Researcher biography
I am a registered teacher, passionate about the role education can and should play in the advancement of a prosperous and sustainable civilisation. My professional experience includes teaching in a multi-age classroom that promotes the use of critical thinking, philosophy and creativity within a student-centred environment, encouraging mutual respect and collaborative teaching and learning amongst students and teachers. I have also invested time as a casual teacher in many Brisbane schools in the hope to understand current educational practices and reform, including the role that students play in their own education. With a Bachelor of Arts (English and Psychology), a Graduate Diploma in Middle Years Schooling, a Masters in Educational Studies (leadership) and now a scholarship holder in a Doctor of Philosophy program at the University of Queensland, my passion for education is fuelling my desire to research, understand and innovate ways to improve our educational systems. I am currently exploring trends in increased data reliance, the standardisation and quantification of education and the impact of education policies on teacher and classroom practice. I hope to give voice to children as active and contributing members of society by critically engaging with them and their perspectives on key issues of educational reform. I aim to generate discussion about how education can assist in addressing global issues now and into the future.
Rafaan's principal advisor is Dr Ian Hardy.