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Personal details

Name
Professor Kerryann Walsh
Position(s)
Professor
Faculty of Education,
School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education
Discipline *
Specialist Studies in Education, Law, Public Health and Health Services
Phone
+61 7 3138 3174
Fax
+61 7 3138 3989
Email
Location
View location details (QUT staff and student access only)
Identifiers and profiles
ORCID iD Twitter LinkedIn
Qualifications

Doctor of Philosophy (Queensland University of Technology), Bachelor of Educational Studies (Honours) (University of Queensland), Diploma of Teaching (Darling Downs Inst. of Adv. Ed.)

Professional memberships
and associations

Memberships include: International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect; American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children; Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth; Early Childhood Australia; Child Protection Practitioners Association of Queensland.

Keywords

child abuse and neglect, child maltreatment, child protection, child safety, child sexual abuse, mandatory reporting, primary prevention, childhood adversity, CCC

* Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008

Biography

Kerryann conducts research in the interdisciplinary field of child maltreatment prevention and has researched and published in the areas of online safety, child safe organisations, school-based child sexual abuse prevention programs, child protection policy, professionals’ reporting of child abuse and neglect, and training interventions for mandatory reporters. Kerryann served as an Academic Advisor to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2015-2017) and led the research underpinning the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations. She has designed and conducted process and outcome evaluations of policies, programs, and practices using big data for the Australian Government Department of Social Services socio-legal study of mandatory reporting (with Prof Ben Mathews), auditing school system policy and curriculum for child sexual abuse prevention (with Prof Donna Berthelsen and Prof Jan Nicholson), conducting a multi-site cluster randomised controlled trial of a school-based child sexual abuse prevention program (with Prof Melanie Zimmer-Gembeck and A/Prof Diane Shanley); and evaluating education and training in a state-wide early childhood education and care system (with Prof Ann Farrell, Dr Megan Gibson, and Dr Mel Miller).

Kerryann is foundation member of QUT’s Childhood Adversity Research Program. She served as Co-Director of the $5.3M Australian government-funded Excellence in Research in Early Years Education (EREYE) Collaborative Research Network (CRN) involving QUT, Charles Sturt University, and Monash University (2013-2015), and as Co-Leader of the QUT Childhoods in Changing Contexts research group (2015-2019). Kerryann has served periods as Acting Head of School and currently holds the dual position of Faculty of Education Research Ethics Advisor and Faculty Research Integrity Advisor.

This information has been contributed by Professor Kerryann Walsh.

Teaching

Dr Kerryann Walsh teaches in the areas of child protection, child safe organisations, research ethics and integrity, and research methods.  She is an accredited supervisor for Honours, Masters and Doctoral studies.

This information has been contributed by Professor Kerryann Walsh.

Publications

For publications by this staff member, visit QUT ePrints, the University's research repository.

Awards

Awards and recognition

Type
Appointment to Prestigious Positions
Reference year
2016
Details
Appointed as Expert Academic Advisor to the final report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2016-2017).
Type
Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
Reference year
2016
Details
Research awards: 2015 QUT Vice Chancellor's Award for Excellence; 2015 QUT Office of Education Research, Excellence Award 2015 Faculty of Education, 2 Publication Achievement Awards; 2013 QUT Office of Education Research, Research Performance Award; 2011 QUT Centre for Learning Innovation Research Performance Award; 2010 Vice Chancellor's Research Fellowship; 2009 QUT Centre for Learning Innovation Research and Scholarship Impact Award; 2008 QUT Centre for Learning Innovation Research Excellence Award; and 2008 QUT Centre for Learning Innovation Research Fellowship Award
Type
Advisor/Consultant for Industry
Reference year
2015
Details
Advice provided to the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority on the modification of learning outcome statements relating to child protection-related content in the Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education (F-10).
Type
Keynote Speaker/Expert Panel Member/Invited Speaker for a Conference
Reference year
2015
Details
Invited to lead a media conference in London to coincide with publication of a Cochrane Review of School-based Education Programmes for Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse. Coverage in UK media included The Times Education Supplement, The Guardian, and the BBC. The press release was taken up by media world-wide (15 April, 2015). Cochrane reviews are systematic reviews of primary research and are internationally recognised as the highest standard in evidence-based health care. They investigate the effects of interventions for prevention and treatment.
Type
Keynote Speaker/Expert Panel Member/Invited Speaker for a Conference
Reference year
2014
Details
Invited to research consultancy for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse to develop a framework for Child Safe Organisations (2014-2016). This project involved an international research and policy review, a modified Delphi study, and extensive consultations with industry stakeholders.
Type
Advisor/Consultant for Industry
Reference year
2013
Details
Invited to join expert advisory group for the Queensland Department of Education, Training and Employment's development and evaluation of online child protection training case studies for school staff(2013-2014).
Type
Advisor/Consultant for Industry
Reference year
2013
Details
Invited to undertake a National research project to audit child sexual abuse policy and curriculum provision in 38 Government and Catholic school systems in Australia for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2013-2014).
Type
Appointment to Prestigious Positions
Reference year
2013
Details
Appointed Network Co-Director of the Federally-funded Excellence in Research in Early Years Education: Collaborative Research Network (involving QUT, Charles Sturt University, and Monash University) (Funding = $5.3M over 3 years, 2012-2104).
Type
Reviewer for an Academic Journal
Reference year
2013
Details
Reviewer for journals in several disciplines: (1) Education & early childhood education: Teaching & Teacher Education (Q1); International Journal of Educational Research (Q1); Asia Pacific Journal of Teacher Education (Q2); International Journal of Early Childhood (Q2); Australasian Journal of Early Childhood (Q4); (2) Child welfare: Child Abuse & Neglect (Q1); Journal of Child Sexual Abuse (Q2); Children & Youth Services Review (Q1) (3) Psychology: International Journal of Mental Health & Addiction (Q2); Australian Psychologist (Q3); School Psychology International (Q2). (4) Pediatrics: BMC Pediatrics (Q1); PloS ONE (Q1); Journal of Paediatrics & Child Health (Q2); Medical Journal of Australia (Q1); Child: Care, Health & Development (Q2). (5) Public health: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (Q1); BMC Public Health (Q1)
Type
Keynote Speaker/Expert Panel Member/Invited Speaker for a Conference
Reference year
2010
Details
Invited to deliver the QCT Annual Lecture on the topic of Child Protection (with Assoc Prof Ben Mathews, QUT Faculty of Law). The lecture was filmed and made available to every Queensland school, and is available online via the QCT YouTube channel.

Research projects

Grants and projects (Category 1: Australian Competitive Grants only)

Title
Empowering and protecting children by enhancing knowledge, skills and well-being: A randomised trial of Learn to BE SAFE with EmmyTM
Primary fund type
CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID
LP130100304
Start year
2013
Keywords
Child Abuse; Child Well-being; Interpersonal Safety
Title
Developing a national interdisciplinary educational framework for professionals working with children in the early years
Primary fund type
CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID
ID14-3938
Start year
2014
Keywords
Title
Making Prevention Matter: Establishing Characteristics of Effective Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Programs
Primary fund type
CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID
DP1093717
Start year
2010
Keywords
Child sexual abuse; Health Promotion; Health Education; Child health; Child Abuse Prevention; Program Development
Title
Teachers' Reporting Child Sexual Abuse: Towards Evidence-based Reform of Law, Policy and Practice
Primary fund type
CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID
DP0664847
Start year
2006
Keywords
Mandatory reporting laws; Child sexual abuse; Conforming with law; Teachers and schools; Detection and reporting; Negligence

Supervision

Current supervisions

  • Barriers and facilitators to mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect in early childhood education
    PhD, Principal Supervisor
    Other supervisors: Associate Professor Kate Williams
  • Collective Teacher Efficacy in Low Socioeconomic Australian Schools: A Sequential Exploratory New Scale Development
    PhD, Associate Supervisor
    Other supervisors: Dr Rebecca Spooner-Lane
  • How do teachers in rural and remote primary schools cope with children exposed to complex childhood trauma (CCT)?
    PhD, Principal Supervisor
    Other supervisors: Dr Judith Howard
  • Young people and pornography: A mixed-method study of exposure, access, perceptions, gendered drivers, and 'pornography education'
    PhD, Associate Supervisor
    Other supervisors: Associate Professor Michael Flood
  • Early Childhood Understandings of Sustainability: Urban, Rural and Remote
    Professional Doctorate, Associate Supervisor
    Other supervisors: Dr Lyndal O'Gorman

Completed supervisions (Doctorate)

Completed supervisions (Masters by Research)