Dr Carla Kennedy

Position: Lecturer/researcher, Unit Coordinator
Study area: Critical reflection & post traumatic growth
Location: Mt Helen Campus, room 316B
Phone: 5327 9989
Email: carla.kennedy@federation.edu.au

Qualifications

Doctor of Philosophy – La Trobe University – 2021

Master of Education – University of Melbourne 

Diploma of Education in Literacy – University of Melbourne

Bachelor of Arts/Teaching – Australian Catholic University

Teaching

Courses

Professional Experience across undergraduate education courses

Units

  • Wellbeing and Socio Emotional Learning for the primary years (EDBED2113)

Biography

Carla is a lecturer/researcher in Education with the School of Education/Arts/Community at Federation University, Victoria, Australia. Carla is currently teaching professional experience units to undergraduate students in early childhood, primary and secondary education. Previously she held the position of Lecturer in Health and Society in the School of Psychology and Public Health at La Trobe University, Bundoora Campus teaching public health units to undergraduate and post graduate students. Her research using social inquiry has focused on school communities investigating compassion, existing power and inequalities in schools. By using social critical theory, Carla explicates how compassion in school communities can be made visible whilst identifying existing power structures and barriers. Critical reflection has been a pivotal interest in considering how school communities can incorporate a compassionate stance in relation to taboo subjects such as death, dying bereavement. Further research on post traumatic growth is of interest especially in regard to how factors such as social, nature and spiritual connections may contribute to this development. Carla has extensive research and educational experiences in schools, mentoring both pre service teachers and practicing teachers, leading school staff in program and policy development.

Areas of expertise

Carla has specific interests in the social and cultural life of communities and exploring the benefits of critical reflection which are demonstrated in the following publications. Carla’s research interests pertain to the following two categories:

(1) Critical reflection and reflexivity
Carla has a strong commitment to exploring how we might approach pre service teacher and teacher critical reflection in schools to help identify existing power and structural barriers to compassion in education. How people interact within their communities and the larger educational institution is of particular significance.

(2) Post traumatic growth
Carla’s more recent area of research explores post traumatic growth (finding meaning after trauma) through factors such as social connections, nature and spirituality.

Research interests

  • Critical reflection
  • Post traumatic growth

Supervision

Available for supervision of HDR students. My PhD was completed with publications.

Publications

Refereed journal articles

Kennedy, C. J., & Gardner, F. (2022). Researching death, dying and bereavement: tales of grounded theory, reflexivity and compassion. Qualitative research, 22(6), 862-876.

Kennedy, C. (2022). Palliative care: walking through the primary school gate. Progress in Palliative Care, 30(3), 137–140. https://doi.org/10.1080/09699260.2022.2058308

Kennedy, C. J., Gardner, F., & Southall, A. (2021). The Intentional Compassion Framework for school communities. Health Education Journal, 80(6), 660-671. https://doi.org/10.1177/00178969211006746

Kennedy, C. J., Gardner, F., & Farrelly, C. (2020). Death, dying and bereavement: considering compassion and empowerment. Pastoral Care in Education, 38(2), 138–155. https://doi.org/10.1080/02643944.2020.1725905

Kennedy, C. J., Keeffe, M., Gardner, F., & Farrelly, C. (2017). Making death, compassion and partnership ‘part of life’ in school communities. Pastoral Care in Education, 35(2), 111–123. https://doi.org/10.1080/02643944.2017.1306873

Refereed conference proceedings

2020     Health, Wellbeing and Society Conference, Sorbonne University, Paris (virtual)

2018    Australian Grief and Bereavement Conference, Manly, Sydney

2017    Emerita Professor and Sociologist Kathy Charmaz’s Masterclasses in Grounded Theory, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane

Associations

TASA The Australian Sociological Association