Education Division
Election 2018
Biography
Mathew A. White, Ph.D., is an award-winning Australian academic and Associate Professor in the School of Education at the University of Adelaide. He is also a Principal Honorary Fellow in Melbourne Graduate School of Education and an Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne. The past decade of his research has focused on character education, positive education, strategic planning and leadership in wellbeing education. He has co-edited three groundbreaking books on positive education and published in peer-reviewed journals. Mathew’s leadership and research have influenced wellbeing education from primary to secondary schooling across government, Catholic and independent schools, pre-service teacher education at undergraduate and post-graduate level. Before his appointment to the University of Adelaide in 2018, Mathew held senior leadership positions in schools and has over 20 years senior secondary school teaching and examination experience in English, French, Theatre Arts and Theory of Knowledge in the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB), Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) and South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE). Mathew has been an IPPA member since 2009. He has spoken on Positive Education at four World Congresses. He was the 2017 World Congress Lead for the IPPA Education Division and curated a pioneering international symposium on with speakers from Australia, Columbia, Finland, Japan, and New Zealand.
Statement of Interest:
I seek election to serve as your President-Elect for the Education Division Why? I believe I have the personal and professional skills and capabilities to strengthen and diversify the division for the next generation. I have benefitted professionally and personally from the collegiality of many IPPA colleagues from across the world for over a decade. Now I want to give back to the Association. My proven track record in governance, leadership and international experience will strengthen the Division. My leadership in schools and university education reform bridges the divide between research and practice. If elected to the role of President-Elect, my focus will be: understand the needs of current members; consult with the division; grow and diversify the division’s membership; enhance communications between Division members; enhance the operations and representation of the Division’s voice across the Association and extend the division’s representation and activities at the World Congress.
Hi Mathew,
1. Spanning the gulf between research and practice is central to the Division. What would a future where this gap is bridged look like? How can the Division help move us all there?
2. What has been your best experience with the Education Division so far? (Could be a program, event, exchange, etc.)
3. Can you give an example of a time where you lead a team that created a successful outcome?
Hi Jenny, thanks for the opportunity to engage with our members in this forum and to answer a few questions. I’m inspired to read the profiles of everyone putting their hand up to serve!
1. Spanning the gulf between research and practice is central to the Division. What would a future where this gap is bridged look like? How can the Division help move us all there?
One of the strategies I’d like to put to members is that we hold a virtual appreciative inquiry summit to harvest exemplars of the nexus between research and practice. This could then yield important documentation of the significant initiatives people have been leading in their respective schools, systems and settings throughout the world. At the centre of this strategy would be to focus on the “I” in IPPA intentionally – the “international” aspects and curate a structure that encourages participation across the world. Learning from attending the IPEN World Accelerator on Positive Education was to intentionally create structure and systems that engage people from diverse cultures.
2. What has been your best experience with the Education Division so far? (Could be a program, event, exchange, etc.)
I’ve been fortunate to review abstracts for the Practice Review Committee for 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA) World Congresses. It’s been a privilege to see the evidence-base grow over this time.
However, the most rewarding experience of the Division I’ve had was convening a Symposium on International Perspectives on Positive Education at the 5th World Congress on Positive Psychology. Palais des Congrès de Montréal, Canada. For the first time, we had presentations from Australia, New Zealand, Columbia, Mexico, Finland and Japan.
The Symposia was deflty Chaired by Dr Peggy Kern from the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne. Other panellists included: Andrea Ortega Bechara (Presidente Instituto Florecer), Dra. Rosalinda Ballesteros Valdés (Directora, Instituto de Ciencias de la Felicidad Universidad Tecmilenio), Kaisa Vuorinen from Finland, K. Matsumoto Faculty of School Education, Matsumoto University and Dr Lucy Hone from AUT University.
3. Can you give an example of a time where you lead a team that created a successful outcome?
In the field of positive education, I’m recognised for the ground-breaking work on evidence-based approaches in wellbeing and positive education at St Peter’s College. This was working as a member of the Senior Leadership Team of the School, creating a new team to teach positive education, and collaborating with teachers across Junior and Senior School. In my current role, I’ve lead the academic team lecturing in the Master of Education at the University of Adelaide to redevelop the whole degree. This has been an unprecedented level of change. The result has been 6 new specialisations. Wellbeing has been one of these and Leadership (incorporating elements of positive psychology and positive education). In collaboration with my colleague Professor Faye McCallum we have also written a wellbeing education framework to be introduced to all Bachelor of Teaching (double degree) and Master of Teaching students. Within five years we will have over 750 graduates from these programs commencing their teaching career. This has required significant leadership and teamwork to manage the regulatory authorities and compliance matters to adhere to policy and pass this innovation.
I wish the Division all the best.