Associate Professor
Megan Gibson
Faculty of Creative Industries, Education & Social Justice,
School of Early Childhood & Inclusive Education
Biography
Associate Professor Gibson's extensive experience in teaching and leadership positions, culminated in her role as Director of an internationally acclaimed early childhood centre at the University of Queensland (International Integration Project, Bertram et al., 2003). Megan’s award-winning doctoral research (National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Education [NAECTE], USA) examined the professional identities of early childhood educators. This informs her program of research into attracting, preparing and retaining the early childhood workforce. Megan is a Chief Investigator on the Australian Research Council-funded study Exemplary early childhood educators at work, a 5-year study of international significance, including Rutgers (USA), University of California, Berkely (USA), and Manchester Metropolitan University (UK). Megan leads national industry-university collaborative research and teaching, with partner the Early Learning and Care Council of Australia (ELACCA) to develop and deliver From the Ground Up, a leadership program for early childhood educators. This innovative program has been acknowledged by Hon Minister Dr Anne Aly in a National Case Study and widely profiled by the early childhood sector. Megan has also built a body of impactful early childhood workforce research in Tasmania, working collaboratively with Gowrie Training and Consultancy Tasmania, where is holds the position of Research Associate. Megan is regularly sought after to create and deliver professional developments programs, including through the Reggio Emilia Australia Information Exchange, where she was engaged to develop a national series of workshops on ‘environment as third teacher’. Committed to research dissemination, Megan's publications include a co-authored book, 13 book chapters, 15 journal articles, 8 research reports, 3 policy briefs and 22 professional publications. She proudly leads the End-user portfolio for the QUT Centre for Child and Family Studies. Megan holds Editorial Board positions on two international journals – Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood and Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education. As Course Coordinator, Master of Teaching (Early Childhood) (2019-2022), Megan led the re-accreditation process to develop a new real-world graduate teacher preparation program.Personal details
Positions
- Associate Professor
Faculty of Creative Industries, Education & Social Justice,
School of Early Childhood & Inclusive Education
Keywords
early childhood education, initial teacher education, professional development and learning, professional experience, professional identities, career pathways
Research field
Other Education, Specialist Studies in Education
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy (Queensland University of Technology)
- M Ed (Queensland University of Technology)
- B Ed (EC) (The University of Melbourne)
- Dip T (EC) (Brisbane College of Adv. Ed.)
Professional memberships and associations
- Australian Early Childhood Teacher Education Network (AECTEN)
- Early Childhood Australia (ECA)
- Reggio Emilia Australian Information Exchange (REAIE)
- Social Justice in Early Childhood (SJIEC)
- American Educational Research Association (AERA)
Teaching
Megan brings her experiences from teaching in a range of early childhood contexts, as well as her research focus, to her teaching. She has worked across a number of undergraduate and postgraduate units, including:
- Leadership and management in early childhood
- Child health, safety, wellbeing and movement education
- The early childhood professional
- Early childhood curriculum and pedagogy
- Professional experience
Each semester Megan values engaging in the University Partner role, where she supports and supervises students on professional experience placement, whilst forging partnerships with schools and early childhood centres.
Experience
Megan is a proudly a registered teacher with the Queensland College of Teachers (QCT). As an early childhood educator, with some 20 years of teaching experience, Megan has worked across a range of diverse early childhood contexts, including:
- lower primary
- kindergarten/preschool
- long day care.
Publications
- White, M., Gibson, M., Theobald, M. & Farrell, A. (2023). 'Diplomatically bossy': Discursive constructions of 'good' leadership in early childhood told through educators’ memories. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/238047
- Gibson, M., Watt, H., Paul, R., Fenech, M., Wong, S. & Boyd, W. (2022). Attracting, retaining and sustaining early childhood teachers: an ecological conceptualisation of workforce issues and future research directions. Australian Educational Researcher, 49(1), 1–19. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/207480
- Gibson, M., McFadden, A., Williams, K., Zollo, L., Winter, A. & Lunn, J. (2020). Imbalances between workforce policy and employment for early childhood graduate teachers: Complexities and considerations. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 45(1), 82–94. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/197298
- Harrison, L., Wong, S., Press, F., Gibson, M. & Ryan, S. (2019). Understanding the work of Australian early childhood educators using time-use diary methodology. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 33(4), 521–537. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/132207
- Gibson, M., McFadden, A. & Zollo, L. (2018). Discursive considerations of child care professional experience in early childhood teacher education: contingencies and tensions from teacher educators. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 39(4), 293–311. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/132209
- Press, F., Wong, S., Harrison, L. & Gibson, M. (2017). Understanding what great early childhood educators do: New Australian research. Cascades: C&K Building Waterfalls Quarterly Magazine, 15–16. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/120068
- Gibson, M., (2015). 'Heroic victims': Discursive constructions of preservice early childhood teacher professional identities. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 36(2), 142–155. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/94764
- Gibson, M., McArdle, F. & Hatcher, C. (2015). Governing child care in neoliberal times: Discursive constructions of children as economic units and early childhood educators as investment brokers. Global Studies of Childhood, 5(3), 322–332. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/94765
- Gibson, M., (2013). 'I want to educate school-age children': producing early childhood teacher professional identities. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 14(2), 127–137. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/62381
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Megan, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Awards
- Type
- Advisor/Consultant for Industry
- Reference year
- 2022
- Details
- Invitation to speak at Parliament House, presenting from my research on early childhood workforce, to politicians, senior government advisors and the early childhood sector.
- Type
- Advisor/Consultant for Industry
- Reference year
- 2022
- Details
- Early childhood workforce advisor and program lead for national, acclaimed leadership program "From the Ground Up"
- Type
- International Collaboration
- Reference year
- 2021
- Details
- Collaboration with the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (CSCCE), University of California, Berkley, to adapt for the first time in Australia an international early childhood workforce survey tool - SEQUAL (Supportive Environmental Quality Underlying Adult Learning).
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 2018
- Details
- HESTA National Early Childhood Education and Care Awards. Advancing Pedagogy and Practice. Awarded to Lady Gowrie Tasmania Integrated Child and Family Centre for project. Physical Health and Wellbeing: innovative approaches in an inner-city community. Project lead. ($10 000)
- Type
- Editorial Role for an Academic Journal
- Reference year
- 2020
- Details
- Editorial Board for Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood (CIEC) Q1. Appointed March 2020.
- Type
- Fellowships
- Reference year
- 2020
- Details
- Women in Research Award. Accelerating research growth: Publications and funding. Funding body: QUT Women in Research ($13 291)
- Type
- Keynote Speaker/Expert Panel Member/Invited Speaker for a Conference
- Reference year
- 2020
- Details
- Invited Keynote address for The Sector National conference, ECEC Innovation Forum: The Future of Professional Learning: A research based vision.
- Type
- Funding Award
- Reference year
- 2019
- Details
- Gibson et al. (2019-2020) Building sustainable workforce foundations. Funding body: Early Childhood Australia. Skills Tas. Phase 1 Project Lead. ($143 584, total three Phases)
- Type
- Appointment to State/National/International Reference Group or Government Committees
- Reference year
- 2020
- Details
- Early Learning and Care Council Australia (ELACCA). National ECEC Workforce Expert Advisory Panel (2020-)
Selected research projects
- Title
- Exemplary Early Childhood Educators at Work: A Multi-Level Investigation
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- LP160100532
- Start year
- 2016
- Keywords
Projects listed above are funded by Australian Competitive Grants. Projects funded from other sources are not listed due to confidentiality agreements.
Supervision
Current supervisions
- Teams Producing Curriculum and Pedagogy in Long Day Care
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Clare O'Farrell, Dr Lyndal O'Gorman - Historical and Contemporary Perspectives of Transition to School: A Queensland case study
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Maryanne Theobald, Dr Marie White - From Reggio with love! A study of how leadership density has developed paradigm shifts in teaching and learning at one Queensland school and resulted in building capacity in deep and transfer learning, critical and creative thinking
Professional Doctorate, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Maryanne Theobald