Dr. Judith Wilks, BTRP(Melb)GradDipEd(UNE) GradDipSocSci(Swinburne) PhD(Melb) Judith is a Senior Lecturer in Southern Cross University's (SCU) School of Education's Secondary Education Program. Coming from a Geography background she worked for many years as an Environmental Planner. She has also taught in a range of Geography, Sociology and Environmental Planning courses at the University of Melbourne, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, and the University of New England. Judith has also taught a wide range of HSIE subjects from Year 7 – 12 in NSW high schools in the state and catholic education systems. In 2007 she won the NSW Premier’s Energy Australia Environmental Education Teacher Scholarship to travel to Italy and the UK to study leading practice in UNICEF’s Creating Child Friendly Cities initiatives. In 2008 Judith was awarded a Learning and Teaching Fellowship in the SCU School of Education to undertake a project titled Curriculum renewal in the secondary curriculum specialisation units. In August 2008 she won the "Geoff Connolly Memorial Award for an Outstanding Contribution to the Geography Bulletin of the NSW Geography Teachers Association" for an HSC Geography Case Study on Mangrove Ecosystems. In 2009 Judith won this award for a second time for an HSC Geography Case Study on Rome. In 2011 Judith won the SCU's Leadership in Community Engagement award. Judith has been successful in obtaining research funding from: the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth; the Higher Education Equity Support Program; the Southern Cross University Teaching and Learning Small Grant Scheme; and the Office of Learning and Teaching. Judith’s current research interests include: transitions to higher education for young people from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds; active civics and citizenship education; child friendly cities; and participatory methodologies for young people.
Journal articles
Digital technology in the visual arts classroom: an [un]easy partnership (with Alexandra Cutcher and Susan Wilks), Studies in Art Education (2012)
This article scrutinizes the dichotomy of the uneasy and easy partnerships that exist between digital...
Going on to uni? Access and participation in university for students from backgrounds of disadvantage (with Katie Wilson), Journal of Higher Education Policy & Management (2012)
This article reports on a research project that investigated the aspirations of primary and secondary...
Journeying together: understanding the process of teacher change and the impacts on student learning (with Jake Madden, Maria Maione, Naomi Loader, and Ngaire Robinson), International Studies in Educational Administration (2012)
Whisper down the line: creating new spaces for reflection and dialogue around learning journeys between students, teachers and parents (with M Scott), Australian Educational Leader (2012)
This research was conducted as part of the Inhouse Inquiry project (Thornton, Phelps & Graham,...
Child-friendly cities: a place for active citizenship in geographical and environmental education, International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education (2010)
This research was designed to investigate innovative practices associated with child-friendly cities initiatives in the...
Book chapters
Twenty-first century learning in the humanities (with Susan Wilks), Issues in contemporary teaching (2011)
This chapter examines five elements associated with the knowledge base of the humanities, namely, the...
Investigating the physical environment: Intertidal wetlands, Keys to fieldwork: Essential skills and tools (2008)
Editorials, book reviews, columns, interviews ...
A review of “Child space: an anthropological exploration of young people's use of space”, International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education (2009)
Reports, reviews
Children, young people and social inclusion: mobilising to address disadvantage on the NSW North Coast: a literature review (with Katie Wilson), Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) (2010)
This review examines the literature in the context of a research project that sets out...