Professor Mary Ryan

Executive Dean
Faculty of Education & Arts

Clare Cole

Areas of expertise: professional practice in schools, higher education and community education; writing development and pedagogy; literacy programs and leadership; teaching about/to/for diversity; reflexive learning across the lifespan

Phone: +61 2 9465 9042

Email: Mary.Ryan@acu.edu.au

Location: ACU North Sydney Campus

ORCID ID: 0000-0003-2237-9368

Professor Mary Ryan is Executive Dean of the Faculty of Education and Arts at ACU. She is President of the New South Wales Council of Deans of Education and Chair of the Education Research Council for Australian Independent Schools New South Wales. She is a Principal Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy and is the recipient of a national citation for outstanding contributions to student learning. Professor Ryan led Australian Research Council funded projects in classroom writing and preparing reflexive teachers for diverse classrooms.

Her research is in the areas of writing pedagogy and assessment, reflective writing, teacher education, teachers' work and professional learning, the enabling and constraining conditions for graduating students to manage the demands of their profession, and reflexive learning and practice.

Professor Ryan regularly provides advice to Ministers of Education and Early Childhood across multiple states, along with regulatory authorities in education.

Selected Projects

2020
AITSL
Evidence based ITE programs for teaching reading
$98, 218

2019-2021
Australian Research Council Discovery Project
Improving classroom writing by enhancing reflexive decisions and practice
$392,000

2018-2020
Australian Research Council Discovery Project
Educating preservice teachers to teach diverse learners
$370,212 

2010-2011
Australian Learning and Teaching Council Priority Program Research Grant
Developing a systematic approach to teaching and assessing reflective writing in higher education
$215,000

Accolades or awards

  • 2014 National citation for outstanding contributions to student learning.
  • 2015 Principal Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy.

Appointments and Affiliations

  • 2020 - present - Chair of the Education Research Council for Australian Independent Schools NSW
  • Aug 2020 - Aug 2024: President of the New South Wales Council of Deans of Education
  • 2024: Panel member of ACT Government Literacy & Numeracy Inquiry
  • 2024: Panel member of QLD Government Higher Education Working Group for Early Childhood Education

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