Staff Research
A number of staff at The Scots College are engaged in research, be it discipline-specific, institutional or pedagogical. (See here for a list of recent staff publications.) These include:
Dr Ian PM Lambert BA, Grad Dip T, MA, PhD, MACE (Principal) is working on Leadership in GPS Schools. A Cambridge graduate, he has been leader of the National Institute for Christian Education, and (prior to Scots) Principal of Swan Christian College in Western Australia. He is a trustee of the International Boys' Schools Coalition, and author of a number of books on boys education including Brave Hearts, Bold Minds: Leadership for young Australians (2009) and Get Ready to Lead (2010).
Dr Hugh Chilton BA (Advanced) (Hons), PhD, GradDipEd (Director of Research and Professional Learning) is a Conjoint Lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Newcastle and early career researcher in the fields of intellectual, cultural and religious history, with a particular focus on the complex and changing relationship between religion and national life in the turbulent post-war Anglophone world. He was awarded a PhD in history by The University of Sydney in 2015, and his first book is 'Evangelicals and the End of Christendom: Religion, Australia and the Crises of the 1960s' (Routledge, 2020).
Dr Tom Cerni DipEd, BEd, DipArt(Psych), MEd(CounselPsych), PhD (Head of Counselling Services) is an Honorary Associate of the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney, a Registered Psychologist and a Member of the Australian Psychological Society and the American Psychological Association. He is the author of numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals examining the relationship between the Cognitive-Experiential Theory (CET), Full-Range Leadership Theory, conflict-handling styles and influencing tactics. His present research is examining how guided self-reflection, using CET, can assist leaders enhance their creativity, innovation and wisdom.
Dr Caitlin Munday BEd (Hons) PhD (Research Fellow) was awarded her PhD thesis on 'Conceptualising the drama classroom as community: A case study approach to effective learning and teaching'.
Dr Caroline Basckin was recently awarded her PhD Candidate in the School of Education at the University of New South Wales, working with Associate Professor Iva Strnadová on ‘Evidence-based practices for students with special educational needs’.
Dr Arun Mehta, BTech (Met), MTech (Aircraft Production Eng), PhD (Mat Sc and Eng), Dip Ed (Mathematics Teacher) commenced a doctorate in experiential education, seeking to understand how its principles might be fruitfully applied in senior mathematics classes. In a disciplinary area often perceived as abstract and irrelevant, Dr Mehta is breaking fresh ground in changing the way mathematics engages boys by learning through doing.
Mr Jeff Mann BSc (Psychol.) Hons, MPHE (Coordinator of Student Experience) is currently undertaking a PhD with Western Sydney University. His research involves an exploration of student engagement in middle high school boys, and how school systems can be re-imagined to better engage boys at this critical developmental stage.
Mr Andrew Mason-Jones BA, BLaw, Dip Ed (History Teacher) recently completed a Masters by Research at the University of Sydney on the Australian Army Training Team in Vietnam.
Mr David Ikin BExSc (Hons), Grad Dip Ed, MEd (Leadership and Management) (Assistant Head of the Preparatory School) is currently undertaking a PhD with University of Newcastle. His research involves an exploration into the link between anxiety and mindset within primary classrooms. The research aims to focus on the the interactions between a student and their school environment to develop a deeper understadning of how students perceive school in the 21st century.
Mr Michael Whittington M.Teach, BVA (Hons), Associate Dip. Fine Arts (Visual Arts Teacher) is a PhD candidate at the University of Newcastle. He is researching how engagement in Contemporary Visual Arts Education can utilise emerging technologies to bridge the gap between what challenges and limits adolescent students empathic understanding of each other.
Mr James Clanfield BMUS, GradDipEd, MARE, MEd, (Head of Academics and Pastoral Care, Glengarry) is currently undertaking his PhD with The University of Notre Dame, looking at the preservation of the Christian ethos within the Christian school context. His research considers how curriculum, wellbeing, philosophy, and theology contribute to ethos within the Christian school, and the significance of the staff members role in the preservation of the Christian school ethos.
Ms Yogi Sewani (TAS Teacher) is completing her Masters of Special Education at the University of Sydney, with a dissertation exploring parent attitudes towards learning support. It is a comparative study between schools in Taiwan and schools in Sydney to determine whether there is a stigma surrounding learning support and whether it varies culturally.
