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    Dr Christine Cunningham

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Dr Christine Cunningham

Senior Lecturer

Staff Member Details
Telephone: +61 8 6304 6807
Email: c.cunningham@ecu.edu.au
Campus: Mount Lawley  
Room: ML17.225  
ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1216-9623

Dr Christine Cunningham is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education, who leads research projects studying educational administration, management and leadership and teaches about the latest developments in her research field from a comparative and cross-cultural educational context.

Current teaching

Unit Coordinator for:

Semester One:

  • EDU6195: Introduction to Research and Advanced Academic Writing
  • EPA6156: Leading for Improvement

Semester Two:

  • EDU6320: Advanced Seminar
  • EPA6320: Leading for Improvement

Background

Dr Cunningham’s research expertise is in international educational leadership. She currently co-leads an Australia-wide and international team of education researchers conducting, publishing and disseminating research about the effects of crises on educational leaders’ administrative practices in ‘Ring of Fire’ nations including Australia, Bolivia, New Zealand, China and Fiji. Dr Cunningham also supervises many PhD and Masters students and together they are asking questions to discover what are some of the best practices around the globe for school leaders wanting to administer excellent and safe learning environments.

Dr Christine Cunningham has an outstanding track record of teaching and learning and demonstrates a strong commitment to students based on the values of progressive education, diversity, social justice, and relationality.  She has led and contributed to significant and successful transnational programs within the University by leveraging her expertise in Chinese education and educational administration. She has taken on significant leadership roles around the conceptualisation, development, implementation and evaluation of new courses and units in the postgraduate suite of Master of Education by course work and by research programs.

Prior to joining academia, Dr Cunningham held leadership positions in schools in Australia, Timor Loro Sae and Bolivia. Her experiences beyond education include previous political representations as Deputy Mayor of a large local government council and she is a keen amateur percussionist and concert band participant.

Professional associations

  • 2015 - 2019: Elected Member of the City of Canning, Deputy Mayor and Ward Councillor
  • 2016 - 2018: School Board Member of Bannister Creek Primary School
  • 2018: School Board Member of Fremantle College

Research areas and interests

  • Educational administration, management and leadership (FOR: 390403); and
  • Comparative and cross-cultural education (FOR: 390401)

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Professional Studies with Second Class Honours, Murdoch University.
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Education, The University of Western Australia.
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Murdoch University, 2010.

Research Outputs

2024

Journal Articles

  • Zhang, W., Wang, L., Cunningham, C., Liu, Z. (2024). Education for profit in the era of Xi: Biopower, resistance and China's double reduction policy. Globalization Societies and Education, 2024(Article in press), 15 pages. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2024.2381193.

2023

Journal Articles

  • Striepe, M., Thompson, P., Robertson, S., Devi, M., Gurr, D., Longmuir, F., Taylor, A., Cunningham, C. (2023). Responsive, adaptive, and future-centred leadership in response to crisis: Findings from Australia, Fiji, and New Zealand. School Leadership and Management, 43(2), 104-124. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2023.2171005.
  • Fogarty, S., Cunningham, C., Striepe, M., Rhodes, D. (2023). The provision of vocational education and training within contemporary political socio-economic conditions: a review of the literature. International Journal of Training Research, 2023(Article in press), 18 pages. https://doi.org/10.1080/14480220.2023.2263671.
  • Cunningham, C. (2023). School leadership, female empowerment and China’s Rise. Management in Education, 37(2), 104–106. https://doi.org/10.1177/0892020621999676.

2022

Journal Articles

  • Cunningham, C., Hill, S., Zhang, W. (2022). Gender equality and educational leadership in Chinese schools. Power and Education, 14(1), 66-81. https://doi.org/10.1177/17577438211058965.
  • Cunningham, C., Zhang, W., Striepe, M., Rhodes, D. (2022). Dual leadership in Chinese schools challenges executive principalships as best fit for 21st century educational development. International Journal of Educational Development, 89(March 2022), Article number 102531. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2021.102531.
  • Striepe, M., Cunningham, C. (2022). Gatekeepers, guides and ghosts: intermediaries impacting access to schools during COVID-19. Ethnography and Education, 2022(Article in Press), 18p. https://doi.org/10.1080/17457823.2022.2049332.
  • Striepe, M., Cunningham, C. (2022). Understanding educational leadership during times of crises: A scoping review. Journal of Educational Administration, 60(2), 133-147. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-03-2021-0057.

2021

Journal Articles

  • Harvankova, L., Cunningham, C., Striepe, M. (2021). “Mummy is meeting a teacher, play on the iPad”: Reflecting on educational leadership during COVID-19 lockdown in Australia. Management in Education, 2021(Article in Press), 5p.. https://doi.org/10.1177/08920206211054645.
  • Zhang, W., Striepe, M., Cunningham, C. (2021). School leadership during the COVID-19 Crisis: A preliminary case study from China. Alternation: international journal for the study of Southern African literature and languages, 28(1), 225-250. https://doi.org/10.29086/2519-5476/2021/v28n1a9.
  • Cunningham, C., Zhang, W., Barstow, C. (2021). Moral education in China and its critique. The Social Educator, 39(1), 3-13. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworkspost2013/10208.
  • Fittock, S., Cunningham, C., Striepe, M. (2021). System leadership in Australian and Swedish education: What’s social justice got to do with it?. Access: critical perspectives on communication, cultural and policy studies, 41(2), 3-10. https://doi.org/10.46786/ac21.5999.

2020

Journal Articles

  • Fittock, S., Cunningham, C., Campbell-Evans, G. (2020). The Socialisation of WA Early Career Principals. Leading and Managing, 26(2), 14-31. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworkspost2013/9827.
  • Loxton, J., Cunningham, C., Knaus, M. (2020). An investigation of Early Childhood Staff and Their Transition to the New Western Australian Humanities and Social Sciences Curriculum. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 45(7), 45-59.
  • Nguyen, T., Cunningham, C., Paolino, A. (2020). An Investigation into Chinese Influence on the Current Curriculum of Bachelor of Business English Degrees at Vietnamese Universities. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 10(10), 1179-1190. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1010.01.

2019

Journal Articles

  • Cunningham, C. (2019). An investigation into school inspection policies in Western Australian state education performed by the Expert Review Group. Educational Research for Policy and Practice, 18(1), 39-58. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10671-018-9227-5.
  • Cunningham, C., Wandei, E. (2019). Critical reflections on postgraduate andragogy from the points of view of a Kenyan student and an Australian academic. Reflective Practice, 20(3), 305-324. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2019.1598350.

2017

Journal Articles

  • Barwood, D., Penney, D., Cunningham, C. (2017). A paradox or a culture of acceptance? The idiosyncratic workforce delivering health education in lower secondary government schools in Western Australia. Asia-Pacific Journal of Health, Sport and Physical Education, 8(3), 193-209. https://doi.org/10.1080/18377122.2017.1362955.

2016

Journal Articles

  • Barwood, D., Cunningham, C., Penney, D. (2016). What we know, what we do and what we could do: Creating an understanding of the delivery of health education in lower secondary government schools in Western Australia. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 41(11), 15-30. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2016v41n11.2.

2014

Journal Articles

  • Cunningham, C., Jackson, S. (2014). Leadership and the Australian Greens. Leadership, 11(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1177/1742715013498407.
  • Cunningham, C., Coy, N. (2014). Understanding the need for fine-grained assessment. Australian Educational Leader, 36(3), 6-9.
  • Cunningham, C. (2014). Decision-Making Processes and Educational Leadership in Australia. Leading and Managing, 20(1), 11-31.
  • Cunningham, C. (2014). Educational Leadership: What can China teach the West about inclusive decision making practices?. Journal of US-China Public Administration, 11(9), 773-789. https://doi.org/10.17265/1548-6591/2014.09.005.
  • Lyle, J., Cunningham, C., Gray, J. (2014). The New Australian Curriculum, Teachers and Change Fatigue. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 39(11), 45-64. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2014v39n11.4.

2013

Journal Articles

  • Cunningham, C. (2013). The Australian Baccalaureate: A preliminary study. Curriculum Perspectives, 33(3), 46-57.

2012

Journal Articles

2011

Books

  • Cunningham, C. (2011). Corrupted Principles and the Challenges of Critically Reflective Leadership. Peter Lang Publishing.

Research Projects

  • Research Project to Measure the Effectiveness of the Department of Education Western Australia Classroom Management Strategies (CMS) Foundation Program, Department of Education WA, Grant, 2015 ‑ 2016, $5,575.
  • A Comparative Analysis of Chinese and Australian Masters of Education Students' Insights into Leadership Models, Edith Cowan University, ECU Early Career Researcher - Grant, 2012 ‑ 2013, $22,555.

Research Student Supervision

Current Supervisions

Principal Supervisor

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Providing vocational education and training in Western Australian secondary schools
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Experiences of ELICOS leaders during COVID-19 in Victoria
  • Master of Education, Going 'full time': An exploration of vocational ballet training in Perth, Western Australia
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Problematising national education goals

Associate Supervisor

  • Doctor of Philosophy, An ethnographic study of Initial Teacher Education professionals' embodied policy work in Health and Physical Education in Western Australia and Wales
  • Master of Education, Leadership Beyond the Studio: Investigating Secondary School Dance Teachers' Striving for Leadership Positions

Completed Supervisions

Principal Supervisor

  • Doctor of Philosophy, A critique of the Vietnamese Bachelor of Business English
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Moving towards communication-oriented language teaching at the primary English level: A Vietnamese perspective
  • Master of Education, The socialisation of early career principals in Western Australia
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Investigating the Efficacy of Teaching Practicum Supervision in Bhutan
  • Master of Education, Content and Frames of ©WeChat and Chinese State Media A critical literacy reflection of the narratives during the early stage of COVID-19 pandemic
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Inspiring Social Justice: Teacher educators’ experiences of Culturally and Linguistically Sustaining Pedagogies in Initial Teacher Education units
  • Master of Education, Early childhood hass matters: An investigation of early childhood staff and their transition to the new Western Australian humanities and social sciences curriculum in 2017
  • Doctor of Philosophy, What we know, what we do and what we could do: Creating an understanding of the delivery of health education in lower secondary government schools in Western Australia
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Home and Away: The Effects of Patriotic Education on Chinese International Students in Australia Through a Critique of Identity Theories and Policy Myth Making

Co-principal Supervisor

  • Master of Education, The reality of reform: Teachers reflecting on curriculum reform in Western Australia

Associate Supervisor

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Muslim women in Australia and the netherlands: A multimodal enquiry into television documentary representations
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Headteachers in Difficult Circumstances: A Study of School Leaders in Post-Conflict, Post Disaster Nepal
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Searching for Equity in Positivity: A two-year case study of the effectiveness of the implementation of Positive Education in a West Australian public secondary school following a Year 7 cohort to Year 8.
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