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Associate Professor Christine Robinson

Associate Professor

Christine is an Associate Professor, teaching into the Undergraduate and Postgraduate programs in Early Childhood within the School of Education.

Background

Associate Professor Christine Robinson has previously held the positions of Associate Dean (Research) for the national Faculty of Education, Philosophy and Theology at The University of Notre Dame (UNDA). Also at UNDA, for over 10 years, Christine was the coordinator of the early childhood programs including the Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood & Care: 0-8 years), the Graduate Certificate in Early Childhood and the Master of Education (Early Childhood). Prior to entering academia, Christine taught within the Catholic Education system where she has held the positions of classroom teacher in the early childhood and primary years as well as Assistant Principal. Christine has lead large teams in teaching and research, and held substantial leadership roles in your career to date.

Current Teaching

  • LAN3356 Literacy Learning in Junior Primary
  • LAN3370 Supporting all Language and Literacy Learners
  • EPA6175 Leading Family and Community in the Early Years

Professional Associations

  • 2025 HREC member for UNDA
  • 2025 ECA
  • 2024 - ongoing Melbourne Catholic Education advisory committee
  • 2022 - ongoing. OMEP
  • 2018 - 2019 ECA
  • 2016 - ongoing. G.R.A.C.E Lead Convenor
  • 2017 - 2019 Beaconseild P.S School Board

Awards and Recognition

National and International Awards:

  • 2019 - Australian Awards for University Teaching (AAUT) Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning​
  • 2019 - Education Publishers Awards Australia (EPAA)
  • 2017 - Vice Chancellor’s Awards for Initiatives that Enhance Student Learning (UNDA National)
  • 2017 - 3-Minute Thesis UNDA Award Winner and National Representative
  • 2015 - Catherine McCauley Award for Women in Leadership

University and National Teaching Awards:

  • 2014 - Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching (UNDA)
  • 2013 - UniJobs Lecturer of the Year Nomination
  • 2014 - Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching (UNDA)

National and International Research Awards:

  • 2019 - West Australian Institute for Educational Research Award

Research Interests

  • Early childhood development and learning
  • Play-based pedagogies
  • Spirituality in the early years
  • Holistic and relational pedagogies
  • Literacy in the early years
  • Teacher formation
  • Religious Education
  • Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA)

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame Australia, 2017.

Research Outputs

Journal Articles

  • Robinson, C., O'Connor, D., Wynne, S., Manners, W., Pietracatella, M. (2025). Pedagogical growth journeys: perspectives of spirituality within holistic approaches to early years education. International Journal of Children's Spirituality, 30(1), 20 pages. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/1364436X.2025.2458825.

Books

  • Robinson, C., Hyde, B., Best, M. (2024). A Framework for Young Children's Spiritual Capabilities: Foster Resilience and Wellbeing with this Research-based Guide for 0-8 year olds. Turtle Publishing.

Book Chapters

  • Robinson, C. (2024). Reframing Play through the Spiritual Lens. Nurturing Young Children as Spiritual Beings in a Globalised World (). Bloomsbury Academic.

Journal Articles

  • Robinson, C., Williams, H. (2024). Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: Learnings from Employing IPA as a Qualitative Methodology in Educational Research. Qualitative Report: an online journal dedicated to qualitative research since 1990, 29(4), 939-952. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2024.6487.

Journal Articles

  • Robinson, C., Cranley, L., O’connell, D. (2023). The Journey to G.R.A.C.E: Creating an International Community of Practice. Religions, 14(1), article number 43. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14010043.

Journal Articles

  • Cranley, L., Robinson, C., Hine, G., O’connor, D. (2022). The desks have changed; it must be NAPLAN time: How NAPLAN affects teaching and learning of mathematics. Issues in Educational Research, 32(4), 1306-1320.

Journal Articles

  • O’connor, D., Robinson, C., Cranley, L., Johnson, G., Robinson, A. (2020). Love in education: West Australian early childhood pre-service teachers’ perspectives on children’s right to be loved and its actualisation within their future practice. Early Child Development and Care, 190(15), 2402-2413. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2019.1574778.

Research Projects

  • Researching the Journey and Impact of Early Years Leadership and Pedagogical Growth in Western Australian Regional Catholic Schools 2023, Catholic Education Office of WA, Grant, 2025, $7,000.
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