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Associate Professor Deb Hayes

BSc(Sydney), DipEd(UoN), MA(Macquarie), PhD(UoN)

Associate Professor, School Leadership, Management and School Partnership

Director, Education I-IV Program

Email:

Phone: +61 2 9351 6389

Fax: +61 2 9351 4580

Building.Room: A35.916

Research interests

Educational history, sociology and philosophy

  • Sociology of education

Educational systems: administration, management and leadership

  • Secondary education

Social structures, inequalities and social justice

  • Social change

Professional biography

Debra’s research is located within the field of equity in education. Chief among her concerns has been the identification and description of pedagogical and leadership practices associated with equitable outcomes from education. Her research is characterised by detailed longitudinal studies of schools in disadvantaged communities that aim to shed light on how to initiate and sustain change that leads to improvement.Since completing her doctorate in 1999, she has pursued research opportunities that investigate the seemingly intractable link between students from low-income families and their greatly reduced educational outcomes compared to their more affluent peers. Hence, her research has been located in schools characterised by high levels of poverty and difference, and she has worked closely with relevant industry and community partners (e.g., NSW DET Equity Programs).Debra has undertaken qualitative studies in an attempt to better understand the fundamental impact of socio-economic status which is often set aside as a variable that can be controlled for, but not influenced. Debra’s research has attempted to re-theorise this relationship in an effort to disrupt its predictable effects on young people who are not well served by schooling.Debra has focused on identifying the characteristics of teachers’ pedagogical practices that make a difference, as well as school leadership and organisational processes that support the development of these practices. She was member of the core team of researchers (B. Lingard, J. Ladwig, M. Mills, D. Hayes, A. Luke & J. Gore) who conducted the Queensland School Reform Longitudinal Study 1998-2000 (QSRLS).In two completed ARC Linkage projects (C00107831 & LP0454879), Debra has investigated how to improve pedagogical and leadership practice, and she continues to enquire into it in a current ARC Discovery (DP0771591) conducted in collaboration with Professor Jill Blackmore, Deakin University.

For further information visit Deb's personal homepage


Awards

  • Faculty of Education and Social Work Teaching Excellence Award 2008

  • Outstanding Paper in the Journal of Educational Administration for 2002 with Bob Lingard and Martin Mills, Emerald Literati Club Award for Excellence

  • Inaugural Early Career Researcher Outstanding Conference Paper for the year 1999, Australian Association for Research in Education Conference, Melbourne, Australia


Professional and community roles

  • Member, Doctoral Thesis Award Committee, Australian Association for Research in Education

  • Member, Editorial Advisory Panel, Critical Studies in Education

  • Member, Executive Committee, Australian Association for Research in Education (Treasurer 2009-current)


Selected publications

Books

  • Hayes, D., Mills, M., Christie, P. and Lingard, B. (2006). Teachers and schooling making a difference: Productive Pedagogies, Assessment and Performance. Sydney: Allen & Unwin Publishers.
  • Lingard, B., Hayes, D., Mills, M. and Christie, P. (2003). Leading Learning: Making hope practical in schools. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Journal articles

  • Johnston, K, Hayes, D. (2008). 'This is as good as it gets': classroom lessons and learning in challenging circumstances. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 31(2), 109–127.
  • Hayes, D. (2007). Social background and academic achievement. Principal Matters, 71, 12–14.
  • Hayes, D. (2007). ICT and learning: Lessons from Australian classrooms. Computers & Education, 49, 385–395.
  • Johnston, K, Hayes, D. (2007). Supporting student success at school through teacher professional learning:the pedagogy of disrupting the default modes of schooling. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 11(3), 371–381.
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