About Rhonda...

Professor Rhonda Craven is Director, Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, which has contributed to being ranked 4th in Australia for attracting ARC grants in education research, and 3rd in Australia/32th in the world in educational psychological research, and first in Australia for Indigenous educational research. She is a highly accomplished researcher, having successfully secured over AUD$16 million dollars in nationally competitive funding for 62 large-scale research projects, including 36 ARC Grants (9 Discovery, 16 Linkage and 11 Indigenous Discovery). This performance is arguably the strongest for any Australian educational researcher. She is the recipient of the Meritorious Service to Public Education Award, the Betty Watts Award (Australian Association for Research in Education), the Vice Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Postgraduate Research Supervision and Training, and the Vice Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Social Justice Research. Her research interests include: the structure, measurement, development, and enhancement of self-concept and key psycho-social drivers of potential; the effective teaching of Indigenous Studies and Indigenous students; maximising life potential in diverse settings; and interventions that make a tangible difference in educational settings.

 

Professor Craven is the leader and creator of the Indigenous Game Changers Research Program. The Indigenous Game Changers research program is conducted in partnership with the Wonnarua Nation Aboriginal Corporation (WNAC) and the Australian Catholic University. WNAC CEO Mr Laurie Perry says “We have an unprecedented opportunity to enable our children to get a deadly future by enabling our children’s success in education. We cannot afford to continue to wait for yet another generation and other people to get this right in our Country. The Indigenous Game Changers research program shows how working together we can and will make a real difference”.

 

Professor Craven emphasises that “Today there is a new Indigenous world where Indigenous people are not just succeeding but flourishing. Educational, psychological, and family and community thriving are game changers for Indigenous children, youth, communities, and our nation. However, there is currently a sector wide lack of understanding about how best to emulate and upscale these game changers from an Indigenous standpoint. Australia needs a stronger evidence base of enablers of Indigenous success to deliver research-derived recommendations that are salient for Indigenous youth to inform effective policy, practice, and interventions. This research program provides that opportunity”.

 

We aim to identify and augment game changers that enable educational, family and community, and psychological thriving for Indigenous youth, families, and communities to thrive. The Indigenous Game Changers research program is committed to a strengths-based approach and bringing the voices and critical agency of Indigenous children, youth and communities, together with leading Australian and international researchers to create a sustainable community-led difference. Our mission is to transform and enrich Indigenous lives and communities and enable Indigenous Australian children and youth to not just succeed but thrive and flourish in their home, community, and educational environments from pre-school to university, building the foundation for securing employment and leading productive and fulfilling lives.

 

The Game Changers Research Program is enriching the lives and wellbeing of Indigenous children, youth, and families by using research excellence to:

 

• Increase school attendance, engagement, visible learning, and academic achievement;

• Increase literacy and numeracy;

• Enable successful transition from school to employment and higher education;

• Increase cultural understanding and strengthen and Indigenous identity;

• Augment parenting skills that facilitate thriving; and

• Provide translational research evidence for policy makers, educators, and service providers on what works to close the gap.

 

She has served as the research team leader on 5 Australian national priority studies in education. She is a co-editor of the research monograph series International Advances in Self Research and co-editor of the research monograph series International Advances in Education and Social Justice Research, both published by Information Age Publishing: USA, and has been invited to contribute book chapters to prestigious international research handbooks. Her research has resulted in extensive publications, and this demonstrates her ability to widely disseminate research findings in books and academic journals of international repute, including: 22 edited research monographs, 5 books, 59 book chapters, 136 articles in top tier refereed journals, 10 commissioned national reports, 213 refereed conference papers, and 13 edited conference proceedings.

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She is the National Project Coordinator of the Teaching the Teachers: Indigenous Australian Studies Project of National Significance funded by DEST and the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, which has resulted in most Australian universities introducing core studies in this area into their teacher education course. The NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG) considers that this national project is one of the most widely consulted national projects in the field, and a model for future Indigenous projects; this attests to her ability to undertake sensitive national research that makes a difference. She is the editor of the bestselling text Teaching Aboriginal Studies, published by Allen & Unwin, a founding member of the national Aboriginal Studies Association (ASA), the inaugural recipient of the ASA’s Life Achievement Award, and an Associate Member of NSW AECG. She is an editor of the Journal of the Aboriginal Studies Association and a reviewer for: Journal of Educational Psychology, Child Development, International Journal of Disability, Development, and Education, Journal of Teacher Education, Australian Educational and Developmental Psychologist, Australian Association for Research in Education, Self and Identity, International Journal of Testing, Australian Research Council, Qatar National Research Fund, Swiss National Science Foundation, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, International Journal of Psychology and Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education, and Sultan Qaboos University. She is a member of the Inaugural Editorial Board of The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education.