Rate My Professor Tess Boyle

Dr. Tess Boyle is an Adjunct Associate Researcher in the Centre for Children and Young People within the Faculty of Health at Southern Cross University. She holds a Diploma of Teaching from Australian Catholic University, Bachelor of Education from University of Southern Queensland, Master of Education from Southern Cross University, and PhD from Monash University. Her doctoral thesis by publication, titled Reframing transitions to school as continuity practices, was awarded 2019 Thesis of the Year by Early Childhood Australia (Victoria) and nominated for the 2019 Vice-Chancellor's Commendation for Thesis Excellence at Monash University. Prior to her academic career, Boyle served as a primary school teacher across all year levels, holding leadership roles, and co-authored the Science and Technology Today series, which sold over 180,000 copies in Australia and overseas. In the tertiary sector, she has taught in initial teacher education units and programs, coordinated the professional experience program for the Bachelor of Primary Education, and managed first-year experiences. She has a Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Students) Commendation for Teaching Excellence from 2017 and secured internal and external research grants in 2019.

Boyle's research specializations encompass educational transitions, middle leading, ethical practices involving children, cross-sectorial continuity and alignment, critical participatory action research, and pedagogies supporting children's learning. She has collaborated on projects with government and non-government education authorities across Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, and Victoria, including continuity and alignment in the early years, ethical practices involving children, middle leading practices, early years resource development, policy development, and cross-sectorial perspectives on transitions to school. A member of the Pedagogy Education and Praxis network since 2014, she co-founded the Gold Coast practice theory reading group, now an international interdisciplinary collaboration. Currently, she co-supervises a Doctor of Philosophy project on whole-school approaches to wellbeing. Key publications include An integrative review of transitions to school literature (2018), Transitions to school: reframing professional relationships (2014), Coaching practices: Building teacher capability to enhance continuity in the early years (2021), Acknowledging, negotiating, and reporting 'uncomfortable truths' in action research (2023), and Promoting students' safety and wellbeing: ethical practice in schools (2023). Her work has been cited over 426 times.