Catherine Carroll-Meehan

Since graduating from the School of Early Childhood at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in 1990, I have worked as an early childhood teacher and leader/manager in a range of settings with children from birth to eight years before moving into teaching and research in Higher Education. I worked as a lecturer at Queensland University of Technology prior to moving to the UK in 2006 to take up a post at Canterbury Christ Church University. I am the Head of School of Education and Sociology at the University of Portsmouth.

My recent research has been in Higher Education focussing on the student experience and "Being, Belonging and Becoming". This research identifies key aspects of the student experience that supports retention and success.

My areas of interest are within the field of early childhood, with a specific interest in working with parents and families, pedagogical leadership and how we can draw on knowledge and research from other fields to inform leadership and management roles for those people working with children, families and in communities. Linked to this is an interest in pedagogical documentation and democracy and how this can be embedded in the curriculum and everyday practice.

I have led teams of academic colleagues in the education subject area, to develop the curriculum and teaching portfolio for programmes at the undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral levels. I supervise doctoral students in a range of subjects related to education, leadership and research methods. I am a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.