Associate Professor Jamie Sisson is the Co-Director for the Centre for Research in Educational and Social Inclusion (CRESI) at the University of South Australia (UniSA). CRESI is one of the largest research centres in the world, focused on contributing to new knowledge about educational equity and social inclusion issues. Sisson also co-founded the Culturally Inclusive Early Childhood Pedagogy International Network (CIECP), which brings together key research scholars for international research collaboration, dissemination and impact.
As Associate Professor in Childhood Studies, Sisson is nationally and internationally recognised in qualitative and co-design research which addresses issues of social injustice for early childhood teachers,... Read more
About me
Associate Professor Jamie Sisson is the Co-Director for the Centre for Research in Educational and Social Inclusion (CRESI) at the University of South Australia (UniSA). CRESI is one of the largest research centres in the world, focused on contributing to new knowledge about educational equity and social inclusion issues. Sisson also co-founded the Culturally Inclusive Early Childhood Pedagogy International Network (CIECP), which brings together key research scholars for international research collaboration, dissemination and impact.
As Associate Professor in Childhood Studies, Sisson is nationally and internationally recognised in qualitative and co-design research which addresses issues of social injustice for early childhood teachers, children and families. Her program of research responds to national and international policy challenges, focussing on:
Early childhood workforce: Sisson's research examines challenges causing early childhood teachers to leave the field, such as inconsistencies between policy and lived experiences and how teacher identity and agency shape classroom outcomes.
Early childhood education and practice: addressing the complexities of diversity in early childhood context, Sisson’s research investigates methods for creating meaningful and engaging learning experiences with young children.
Partnerships with families: Sisson's interests explore ways to form respectful and reciprocal partnerships between teachers and families.
Research led by Sisson has attracted over $1.8 million with continued and repeat funding from key and high-profile partner organisations including Departments of Education. Sisson has been Chief Investigator of 11 category 2 and 3 research projects, which have impacted policy. Associate Professor Sisson is the Lead Chief Investigator of the Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Early Childhood Pedagogies project, funded by Lillian de Lissa Trust and five partner organisations across South Australia and New South Wales. Outcomes, publications and resources developed from this project can be found at the CLRP in ECE website.
Sisson has over three decades of early childhood expertise and has contributed to high-impact international journal publications, books, and book chapters in the areas of early childhood education and general education. Her research publications have attracted media engagements and contribute to growing national and international presence following invited presentations to China, the United States and New Zealand.
Sisson is a highly sought after HDR supervisor in early childhood education and policy, family partnerships and culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogies. Sisson has been honoured for her research and supervision through the following accolades:
· HDR Supervisor Award (2024): Education Futures (UniSA)
· HDR Supervisory Team Award (2020): Centre for Research in Educational and Social Inclusion
· Early Career Researcher Award (2017): Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences (UniSA)
In addition to significant research contributions, Sisson has developed materials for and taught various courses in teacher education programs in the United States and Australia. She has over ten years of experience working in a variety of early childhood care and education contexts with children from birth to age ten. Sisson has served on the South Australian Early Childhood Australia Executive Board (2012-2015), was elected the Vice President of the Cleveland branch of the Association for the Education of Young Children (2006-2007) and is currently a member of the Lillian de Lissa Trust Board.
About me
About me
Doctor of Philosophy Kent State University
Masters of Educational Studies The University of Queensland
Bachelor of Science in Human and Consumer Sciences The Ohio University
My research program focuses on collaborating with teams to generate new knowledge in the areas of early childhood education and teacher education through the following lines of inquiry:
Early childhood curriculum and pedagogy- Through this line of inquiry I am interested in exploring pedagogies that engage children as active protagonists in their learning such as democratic based, emergent inquiry based, culturally responsive pedagogy, and Reggio Emilia inspired pedagogies. I am also interested in how cultural models of education come together to inform policy and practice.
Connecting theory, research and practice in teacher education- I am interested in understanding the experiences of pre-service teachers and... Read more
Research
Excludes commercial-in-confidence projects.
Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Early Childhood Pedagogies, NSW Department of Education, 01/06/2023 - 30/06/2025
Children learning to live together in a diverse community: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy in Reggio Emilia inspired Early Learning Settings, Department for Education, 04/06/2018 - 20/02/2020
Investigating the Reconceptualising of Early Childhood Education in South Australia, SA Dept for Education and Children's Services, 01/10/2017 - 14/12/2018
Research
Research outputs for the last seven years are shown below. Some long-standing staff members may have older outputs included. To see earlier years visit ORCID, ResearcherID or Scopus
Open access indicates that an output is open access.
Year | Output |
---|---|
2024 |
Open access
1
1
2
|
2024 |
Open access
5
6
1
|
2023 |
Open access
3
1
35
|
2018 |
Open access
4
4
|
2016 |
32
27
|
Year | Output |
---|---|
2017 |
Open access
|
Year | Output |
---|---|
2024 |
1
|
2024 |
Open access
1
1
2
|
2024 |
Open access
5
6
1
|
2024 |
Open access
1
|
2023 |
Open access
3
1
35
|
2022 |
Open access
8
3
3
|
2022 |
Open access
2
3
1
|
2020 |
Open access
3
|
2020 |
Open access
10
6
5
|
2018 |
Open access
4
4
|
2017 |
Open access
|
2017 |
Open access
5
5
|
2017 |
|
2016 |
32
27
|
2014 |
Open access
17
|
2009 |
8
8
|
Year | Output |
---|---|
2020 |
Open access
|
2018 |
Open access
|
Sisson, J.H. (2015, April) Undercover: Teaching privately in a public preschool. Paper presented in the Lives of Teachers Sig at the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, Il.
Sisson, J. H. (2013, December) Building a classroom community: A space for agency and recovery. Paper presented in the symposium, shaping research that strengthens and understands voice and identities in early childhood at the Australian Association for Research in Education, Adelaide, AU.
Sisson, J. H. (2012, April) Professional identity: A narrative inquiry of one public preschool teacher. Paper presented in the Lives of Teachers Sig at the American Educational Research Association, Vancouver, CA.
Iverson, S. & Sisson, J. H. (2011, November) Disciplining professionals: A feminist Foucauldian analysis of public preschool teachers. Paper presented at the National Women’s Studies Association, Atlanta, GA.
Sisson, J. H. (2011, June) Professional identity and play: A narrative inquiry of five public preschool teachers. Paper presented at the Curriculum and Pedagogy Conference, Canton, OH.
James, J. H & Sisson, J. H. (2008) The loud, active girl: Disrupting and implicating binary constructs of gender in education. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association, New York, NY.
Sisson, J. H. (2008, April) Complicating the parent/teacher relationship: A comparative case study of two Reggio-inspired schools. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association, New York, NY.
Research
My research program focuses on collaborating with teams to generate new knowledge in the areas of early childhood education and teacher education through the following lines of inquiry:
Early childhood curriculum and pedagogy- Through this line of inquiry I am interested in exploring pedagogies that engage children as active protagonists in their learning such as democratic based, emergent inquiry based, culturally responsive pedagogy, and Reggio Emilia inspired pedagogies. I am also interested in how cultural models of education come together to inform policy and practice.
Connecting theory, research and practice in teacher education- I am interested in understanding the experiences of pre-service teachers and exploring innovative practices for engaging in collaborative models with pre-service teachers, mentor teachers and academics as an alternative to current approaches.
Teacher identity- within this line of inquiry I am interested in exploring the significance of identity and agency in the lives of teachers and the connection to their professional practices.
External engagement & recognition
Organisation | Country |
---|---|
Gowrie SA | AUSTRALIA |
Kent State University | UNITED STATES |
Metropolitan State University | UNITED STATES |
University of Georgia | UNITED STATES |
University of South Australia | AUSTRALIA |
University of Wyoming | UNITED STATES |
External engagement & recognition
Engagement/recognition | Year |
---|---|
Board memberLillian de Lissa Trust |
2023 |
Co-Founder and ConvenerCulturally Inclusive Early Childhood Pedagogies International Network |
2023 |
Early Childhood Advisory Committee MemberLincoln Institute of Higher Education Sydney |
2023 |
Board memberLillian de Lissa Trust |
2022 |
Co-Founder and ConvenerCulturally Inclusive Early Childhood Pedagogies International Network |
2022 |
Expert panel member, Early Childhood Teaching Performance Assessment Working GroupAustralian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership |
2022 |
Co-Founder and ConvenerCulturally Inclusive Early Childhood Pedagogies International Network |
2021 |
Convenor of International Symposium at Australian Association for Research in Education ConferenceUniversity of Maynooth, Ireland |
2021 |
Chair of Nominations and ElectionsAmerican Education Research Association, Lives of Teachers SIG |
2020 |
Co-ConvenerKey early childhood organisations in South Australia |
2020 |
Co-Founder and ConvenerCulturally Inclusive Early Childhood Pedagogies International Network |
2020 |
Co-Founder and ConvenerCulturally Inclusive Early Childhood Pedagogies International Network |
2019 |
Founder and ConvenerInternational Collaboration for Culturally Inclusive Early Childhood Pedagogies |
2019 |
Invited Keynote PresentationEducation Department Centre, SA |
2019 |
Invited PresentationMaple Leaf Education System, Dalian, China |
2019 |
MemberAssociation for Childhood Education International (ACEI) |
2019 |
MemberAmerican Educational Research Association (AERA) |
2019 |
MemberNational Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) |
2019 |
MemberEarly Childhood Organisation (EChO) |
2019 |
MemberEarly Childhood Australia (ECA) |
2019 |
MemberAmerican Educational Research Association (AERA) |
2018 |
MemberAustralian Association for Research in Education (AARE) |
2018 |
MemberEarly Childhood Australia (ECA) |
2018 |
MemberEarly Childhood Australia (ECA) |
2017 |
MemberAmerican Educational Research Association (AERA) |
2017 |
MemberAustralian Association for Research in Education (AARE) |
2017 |
Committee Memberde Lissa and Denton Trust |
2015 |
Executive Board MemberEarly Childhood Australia |
2015 |
Invited PresentationKent State University Early Childhood Program and laboratory school, Ohio, USA |
2015 |
Committee Memberde Lissa and Denton Trust |
2014 |
Executive Board MemberEarly Childhood Australia |
2014 |
Invited Keynote PresentationEarly Childhood Organisation Annual General Meeting |
2014 |
Nominated Early Career Researcher AwardEarly Education and Child Development SIG |
2014 |
Advisory Board MemberForum on Workforce Strategies- Professor Carla Rinaldi Thinker-in-Residence |
2013 |
Committee Memberde Lissa and Denton Trust |
2013 |
Executive Board MemberEarly Childhood Australia |
2013 |
Executive Board MemberEarly Childhood Australia |
2012 |
Teaching & student supervision
Teaching & student supervision
Supervisions from 2010 shown
Thesis title | Student status |
---|---|
An investigation of arts-based pedagogies for democratic participation in early childhood | Current |
An Investigation of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Early Childhood Teacher Retention | Current |
An Investigation of Educational Leadership for Indigenous Engagement in South Australian Schools | Current |
The place and role of numeracy assessment in early childhood education | Current |
Early childhood students and international transitions | Completed |
Exploring Filipino teachers' identity and community engagements | Completed |
Religiously responsive pedagogies in an Australian preschool: a narrative inquiry based on Muslim parents' and non-Muslim educators' perspectives and experiences | Completed |
Teacher self-efficacy and practice: a case study of eight South Australian reception teachers | Completed |
Toddler educator identity and enactment of social and emotional learning: a narrative inquiry | Completed |
Value Guided Practice: the ethics of care and justice in early childhood education and care | Completed |
What does respect for children mean in light of children's rights? perspectives of preschool children's parents and educators in an early childhood program in South Australia | Completed |