Rate My Professor Ruth Reynolds

Associate Professor Ruth Reynolds is a Casual Academic in the School of Education at the University of Newcastle's Central Coast campus. She holds a PhD and Diploma in Education from the University of Newcastle, a Bachelor of Social Science from the University of New England, and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Newcastle. Reynolds worked as a classroom teacher for 20 years with the NSW Department of School Education from 1974 to 1991. She joined the University of Newcastle in 1991 as a Lecturer in the School of Education, advancing to HSIE Coordinator (1998-2002), Program Convenor for Bachelor of Teaching/Bachelor of Arts (Primary and Secondary) at the Ourimbah campus (2002-2007), Assistant Dean for Teacher Education and Education in the Faculty of Education and Arts (2002-2005), and Deputy Head of the School of Education (2006-2007). Prior to her retirement in 2021, she led the Global Education Research and Teaching team, contributed to NSW primary curriculum development, and participated in national curriculum initiatives for history education, geography education, civics and citizenship education, sustainability, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies.

Her research centers on Humanities and Social Sciences education in primary schools, global education, intercultural understanding through maps and pictures, active citizenship, and pedagogies addressing prejudicial behaviors in children. Key publications include Teaching Humanities and Social Sciences in the Primary School (2014, 2018), Contesting and Constructing International Perspectives in Global Education (2015), Teaching History, Geography and SOSE in the Primary School (2012), and Peaceful Pedagogy: Teaching Human Rights Through the Curriculum (2010, co-authored with J.C. McLeod). Other works encompass chapters like Engaging with Others: The Fluctuating Pathway to Global Active Citizenship for Educators (2024) and articles such as Investigating the Cultural Competence of Preservice Teachers (2020). Reynolds earned the International Understanding Award from the National Council for the Social Studies (USA, 2010) for cross-cultural research on young children's intercultural understandings and the Australian Award for University Teaching Citation (2013) for outstanding contributions to student learning in Humanities and Social Sciences. She served as Past President of the Social Educators Association of Australia, editor of the Journal of International Social Studies, and editorial board member for Social Educator (2007-2012).