Speaker
Dr. Emma Carter
McKenzie Research Fellow, University of Melbourne | Education Consultant, The World Bank
Biography
Dr. Emma Carter, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, Univeristy of Melbourne, Faculty of Education. Interests in the impacts of disadvantage on cognitive and social-emotional development and strategies that can best address the needs of learner’s from underserved backgrounds. Her PhD research examined the psychosocial experiences of disadvantaged students from ethnic minority backgrounds involved in programmes aimed at identifying and developing high academic potential within Australia and the UK. Case studies included the Academic Leader’s Programme (Cape York Institute of Policy and Leadership, Australia) and the Emerging Scholar’s Intervention Programme (Support and Help in Education Trust, UK).
Emma has previously worked as a Research Assistant for REAL Centre where she supported the development of the survey instrument for a longitudinal evaluation of the impact of Speed Schools for out-of-school children in Ethiopia. In 2012, she also worked as a Policy Advisor for the Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership in Australia. Here, she developed a research base informing recommendations for the ‘Opportunity System’, a reform project aimed at improving psychological, educational, social and economic outcomes for Indigenous Australians. Emma has over 10 years of international experience as a teacher, having worked in Australia, China, the United Arab Emirates and the UK. She has also worked as a Research Associate for the REAL Centre where she undertook a comprehensive evaluation of Complimentary Basic Education (CBE) in Ghana. The CBE programme aims to bridge achievement gaps of out-of-school children so they can be reintegrated into mainstream public education after nine months of accelerated learning instruction. Currently, Emma works as a Senior Research Associate at the REAL Centre for the Mastercard Foundation’s Leaders in Teaching initiative, a project focused on improving STEM teaching quality in secondary schools in Rwanda. Alongside this role she also works as a consultant for the World Bank’s Global Education Division where she co-leads the development of the classroom observation tool, Teach Secondary, has supported on the development of Teach Primary (2nd Edition) and supports country implementation.