About the Faculty

The Faculty of Education in Australian Catholic University has a reputation as a leading provider of quality teacher education. The Faculty values its unique position within the University. The University has grown from predecessor teacher education colleges and hence has a long-standing history in tertiary education. The Faculty offers teacher education programs for beginning teachers, both at the undergraduate and graduate entry levels, and a range of advanced coursework and research programs for specialist and experienced teachers and educational leaders, and also undergraduate programs in the area of disability studies.

The Faculty continues to build on its historic strengths in providing high quality academic programs in pre-service teacher education and postgraduate professional development for practising teachers and leaders. The Faculty is committed to capitalising on the collective educational and research strength that comes from working collegially across campuses. As such, research interest groups, mentoring and course and unit development generally involves academic staff from each School and campus.

The Faculty is the University's largest, and Australia's second largest Faculty of Education in 2008 with 6,135 students and 185 staff. The Faculty is structured into six Schools.

The Schools are:

 • School of Educational Leadership (national)
 • School of Religious Education (national)
 • School of Education (ACT)
 • School of Education (NSW)
 • School of Education (Qld)
 • School of Education (Vic)


Through its Schools, the Faculty offers undergraduate, postgraduate and research degrees in various modes on campus and at off-campus locations, including East Timor, Mauritius, New Zealand and Pakistan. The Faculty offers in a community-based and campus mode for Indigenous students: early childhood, primary and secondary teacher education programs through the Strathfield campus, and primary teacher education through the Brisbane campus.

Students rate highly the quality of their experience as a student of the Faculty of Education, because of the caring and personalised environment in which they study, the distinctive nature of the programs that are offered and the opportunities they have to engage in a range of community-based learning experiences. Graduates of the Faculty's programs have a high employment success rate.

The Faculty of Education is committed to research that enhances the quality of teaching, learning and leadership within the education sector, promotes equality of opportunity and social inclusion for all, and supports diversity. This is underpinned by the core values of the Catholic tradition that prioritise fairness, integrity and concern for human dignity.

The Faculty's research focus is expressed as Quality, Equity and Diversity in Education. Its current strengths are defined as mathematics education, educational leadership and religious education, with emerging strengths in Indigenous education. Additional priorities are literacy education, wellbeing and inclusive education and teacher education. The Faculty's research is characterised by collaborative partnerships with external organisations.

It aims to have a positive impact on policy and practice for quality and inclusive education that leads to more equitable outcomes for all. A collaborative and supportive environment supports staff in their research endeavours.

The two priority University research centres located in the Faculty are:

 • Centre for Creative and Authentic Leadership
 • Mathematics Teaching and Learning Research Centre.

As a community of scholars committed to the goals of making a positive difference through education, the Faculty actively encourages and supports quality scholarship of its teaching and learning activities, the production of scholarly research and engagement with the community by its staff and students. Faculty staff supervise students enrolled in research degrees of Master of Education (Research), Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Education.

The Faculty is in a period of dynamic change positioning itself to be a leading teaching and research Faculty. The Faculty's courses are developed within the Catholic intellectual tradition with the goal of preparing global educators for contemporary learning communities and with emphases on educating for social justice and equity, and sustainability.

The Faculty has engaged with the new directions set out in the University's strategic plan (2009-2011). It has defined performance targets in growth and excellence for the student experience; collaborative and productive research; an authentic expression of its Catholic identity and mission; and a culture of service and collegiality that enables and supports its teaching and research priorities.

The Faculty welcomes applications from dynamic individuals who wish to join us in transforming learning communities through teaching and research.

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