Oxworth, Catherine Dr

Position: Lecturer
Discipline: Education
Location: Berwick Campus, Room 901-130C
Phone: (03) 4313 7944
Email: c.oxworth@federation.edu.au
ORCID ID: 0000-0003-1999-9101

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy – La Trobe University – 2016
  • Master of Education (International Education) – Monash University – 2003
  • Graduate Diploma in Education (Secondary) – Monash University – 1998
  • Graduate Diploma in Arts – Modern Languages (Chinese) – The University of Melbourne – 1997
  • Bachelor of Music (Honours) – The University of Melbourne – 1992
  • Associate in Music, Australia (Clarinet) Diploma – Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB) – 1992

Teaching

Courses

  • Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Primary)
  • Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood Education)
  • Bachelor of Education (Primary)
  • Bachelor of Education Studies
  • Bachelor of Secondary Education

Units

  • Arts Education (EDBED4012)
  • Art, Movement and Music in Early Childhood (EDECE3028)
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Learning and Teaching (EDBED3016)
  • Child and Adolescent Development and Characteristics (EDBED1017)
  • Collaborative Partnerships (EDBED2112)
  • Diversity and Inclusion (EDBED2010)
  • Transition to the Profession (EDBED2114)
  • Technology and Communication for and with diverse learners (EDBED3116)

Biography

Catherine works in the Institute of Education, Arts and Community and teaches at the Berwick campus. Catherine has had extensive experience working as a teacher, trainer, mentor and leader in the field of education for more than 25 years.  Catherine is a classically trained musician, and an advocate of education in, and through, the Arts.  Catherine has taught in primary, secondary and tertiary educational contexts in Australia, China, Pakistan and Kenya.  Catherine has also worked as a music mentor for The Songroom, and as a volunteer teacher trainer in Pakistan for Australian Volunteers International.  Catherine has previously worked in initial teacher education programs at Swinburne University, La Trobe University and at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education.

Areas of expertise

Catherine has conducted qualitative research in school communities in Kenya and Zambia, with a particular focus on giving voice to young girls.  Catherine’s PhD thesis, “In my voice”: Girls and education in Kenya and Zambia, gave young girls a platform to articulate the narratives and concerns of their lives. Her research also explored the worth of work of women in post-colonial African contexts. Additionally, Catherine has worked on an Australian Research Council (ARC) research project that investigated the experiences of Indigenous pre-service teachers in Australia.

Catherine’s expertise in pre-service teacher education lies in the area of Arts education, where she brings over 20 years of first-hand experience to her teaching.  Catherine is an advocate for embedding the knowledge, culture, history and perspectives of Indigenous peoples into all aspects of the curriculum and schooling.

Catherine has had extensive experience working in Australia and overseas with students from diverse backgrounds.  Catherine is always interested in considering the issues and complexities of diversity, equity and inclusion within the education sector.

Through Catherine’s research, teaching, work and life, her intent is to try to make the world a better place for having lived in it.

Research interests

Through qualitative research approaches in education Catherine considers issues such as:

  • social justice
  • complexities of identity
  • gender and feminism
  • post-colonialism
  • story telling
  • culture and creativity

Catherine is interested in research that gives voice to those that are marginalised in our world.

Supervision

Catherine is currently available as an Associate Supervisor for post-graduate students.

Publications

Book chapters

Oxworth, C. & Wu. B. (In press). Spirituality and the Arts in early childhood education: The Cultural Considerations Companion for enriched engagement.In B. Hyde, E. Rouse & T. Eaude (Eds.), Nurturing Young Children as Spiritual Beings in a Globalised World. (Ch. 15) Bloomsbury.

Goriss-Hunter, A., Sellings, P., Walker, A. D., Claughton, A., Oxworth, C., Robertson, D. & Griffiths, K. (In press). What we’re taking through the portal: How our experiences of remote teaching as parent-educators during Covid-19 impacted our practice.  In J. Burke, M, Cacciattolo & D. Toe (Eds.), Inclusion and Social Justice in Teacher Education. (Ch. 26) Springer.

Oxworth, C. (2023). African Girls’ experiences of Gender in School Communities: Observations and Reflections from a Researcher. In S. Weuffen, J. Burke, M. Plunkett, A. Goriss-Hunter & S. Emmett (Eds.), Inclusion, Equity, Diversity, and Social Justice in Education: A Critical Exploration of the Sustainable Development Goals. (Ch. 11) Springer.

Refereed journal articles

Goriss-Hunter, A., Sellings, P., Walker, A. D., Claughton, A., Oxworth, C., Robertson, D. & Griffiths, K. (2023). Parent-educators' explorations of learning and role tensions during and 'after' Covid-19. Issues in Educational Research, 33(3), 974-991. http://www.iier.org.au/iier33/goriss-hunter.pdf

Wu, B. & Oxworth, C. (2022). Why aren’t we there yet? A typology for evaluating resistant and counter-hegemonic practices. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 23(4), 467-482. https://doi.org/10.1177/14639491221128290

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. The Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 43(10), 80-97. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2018v43.n10.5

Refereed conference proceedings

Goriss-Hunter, A. & Oxworth, C. (Presenters 2021, November 13). Goriss-Hunter, A., Claughton, A., Sellings, P., Robertson, D., Oxworth, C., Griffiths, K. & Walker, A. What we’re taking through the portal: how our experiences of remote teaching as parent-educators during COVID-19 impacted our practice, WFATE Sixth Biennial Conference, Texas, USA.

Oxworth, C. (2020, July 21). When nothing is something: Gendered perceptions of work and worth by African girls (video presentation). SJIDE Virtual Conventicle 2020, Federation University Australia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1YOxnqOm1Y

Associations

  • Association of Music Educators (aMuse)
  • National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU)
  • The Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT)