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Dr Gerardine Neylon has recently been appointed Assistant Professor in Early Childhood in the Faculty of Education. Ger hails from Ireland and completed her PhD at the University of Limerick. She is an expert in early childhood policy and pedagogy, with a special interest in the continued professional development of child care workers and the development of services for children aged 0 to 5 years. Her experience will guide the Faculty’s development of Early Childhood education and care to meet the ACECQA national standards for initial teacher education.

Ger’s arrival in Perth with her family coincided with the colour and excitement of the Perth International Arts Festival, so the settling in period involved a good dose of the arts, with everything from cinema to the circus.  Since then Ger and her family have happily embraced the great weather and their new life: “We found a lovely home near the river and close to the beach, and now, after six months, we feel quite settled and part of a community.”

In her short time in Perth Ger has already launched into researching Australian education: “I have commenced research on a collaborative project, with colleagues in Notre Dame University. We are exploring how educators working in toddler rooms apply the five learning outcomes of the Australian Early Years Learning Framework.”

Ger’s most recent paper, “An Analysis of Irish Pre-school Practice and Pedagogy using The Early Childhood Environmental Four Curricular Subscales”, has been published in Irish Education Studies.

Media references

Martin Swann (Faculty of Education)  (+61 8) 6488 2443

Dr Sanna Peden (Faculty of Education) (+61 8) 6488 2382