Established in 2013, the Christian Education Research Centre (CERC) seeks to promote Christian education research both within the university and by partnering with other institutions, particularly Christian schools, Christian tertiary institutions, and their administering entities.
The director of the Christian Education Research Centre is appointed by the Vice-Chancellor of Avondale University, in consultation with the Research Dean. The Vice-Chancellor, Research Dean and Research Centre Director will select the members of the Board.
The responsibilities of the Board are:
The latest Annual Report documenting the activities of this Centre can be viewed on the Strategy and Performance page.
Director
Dr Peter Beamish
Lake Macquarie Campus, Avondale University
Telephone: +612 4980 2179
Email: [email protected]
The impact that the research conducted by CERC staff has had and will continue to have on the theories and practice of Christian Education is substantial. The transformative projects they lead & collaborate on can be discovered through Research Online @ Avondale, as well as TEACH Journal of Christian Education.
Mrs. Bev Christian
School of Education
Assoc Prof. Darren Morton
School of Education
Dr. David McClintock
Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific Education Director
Dr. Jason Morton
School of Science & Mathematics
Jill Pearce
Christian Education Research Centre
Lisa Barnes
Christian Education Research Centre
Peter Kilgour
Christian Education Research Centre
Karyn Cameron
Christian Education Research Centre
Kevin Petrie
Christian Education Research Centre
Researchers affiliated with this centre are listed below along with embedded links to their full staff profiles.
Dr Peter Beamish
CERC Director
Associate Professor Peter Kilgour
Mrs Bev Christian
Associate Professor Carolyn Rickett
Dr. David McClintock
Professor Kevin Petrie
Dr Marion Shields
Dr Peter Williams
Sandra Ludlow
Associate Professor Sherry Hattingh
Professor Tracie Mafile’o
The projects undertaken by CERC include research areas that:
| Project Title | Lead/Funding Body | Researchers | Completion Details | Project Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emerging Educational Leaders: Perceptions Along the Journey | CERC / ASA Leadership Institute | Peter Williams | 2022 – | This project aims to explore Adventist School Australia (ASA) employees’ perceptions of leadership issues and leadership development programs. |
| School Chaplaincy: The Ministry of Presence During School Lockdowns | CERC / ASA Leadership Institute | Peter Williams | 2022 – | The purpose of this research is to explore school chaplains’ perceptions of the impact of COVID-19 on their roles in support of school students and staff, as well as the challenges, supports, sense of belonging, purpose and mission of these school chaplains. |
| The Relationship Between School Climate and Faith Engagement in Schools | CERC/ CASTL | Peter Kilgour, Kevin Petrie | 2021-2025 | |
| Leadership Development: A Key to Educational System Sustainability | CERC | Peter Williams | 2019- | |
| The Integration of a school market gardening program into the Australian F-6 curriculum: A case study of one Adventist primary School | CERC | Bev Christian, Sandra Ludlow, Jason Morton, Karyn Stanton, Peter Williams, Dr Robyn Pearce, Marion Shields, Andrea Thompson | 2019- | Explores how one Adventist primary school integrates a school market gardening program into both the Australian F-6 curriculum & the objectives of Adventist education for authentic learning. |
| Why Avondale? | CERC | Maria Northcote, Jane Fernandez, Steve Currow, Peter Kilgour, Carolyn Rickett | 2021- | Aims to investigate, firstly, why MPhil and PhD candidates choose Avondale to complete their research degrees and, secondly, to determine why these candidates stay at Avondale throughout their postgraduate studies. |
| Teachers’ perspectives of the impact of COVID-19 shutdowns, and how they perceive the future, for ASA (Adventist Schools Australia) schools | CERC/ Adventist Schools Australia | Peter Kilgour, Maria Northcote, Jason Morton, Megan Cousins, Kirsty Pearce | 2021- | Investigates teachers’ perspectives on the journey of Adventist schools in managing the COVID-19 response, especially during the school shutdown and on return to face-to-face teaching. The study will also come to understand their perceptions of what the ‘new normal’ for education may look like in the future. |
| An Analysis of Research Fellowships at Avondale | CERC | Peter Kilgour | 2021- | Tracks the effectiveness of the current workload formula that allocates academic staff their research hours, to find out how we can maximise research outputs from the staff we have. |
| Sustainable Development Goals at Avondale | CERC | Peter Kilgour | 2022- | This project is analysing the level of knowledge of Avondale staff of the SDGs, and then organising training for them. Their new level of knowledge of the SDGs will be researched after they have done their professional learning. |
| The Narratives of Adventist Tertiary Institutions – An International Study | CERC | Peter Kilgour | In the works | Looks at 6 Adventist tertiary institutions around the world & traces their philosophies & raison d’etre. |
Hosted annually by the Christian Education Research Centre, the Adventist Schools Australia Research Symposium highlights research projects taking place in the context of Seventh-day Adventist Schools. The sharing of research findings in this setting provides the potential for significant impact, with Adventist Schools Australia directors and system administrators present.
This year, presenters shared findings from projects relating to topics such as the impact of COVID-19 on Adventist schools and the management challenges and responses of Christian early childhood leaders. Additionally, higher degree by research students shared summaries of their PhD research in the form of a three-minute thesis. These presentations explored areas such as the role of spiritual discernment in Christian school boards, the lived experience of literacy leaders who receive and implement instructional coaching, and the strategies, skills and support schools can implement to enhance teacher wellbeing.
Watch these three-minute thesis presentations below.
Paul Campey
Spiritual discernment in Christian school boards
Dawn Grant-Skiba
The lived experience of literacy leaders who receive coaching
Bree Hills
Enhancing teacher wellbeing
