Rate My Professor Joanna Barbousas

Professor Barbousas holds the position of President of the Victorian Council of Deans of Education and is an invited participant on government steering committees, advisory groups, and expert panels. She has driven the creation and expansion of the award-winning NEXUS program, obtaining over $14 million in funding from the Commonwealth Government and the Victorian State Government. Initiated in 2020 within the High Achievers Teachers Program, NEXUS offers an employment-based teacher education pathway for career changers entering secondary teaching in regional, rural, and hard-to-staff schools, now extending to primary levels and New South Wales. Furthermore, she secured $2.5 million over five years from the Bertalli Foundation to advance science of learning initiatives, including the establishment of evidence-based reading and writing clinics at La Trobe's Bendigo and Bundoora campuses for children facing literacy challenges, the designation of high-performing schools as regional hubs, and research funding for early schooling in rural and regional areas. Her efforts address teacher shortages and advance evidence-informed practices in literacy and numeracy, exerting substantial influence on Victoria's educational sector.