Dr Grace O'Brien
Faculty of Creative Industries, Education & Social Justice,
School of Early Childhood & Inclusive Education
Biography
Grace is a Senior lecturer/researcher in the Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice (CIESJ). She has worked in partnership with First Nations Communities throughout Queensland for over 40 years. Her research addresses the need for urgent educational reform to support engagement and prevent the exclusion of children and young people from school. Grace has worked across primary, secondary and tertiary education sectors to support an understanding and inclusion of First Nations perspectives and Knowledges within the education curriculum. She is an affiliate member of the QUT Centre for Justice (C4J) and a co-editor of the C4J Briefing papers team. Grace is an Advisory & Editorial Board member of (In)Justice International - a Global Collective. Her areas of research include: Exclusion and the School to Prison Pipeline of First Nations young people; Lowering Suspension & Exclusion Rates from schools for young people; School Equity; Culturally Responsive Education Programs; Social Justice; Inclusive Pedagogy; and Schooling for the 21st CenturyPersonal details
Positions
- Senior Lecturer
Faculty of Creative Industries, Education & Social Justice,
School of Early Childhood & Inclusive Education
Keywords
Indigenous Education, Exclusion of Indigenous Youth from Schools, Youth Justice, Social Justice and Inclusive Education, Human Rights, Racial Profiling of Minority Groups, Indigenous Languages
Research field
Education Systems, Specialist Studies in Education
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008
Qualifications
- PhD (University of Tech., Sydney)
- Dr (University of Tech., Sydney)
Professional memberships and associations
Associate Fellow Higher Education Academy (Indigenous)
Affiliate Member, QUT Centre for Justice - https://www.qut.edu.au/law/research/centre-for-justice
Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Mathematics Alliance (ATSIMA)
Queensland College of Teachers - Full Registration
Teaching
EUN160 Professional Experience: Introduction to Professional Practice: (Post Grad - Unit Co-ordinator)
EUN114 Cultural Studies: Indigenous Indigenous Education - (Post Grad)
EUN105 Teaching in New Times - (Post Grad)
EUB406 Stepping Out/Teaching Performance Assessment (QTPA)
Experience
Grace has been teaching for more than 20 years. Her teaching experience includes Cultural Studies: Indigenous Education (Post Grad), Pre-service teacher professional practice (Post Grad), Sociology (Post Grad) and Psychology. Grace completed a Master of Indigenous Education through Macquarie University and received the Vice Chancellor’s Commendation for Academic Excellence in 2015. She is one of the first researchers in Australia to investigate the link between educational exclusion of First Nations young males and the school to prison pipeline. Grace recently co-researched a methodology to develop and implement an Indigenous Languages Program in an Early Learning Centre in a regional town in Queensland. She was the lead editor of an International Journal in partnership with Cogitatio Press Lisbon Portugal and in alliance with (In)Justice International Leeds UK.
Publications
- O'Brien, G. & Bobongie-Harris, F. (2023). Revitalization of First Nations languages: a Queensland perspective. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 46(2), 183–193. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/240571
- Sheikh, M., Prideaux, S., O’Brien, G. & Pan, P. (2023). Indigenous Emancipation: The Fight Against Marginalisation, Criminalisation, and Oppression. Social Inclusion, 11(2), 173–176. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/242382
- O'Brien, G., (2021). Disrupting the Status Quo: A Socially Just Education for Australia's First Nations Boys. In J. Lalas & HL. Strikwerda (Eds.), Minding the Marginalized Students Through Inclusion, Justice, and Hope: Daring to Transform Educational Inequities (pp. 193–209). Emerald. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/211968
- O'Brien, G., (2021). The Education of First Nations Children in Australian Educational Contexts: Some Children Are More Equal Than Others. In J. Gillett-Swan & N. Thelander (Eds.), Children's Rights from International Educational Perspectives: Wicked Problems for Children's Education Rights (pp. 99–114). Springer. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/211969
- Bobongie-Harris, F., Hromek, D. & O'Brien, G. (2021). Country, community and Indigenous research: A research framework that uses Indigenous research methodologies (storytelling, deep listening and yarning). Australian Aboriginal Studies (2), 14–24. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/233031
- O'Brien, G., (2021). Racial Profiling, Surveillance and Over-Policing: The Over-Incarceration of Young First Nations Males in Australia. Social Sciences, 10(2). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/208024
- O'Brien, G., (2021). The Basics Card: A return to the 'Rations' days for First Nations peoples of Australia? Social Alternatives, 40(4), 34–39. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/228387
- O'Brien, G. & Trudgett, M. (2020). School house to big house. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 49(1), 98–106. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/120637
- Ewing, B., Sarra, G., Price, R., O'Brien, G. & Priddle, C. (2017). Access to sustainable employment and productive training: workplace participation strategies for Indigenous employees. Australian Aboriginal Studies, 2017(2), 27–42. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/114403
- O'Brien, G., (2017). Excluding Indigenous youth from schools may severely increase their risk of incarceration. The Conversation. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/215053
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Grace, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Awards
- Type
- Fellowships
- Reference year
- 2020
- Details
- AFHEA (Indigenous)
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 2015
- Details
- Vice Chancellor's Commendation for Academic Excellence
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