Dr Amanda Mergler

This person does not currently hold a position at QUT.
Biography
Dr Amanda Mergler is a Lecturer in the School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education at QUT. As a registered psychologist, Amanda teaches Education undergraduate and postgraduate students in human development, educational psychology, educational counselling and behaviour management. In 2017, Amanda co-founded a national group called Girls' Uniform Agenda to advocate for the choice of shorts and long pants as part of girls' school uniforms. Amanda is working with education departments, parents, school principals, teacher unions and other important education associations in this area to enhance gender equity for girls at school. Access the Girls' Uniform Agenda website here: www.girlsuniformagenda.org Prior to her role at QUT, Amanda worked as a Youth Worker for the Adolescent Drug and Alcohol Withdrawal Service (ADAWS). This involved engaging with young people to assess their level of drug use, assist with the execution of group sessions involving activities designed to increase young people's self-esteem and personal awareness, and assisting young people in accessing relevant services. Amanda completed her doctorate titled 'Personal Responsibility: The Creation, Implementation and Evaluation of a School-Based Program,' in 2007. Since this time she has supervised Bachelor of Education Research Pathway, Masters of Education, EdD and PhD students in the areas of Personal Responsibility, Values Education, Positive Psychology, and Delayed Prep entry. Amanda's current interest areas are girls' school uniforms, personal responsibility, inclusive education, and the self-enhancement of students through their schooling years. Access an article on personal responsibility that Amanda wrote for a local parenting magazine here: http://www.familiesmagazine.com.au/parenting/personal-responsibility/Personal details
Keywords
values education, personal responsibility, moral development, positive psychology, inclusive education
Discipline
Education Systems, Specialist Studies in Education
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008
Qualifications
- PhD (Queensland University of Technology)
Professional memberships and associations
- Registered Psychologist
- International Affiliate membership with the American Psychological Association
- Co-founder Girls' Uniform Agenda
Teaching
- Unit Coordinator - EDN670: Creating Positive Learning Environments (Master of Teaching)
- Unit Coordinator/Lecturer - LCN636: Introduction to Educational Counselling (Master of Education)
- Lecturer - EDB002: Teaching and Learning Studies 2: Development and Learning (Bachelor of Education)
- Tutor - EDB004: Inclusive Education (Bachelor of Education)
Experience
St Rita's: Ran day-long workshop with Year 10 girls focusing on issues of personal responsibility, emotional intelligence, choices and consequences.
Australian Institute of Sport: Trained their trainers in the use of the Personal Responsibility Program in order for the program to be implemented with their athletes.
Selected publications
- Spooner-Lane R, Curtis E, Mergler A, (2010) Embracing philosophy and raising the standard of pre-service teacher education programs. In T Lovat, R Toomey & N Clement, International Research Handbook on Values Education and Student Wellbeing, Springer, pp. 377-394.
- Mergler A, Tangen D, (2010) Using microteaching to enhance teacher efficacy in pre-service teachers, Teaching Education, 21 (2), pp. 199-210.
- Tangen D, Mergler A, (2009) Connecting pre-service teachers to 'real world' teaching practices through microteaching, ALAR: Action Learning and Action Research Journal, 15 (2), pp. 39-58.
- Mergler A, Curtis E, Spooner-Lane R, (2009) Teacher educators embrace philosophy: Reflections on a new way of looking at preparing pre-service teachers, The Australian Journal Of Teacher Education, 34 (5), pp. 1-13.
- Mergler A, Spooner-Lane R, (2008) Assessing the personal and emotional developmental outcomes of high-school students, Australian Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 25 (2), pp. 4-16.
- Mergler A, (2008) Values education and moral development : What beginning teachers need to know. In D Beutel & J Millwater, Transitioning to the Real World of Education: An Introduction, Pearson, pp. 50-68.
- Mergler A, (2008) Making the implicit explicit: Values and morals in Queensland teacher education, Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 33 (4), pp. 1-10.
- Mergler A, Spencer F, Patton W, (2008) Personal Responsibility: The Creation, Implementation and Evaluation of a School-Based Program, Journal of Student Wellbeing, 2 (1), pp. 35-51.
- Mergler A, Patton W, (2007) Adolescents Talking About Personal Responsibility, Journal of Student Wellbeing, 1 (1), pp. 57-70.
- Mergler A, Spencer F, Patton W, (2007) Relationships between Personal Responsibility, Emotional Intelligence, and Self Esteem in Adolescents and Young Adults, Australian Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 24 (1), pp. 5-18.
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Amanda, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).