Dr Agli Zavros-Orr

Position: Lecturer, Primary Education
Study area: Education
Location:  Gippsland Campus, Building 2S, Room 213
Phone: (03) 5122 6294
Email: a.zavrosorr@federation.edu.au
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-3320-9535

Qualifications

Doctor of Philosophy – University of Queensland - 2007

Graduate Certificate in Teaching (LOTE Education) - Tasmanian Govt. - 1999

Bachelor of Education (Hons.) - University of Tasmania - 1993

Courses

  • Batchelor of Education
  • Master of Education

Units

Undergraduate:

  • Understanding Dis/ability (EDBED1013)
  • Inclusive Education (EDBED1014)
  • Responding to Challenge: Trauma Informed Practice (EDBED3119)
  • Humanities Education (EDBED4011)
  • Arts Education (EDBED4012)

Postgraduate:

  • Specific Learning Difficulties (EDMST6016)
  • Inclusive School Context (EDMST6023)

Biography

Dr Agli Zavros-Orr is an Education Lecturer in the Institute of Education, Arts and Community.

After a successful career as an early years / primary teacher, Agli completed a PhD at the University of Queensland. Their thesis, utilised mixed methods to explore teacher efficacy beliefs and the ethic of care.

Agli draws on their PhD, classroom teaching and research to inform their praxis. Prioritising research informed praxis has influenced their leadership roles across six Australian universities.  This research follows a feminist, posthumanist, intersectional auto-ethnographic and critical auto-ethnographic gaze - shaped by decades of academic pursuits.  This gaze is both national and international in its focus has been informed the development of early years, primary and secondary teacher education courses. The hallmark of this work are the principles of co-design with explicit links to contemporary issues, challenges and potentialities for improving educational outcomes. Every aspect of their work is underpinned by an ongoing dialogue with colleagues, students, education professionals and community organisations seeking to improve student school-based experiences. More recently they have focused on trauma informed practices/strategies supporting diverse students with diverse needs.

Through their engagement with various stakeholders, Agli has explored intersectional anti-bias curriculum approaches that focus on the realization of human rights and inclusive education principles for all children (0-18). One area that has become a focus of their advocacy, activism and research is the promotion of education and awareness about variations in sex characteristics. An important aspect of this is promoting the acquisition of accurate and un-biased language to know about and talk about diverse bodies (their sex, gender and sexuality). In 2023 Agli led the drafting of a Senate submission on the national trend of school refusal and related matters, highlighting the needs and challenges faced by children born with a variation in sex characteristics (also known as intersex). They have been called to be a keynote speaker, participate in forums, panels and as a guest speaker on radio shows, where they share their perspectives and respond to questions on the topic.

Agli is the founder of Diversitywise Educational Services (www.diversitywise.com.au) and serves on the Victorian Government Intersex Advisory Group (IEAG) as an academic and community member. For three years they served as the chair for Intersex Human Right Australia (IHRA) and have continued this service as the Vice-chair for that organisation.

Areas of expertise

Agli has three interrelated areas of expertise.

Curriculum and pedagogies theory and practice

21st century curriculum and pedagogies reflect a student-centred approach. Agli has lectured extensively in the Arts, Humanities, Language and Literacies Education, Inclusive education, Professional Practice and Transition to the Profession courses. They enhance pre-service teacher efficacies through an emphasis on collaboration, dialogue, problem-solving, creativity, critical thinking and synthesising of different sources of information, and multi-modal communication inclusive of diversity.

Social Justice, Diversity, and Inclusion

Informed by their own research, the hallmark of their academic praxis is engagement with principles of social justice and the ethic of care in education. They have a particular interest in embedding anti-bias principles in curriculum and pedagogies across all aspects of education is what they defined as their transformative intersectional sensibility. This sensibility is aligned to their human rights work in education and the broader community.

Mixed Methodologies.

Both in undergraduate and postgraduate studies, their work with students is grounded by scholarship that engages with intersectional phenomenological complexities. Their journeying with ethnographic, auto-ethnographic and critical auto-ethnographic research draws on arts base methods, poetry, story-ing and story-telling and narrative inquiry.

To this they bring an applied research approach informed by social constructivist grounded theory, critical theory, social network and relational theories..

Research interests

  • Human Rights and Social Justice
  • Inclusive Education and Diversity
  • Trauma Informed Theories and Practices
    • Teacher and Teaching Efficacy for the 21st Century
  • Intersectional Phenomenological Realities and Lived Experience
    • Intersectional Understanding of Self (focusing on sex, gender and sexuality)

Funded and Unfunded Research

2021, Yellow Tick development lead grant writer/ Developer of YT program. Vic. Gov. LGBTQIA+ Development Grants $50,000.

2021, Intersex Engagement in Education One of 5 investigators Monash University Unfunded.

2015, Philosophy Changing Children’s Lives (Preston South Primary School) Co-wrote application Sydney Myer Fund $7,719.

2010, Pre-service Teacher Experiences One of 3 chief investigators Internal Grant USQ $5,000.

2010, Community Engagement Project – Engaging first in the family learner and family participation with the campus Chief investigator Internal grants USQ $10,000.

2009, Creative Community Hub Artist in Residence Project - Primary Arts Network Ipswich $15,332.

2007, School to University Pathways for Indigenous Students Project Chief investigator DEEWR $75,000.

2006, Emerging spatial pedagogies in the academic context: A study exploring transformative teaching modes within the academic learning space. Chief investigator USQ $1,700.

Supervision

Agli is an experienced Master and PhD supervisor and is available to examine higher degree by research theses.

Doctoral Supervision:

2015, The ‘aesthetic environment’: An exploration of the values, perspectives and choices made by early childhood educators when establishing their learning environments. Student: Eva Nislev.

2012, How local radio values, esteems and provides voice to rapidly growing urban communities. Student: Ashley Jones.

Masters Supervision:

2010, Incorporating online social networking into the Victorian Primary curriculum. Student: Rachel Bath.

2010, The impact of a personal philosophy on teaching identity using critical discourse analysis. Student: Yvonne Salton.

2008, Beliefs and knowledge of young children regarding environmental sustainability. Student: Diane Roberts.

Publications

Postgraduate Thesis

Zavros, A. (2007). Teacher Agency: A Grounded Topology of CARE. Unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Queensland. https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:158489

Zavros, A. (1993). Living with Two Languages. Unpublished honours thesis, University of Tasmania.

Refereed journal articles

lisahunter, Zavros-Orr, A., Brömdal, A., Hand, K., & Hart, B. (2022). Intersex awareness and education: what part can health and physical education bodies of learning and teaching play? Sport, Education and Society. https://doi.org/10.1080/13573322.2022.2115477

Zavros-Orr, A., (2021). Raising awareness and visibility of the 'I' in educational settings: an appraisal of curricula and its impact on children with an intersex variation. In Psychology of Sexualities Review, (12) 1, Summer, 34-48.

Brömdal, A., Zavros-Orr, A., lisahunter, Hand, K. & Hart, B. (2020). Towards a whole-school approach for sexuality education in supporting and upholding the rights and health of students with intersex variations. Sex Education; Intersex and Sexuality Education. Routledge.

Lemon, N., Wilson, A., Oxworth, C., Zavros-Orr, A., & Wood, B. (2018). Lines of School-University Partnership: Perception, Sensation and Meshwork Reshaping of Pre-Service Teachers’ Experiences. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 43(10).

Invited editorials

Zavros-Orr, A. (2022). Staging the feminine Ethic of Care. In Black, A., L., & Dwyer R., (Eds.). Reimagining the Academy Shifting Towards Kindness, Connection, and an Ethic of Care. Palgrave Macmillan.

Book chapters

Zavros-Orr, A. (2023). Developing an Individuated Sensibility at the Margins. In: Phillips, L.G., Bunda, T. (eds) Storying Social Movement/s. Palgrave Studies in Movement across Education, the Arts and the Social Sciences. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-09667-9_7.

Zavros-Orr, A. (2022). Corona Chronicles 3.0: Learning to Live and Living to Lead in a Post-COVID reality. (Eds. Fasching-Varner, K., Scott, C., Ladd, S.) DIO Press Inc. 239 p.

Zavros-Orr, A., (2020). Caring for children with an intersex variation. The Anti-Bias Approach in Early Childhood (4th Ed). Multiverse.

Phillips, Louise Gwenneth, Johnson, Helen, Misra, Sarah, and Zavros-Orr, Agli (2020) Mothering bodies in unloving institutions. In: Henderson, Linda, Black, Alison. L., and Garvis, Susie, (eds.) (Re)birthing the feminine in Academe: Creating Spaces of Motherhood in Patriarchal Contexts. Palgrave Studies in Gender and Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, Switzerland, pp. 49-82.

Phillips, L. & Zavros, A. (2012) Researchers as participants: Participants as researchers. The Role of Participants in Education Research: Ethics, Epistemologies, and Methods. Edited by Warren Midgley, W., Patrick Alan Danaher and Margaret Baguley. Routledge. 272 p.

Carrington, V., Mitchell, J., Rawolle, S. and Zavros, A. (eds.) (2002) Troubling Practice. Post Press, Flaxton.

Conference proceedings

lisahunter, Zavros-Orr, A., Hand, K. & Hart, B. (2021) Reimagining LGBTIQ+ inclusions: Critical spaces and innovative pedagogical practices. Australian Association for Research in Education Annual Conference, Melbourne, Victoria, 2021.

lisahunter, Zavros-Orr, A., Brömdal, A., Hand, K., & Hart, B. (2020, December 3). Intersex awareness as a whole-of school approach: What part can HPE bodies play? Paper presented at the Australian Association for Research in Education, Zoom.

lisahunter, Zavros-Orr, A., Brömdal, A., Hand, K., & Hart, B., Low, P., Hand, K. (2019) HPE Intra-acts in a socially just world: intersectionality and people with (inter)sexed bodies encountering health, movement and education. Australian Association for Research in Education Annual Conference, Melbourne, Victoria, 2019.

Zavros-Orr A., (2018). What if ‘X’ marked the spot: A post-binary narrative from within the 1.7% intersex statistic.Paper presented at the Australian Association for Research in Education Conference, Sydney, December 2018.

Phillips, L. & Zavros, A., (2011) Storytelling and Drama in the Early Years. Celebrating Educators: Celebrate the Work of Early Childhood Educators and Carers and Raising the Status of the Profession: Conference hosted by USQ.

Zavros, A. and Geiblinger, H. (2012) Developing English Language Learners Linguistic Efficacy through Total Physical Response Storytelling drawing on understanding of the “flow” phenomenon. Paper presented at 2012 Australian Association for Research in Education Conference, Sydney, December 2012.

Zavros, A., (2012) English Language Learning and Teachers’ Personal Networks of Praxis. Paper presented at the 2012 Australian Association for Research in Education Conference, Sydney, December 2012.

Zavros, A., (2012) Critical and Spatial Pedagogies in Teacher Education. Presentation at the USQ Postgraduate and Early Career Research Group 10th Research Symposium.

Zavros, A., (2012) Travelling the Introspective and Retrospective temporal journey: The Journey of Becoming. Presented to the Narrative Research Group, UQ.

Zavros, A., (2010) The Emergent Researcher: One woman’s journey into the Academy. In: AARE 2009: Australian Association for Research in Education Annual Conference 2009: Inspiring Innovative Research in Education, 29 Nov - 3 Dec 2009, Canberra, Australia.

Orr (nee Zavros), A., (2001) A Study of School Leadership Teachers and School Networks, Creating New Dialogues: Policy Pedagogy and Reform, Post Press, Flaxton.

Associations

  • Social Justice, Inclusion and Diversity in Education (SJIDE)
  • Social Justice and Inclusion in Early Childhood (SJIEC)
  • Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE)
  • National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU)