Professional experience

I worked in early childhood for over 40 years, variously as a practitioner, manager, senior policy advisor and Professor of Education at the University of Melbourne, where I founded and directed the Centre for Equity and Innovation in Early Childhood until my retirement in 2010. Several of my books were set internationally as texts, and my work has been translated into several languages. 

Overview: professional appointments

• • 1973–1977 Kindergarten teacher in child care and kindergarten settings.

  • 1978–1979 Lecturer in childcare studies, Footscray Technical and Further Education College.

  • 1980–1986 Policy advisor on childcare initiatives for local authorities in London, culminating in appointment as Head of the Child Care Unit, Inner London Education Authority.

  • 1987–1995 Lecturer in Early Childhood Studies, Melbourne College of Advanced Education.

  • 1995–2010 Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor and Professor in Early Childhood Studies, University of Melbourne.

  • 2001–2010 Founding Director, Centre for Equity and Innovation in Early Childhood, University of Melbourne.

Invited appointments and memberships: selection only

• • 2002–2008 Chair, University of Melbourne Child Care Advisory Committee.

  • 2003–2010 Graduate School Cultural Diversity Champion, University of Melbourne.

  • 2009–2012 Editorial Board member, Children and Society.

  • 2011–2012 Advisory Editor, Oxford Bibliographies Online: Childhood.

  • Invited referee and advisor for national and international research and publication bodies, including the Australian Research Council and the UK Economic and Social Research Council; founding Editor of the International Journal of Equity and Innovation in Early Childhood and member of national and international academic journal editorial boards.