News Archive

The Faculty’s post-conflict research group has grown this year to a vibrant research community of five doctoral scholars, each with their own area of speciality.

Gilbert Karareba, Thida Kheang, Shayla Ribeiro, Dwi Esti Andriani and Jelena Rakovic specialise in researching school leadership in Rwanda, Cambodia, Timor L’este, rural Java and Serbia respectively.

The group’s research emphasises the importance of context in the research and practice of school leadership. Gilbert, who recently presented his research at the Tropical Research Network Conference in Cairns, drew an example from his own fieldwork

in Rwanda: “Although the civil war and genocide ended twenty years ago, there are school leadership challenges that can be attributed specifically to the legacies of the conflict,” he said.

Under the guidance of their supervisors, Professors Simon Clarke and Tom O’Donoghue, the post-conflict research groups seeks to develop theoretical models for informing ‘best practice’ in the field, and they have formed a supportive research environment in the process.

Esti, a lecturer at Yogyakarta University, said she was very grateful for the camaraderie of the research group, and having Simon and Tom as her supervisors: “Even though they have very high expectation of their students, their working style is quite flexible and informal, which helps develop good communication.” Jelena– who before coming to Perth had also received scholarships to study in the UK, Denmark, and Spain – also noted the research group has more in common than just their research interests: “We also enjoy international dinners, weekend outings and sports activities together!”

Media references

Martin Swann (Faculty of Education) - (+61 8) 6488 2443

Postgraduate Students - (+61 8) 6488 2300