workplace helping us deal with our actual difficulties. Suddenly going to Uni on a Saturday didn’t seem so bad when you could discuss the week’s work problems with your lecturer and classmates and have an action-plan by Monday! Needless to say, I stayed in language teaching and thrived after completing my Master of Education at ECU.”

Another highlight of the degree, to Athanassia’s surprise, was the research project.

“I was initially dreading the research project but with the support of ECU lecturers, I did not only complete it successfully, but it became my focus and the basis of a project I presented at educational conferences nationally and internationally in subsequent years.”

Athanassia now heads the Training Support Section at the Defence International Training Centre in Melbourne which teaches English to foreign military.

“I manage a team of education support staff such as Moodle experts, multimedia and publishing gurus, testing and evaluation professionals, an IT specialist and a librarian.”

Although the role means Athanassia has stepped out of the classroom, she can still see the impact of her role.

“I always said that I needed to be in a job that had a higher purpose or made a difference. I feel that my current position allows me to do exactly that by developing others to do their job well, and positively impact those at the receiving end of our services.”

“Even though I’ve left the classroom, my team and I make a direct positive impact to the students’ experiences before, during and after class time which is what I always strived for, but more than I could ever fully achieve as a classroom teacher.”

Her advice for current students, or people seeking a course to study?

“When choosing your subjects, do not focus solely on the title or major. Look at what specific topics you will be completing and whether they actually interest and serve you. Do you prefer theory or practice, and do you see yourself working in a job that requires more of one or the other? Does the delivery mode suit your current arrangements? Are there more lectures or tutorials and which do you prefer? Choose for you, your interests and your future!”

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