Adjunct Associate Professor
Bronwyn Ewing

Biography

I am an Associate Professor and a member of the STEM Education Research Group in the School of Teacher Education and Leadership within the Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice Faculty at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). I was fortunate to gain my PhD in Mathematics Education at Griffith University at Southport, Qld, in 2009. It provided me with the foundation for my leadership and investigative research in 23 research projects with a total of over 7.5mil in funding  across Australia. I ‘do’ maths for a living at QUT and although I know it is a wonderful endeavour, and it undeniably can do many things, I acknowledge that it has caused hurtful experiences to many when it has not been taught well, and brought great joy when experienced differently. I have drawn on the extraordinary work of Ubiratan D’Ambrosio and more recently Francis Su. It is Su’s work that I have drawn recent inspiration—I ground mathematics in what it means to be a human being and to live more fully, a human life in the myriad of contexts that we find ourselves. For me, the real learning of mathematics comes from learning with others and sharing ideas. This grounding draws me to work with communities, colleagues, teachers, pre-service teachers, young people and children concentrating on:

• Equity, social justice and mathematics education
• Youth justice policy and education
• Culturally Responsive Pedagogy: Community Cultural Wealth

My core research interest investigates the problems of education failure for low socio-economic, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and special needs children and young people.  Most of this research is documented in my publications. I use a transdisciplinary approach to my research and ground it in theoretical approaches that emphasise maths as human endeavour, and pedagogical, contextual and multi-sensory influences on individual learners and learning. I often use mixed-method designs that lend themselves to applying in real and lived settings of those with whom I work. My current projects include:

• Unlocking the learning potential of incarcerated low SES and Indigenous young people in mathematics
• The criminalisation of children and young people at the intersection of poverty, race and gender identity: A public document analysis

Recent book release: Ewing, B., & Sarra, G. (2023). Educating Indigenous Children in Australian Juvenile Justice Systems: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy in Mathematics. Springer

I have embarked on my fourth book focusing on The criminalisation of children and young people at the intersection of poverty, race and gender identity: A public document analysis.