Professor Marilyn Fleer

Biography

Marilyn Fleer is the Director for the Centre for Research into Childhood Studies and Program Leader for Primary and Early Childhood Education at Monash University.

Marilyn has worked in education for 25 years. She began her career as an early childhood teacher. Later she was seconded to the Department of Education, Aboriginal Education Branch, as an advisor, later as a Curriculum Officer and finally as a Research Officer (shared with the University of Western Australia). In 1988 she took up an appointment as lecturer at the University Canberra, remaining there until 2001 as Professor of Education. In 2002 she commenced her new position at Monash University as Professor of Early Childhood Education.

Research Interests

Marilyn has a diverse range of research interests and has won grants of nearly 2 million Australian dollars. Recent grants have included an ARC Discovery (with Professor Dick Gunstone) entitled The sociocultural construction of science learning: The transformation and appropriation of scientific concepts within situated playful encounters in early childhood contexts; International study of pedagogy and play 0 to 36 months: Australian component (with Dr Holli Tonyan); An investigation of the participation structures to support learning across cultures (with Denise Williams-Kennedy).

Her particular research interests and expertise include: cross-cultural research, early childhood science education, technology education, and the building of new theoretical tools to support early childhood education.

Professional Associations

• International Membership
• European Early Childhood Education Research Association
• British Education Research Association
• Regional or Australian Membership
• Australasian Science Education Research Association
• Australian Early Childhood Association
• Australian Research in Early Childhood Education Association
• Victorian Membership
• Technology Education of Victoria Association
• Leadership
• Member of Publications Committee, Early Childhood Australia
• Editor, Australian Journal of Early Childhood
• Advocacy Award (Australian Early Childhood Association) in 2000

Community Service

• Policy Experience
• Marilyn has worked at the international, national and local levels in the development of evidence based policies and practices. At the international level she has been a member of the OECD Thematic Review of Early Childhood Education and Care Policy, Australian Background Report Committee (2000-2001), and a member of PLAN International, Technical Advisory Committee for Early Childhood (since 2001- ongoing). At the national level she was a Research Fellow for the Australian Government (Department of Education, Science and Training) in 2000, Australian Bureau of Statistics Conceptual Framework Consultative Committee (2001), and Preschool Profile Development Committee, Indigenous Branch, Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs (2000-2004). At the local level she was a member of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Public Education in the ACT (1992-1994) and the Victorian Premiers Childrens Advisory Council in 2004.
• Leadership
• Marilyn won the Advocacy Award in 2000 (Australian Early Childhood Association)

Supervision

Currently Marilyn supervises PhD students in early childhood education (theory and practice), new pedagogical approaches in primary education, curriculum development theory, science education, environmental education, and technology education.

Publications

Publications for 2005 and 2006 Books and Chapters

Fleer, M., Edwards, S., Hammer, M., Kennedy, A., Ridgway, A., Robbins, J., Surman, L., (2006) Early childhood learning communities. Sociocultural research in practice, Pearson Education, NSW, Australia, 237 pages.

Fleer, M., (2005) Looking in and not seeing yourself mirrored back: Investigations of some Indigenous family views on education. In, Colin Marsh, (ed.) Curriculum Controversies. Point and counterpoint 1980-2005. Australian Curriculum Studies Association Inc. ACT, Australia. pp 432-437.

Fleer, M., (2006) Meaning-making science: Exploring the sociocultural dimensions of early childhood teacher education, In K. Appleton (ed.) Elementary science teacher education: International perspectives on contemporary issues and practice, Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum in association with AETS, 107126.

Fleer, M., (2006) A sociocultural perspective on early childhood education: Rethinking, reconceptualizing and reinventing, In Fleer, M., Edwards, S., Hammer, M., Kennedy, A., Ridgway, A., Robbins, J., Surman, L., (2006) Early childhood learning communities. Sociocultural research in practice, Pearson Education, NSW, Australia (pp.3-14).

Fleer, M., and Robbins, J., (2006) Working in the zone: New insights into the Zone of Proximal Development, In Fleer, M., Edwards, S., Hammer, M., Kennedy, A., Ridgway, A., Robbins, J., Surman, L., (2006) Early childhood learning communities. Sociocultural research in practice, Pearson Education, NSW, Australia (pp. 27-43).

Fleer, M., and Robbins, J., (2006) Diversity in the context of universal early childhood education: Family involvement or family exclusion? In Fleer, M., Edwards, S., Hammer, M., Kennedy, A., Ridgway, A., Robbins, J., Surman, L., (2006) Early childhood learning communities. Sociocultural research in practice, Pearson Education, NSW, Australia (pp. 57-69).

Robbins, J., Hammer, M., and Fleer, M., (2005) Broadening the lens on diversity, In Fleer, M., Edwards, S., Hammer, M., Kennedy, A., Ridgway, A., Robbins, J., Surman, L., (2006) Early childhood learning communities. Sociocultural research in practice, Pearson Education, NSW, Australia (pp. 70-79).

Fleer, M., and Surman, L., (2006) A sociocultural approach to observing an dassessing, In Fleer, M., Edwards, S., Hammer, M., Kennedy, A., Ridgway, A., Robbins, J., Surman, L., (2006) Early childhood learning communities. Sociocultural research in practice, Pearson Education, NSW, Australia (pp. 141-160).

Fleer, M., (2006) Potentive assessment in early childhood education, In Fleer, M., Edwards, S., Hammer, M., Kennedy, A., Ridgway, A., Robbins, J., Surman, L., (2006) Early childhood learning communities. Sociocultural research in practice, Pearson Education, NSW, Australia (pp.161-173).

Fleer, M., and Kennedy, A., (2006) Quality always unfinished business, In Fleer, M., Edwards, S., Hammer, M., Kennedy, A., Ridgway, A., Robbins, J., Surman, L., (2006) Early childhood learning communities. Sociocultural research in practice, Pearson Education, NSW, Australia (pp. 209-227).

Fleer, M., Hammer, M., and Robbins, J., (2006) Joining the academy, In Fleer, M., Edwards, S., Hammer, M., Kennedy, A., Ridgway, A., Robbins, J., Surman, L., (2006) Early childhood learning communities. Sociocultural research in practice, Pearson Education, NSW, Australia (pp. 228-234).

Journal Articles

Fleer, M., (2005) Developmental Fossils- unearthing the artefacts of early childhood education: The reification of Child Development Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 30 (2), 2-7.

Fleer, M., and Robbins, J., (2005) Broadening the circumference: A socio-historical analysis of family enactments of literacy and numeracy within the official script of middle class early childhood discourse Outline, 6 (20), 17-24

Fleer, M., and Robbins, J., (2005) There is much more to this literacy and numeracy than you realise: Family enactments of literacy and numeracy versus educators constructions of learning in home contexts, Journal of Australian Research in Early Childhood Education, 12 (1), 23-42

Farquhar, S and Fleer, M., (in press) Foundational Sacred Cows: Putting Western Development out to Pasture, In Linda Keesing-Styles and Helen Hedges, Critical issues and trends in early childhood education: Australasian perspectives, Dunmore Press, New Zealand.

Fleer, M., (In press) Troubling cultural fault lines: Some Indigenous Australian families perspectives on the landscape of early childhood education, Mind, Culture and Activity