Dr Carla Kennedy

Position: Lecturer/researcher, Unit Coordinator
Study area: Health education
Location: Mt Helen Campus, room 316B
Phone: 5327 9989
Email: 
Email: carla.kennedy@federation.edu.au

Qualifications

Doctor of Philosophy – La Trobe University – 2021

Master of Education – University of Melbourne 

Diploma of Education in Literacy – University of Melbourne

Bachelor of Arts/Teaching – Australian Catholic University

Teaching

Courses

Bachelor of Education

Units

  • Wellbeing and Socio Emotional Learning for the primary years (EDBED2113)
  • Child and Adolescent Development and Characteristics (EDBED1017)
  • Learning and Teaching (EDBED1016)
  • Collaborative Partnerships (EDBED2112)
  • Literacy (EDBED2008)

Biography

Carla is a lecturer/researcher in Education with the School of Education/Arts/Community at Federation University, Victoria, Australia. Carla is currently teaching first and second year students in the Bachelor of Education. Previously she held the position of Lecturer in Health and Society in the School of Psychology and Public Health at La Trobe University, Bundoora Campus teaching public health units to undergraduate and post graduate students. Her research using social inquiry has focused on health of school communities by investigating compassion, existing power and inequalities in schools. By using social critical theory, Carla explicates how compassion in school communities can be made visible whilst identifying existing power structures and barriers. Critical reflection has been a pivotal interest in considering how school communities can incorporate a compassionate stance in relation to taboo subjects such as death, dying bereavement. Carla has extensive research and educational experiences in schools spanning twenty years, mentoring beginning teachers and leading school staff in program and policy development.

Areas of expertise

Carla has worked and published across a variety of areas. She has broad interests in the social and cultural life in schools which are demonstrated in the following publications. Carla’s research interests pertain to the following three categories:

(1) Compassionate Communities
Carla’s research into compassionate communities examines the relationships and interrelationships in school communities that are influenced by societal and cultural assumptions. How people interact within their communities and the larger educational institution is of particular significance.

(2) Critical Social Theory
Carla has a strong commitment to understanding regional school communities in relation to societal influences focusing on their needs and equity concerns. As a member of TASA The Australian Sociological Association Carla has a particular interest in educational sociology. Carla is interested in critical social theory, its application and the continuing debates surrounding it.

(3) Critical reflection and reflexivity
Carla has a strong commitment to exploring how we might approach teacher critical reflection and reflexivity in regional schools to help identify existing power and structural barriers to compassion in education. Carla aims to continue working with the regional school communities especially in central Victoria, Australia.

Research interests

  • Sociology
  • Health Education

Supervision

Currently undertaking ‘Skills for Supervisors’ course.

Publications

Refereed journal articles

Kennedy, C. J., & Gardner, F. (2022). Researching death, dying and bereavement: tales of grounded theory, reflexivity and compassion. Qualitative research, 22(6), 862-876.

Kennedy, C. (2022). Palliative care: walking through the primary school gate. Progress in Palliative Care, 30(3), 137–140. https://doi.org/10.1080/09699260.2022.2058308

Kennedy, C. J., Gardner, F., & Southall, A. (2021). The Intentional Compassion Framework for school communities. Health Education Journal, 80(6), 660-671. https://doi.org/10.1177/00178969211006746

Kennedy, C. J., Gardner, F., & Farrelly, C. (2020). Death, dying and bereavement: considering compassion and empowerment. Pastoral Care in Education, 38(2), 138–155. https://doi.org/10.1080/02643944.2020.1725905

Kennedy, C. J., Keeffe, M., Gardner, F., & Farrelly, C. (2017). Making death, compassion and partnership ‘part of life’ in school communities. Pastoral Care in Education, 35(2), 111–123. https://doi.org/10.1080/02643944.2017.1306873

Refereed conference proceedings

2020     Health, Wellbeing and Society Conference, Sorbonne University, Paris (virtual)

2018    Australian Grief and Bereavement Conference, Manly, Sydney

2017    Emerita Professor and Sociologist Kathy Charmaz’s Masterclasses in Grounded Theory, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane

Associations

TASA The Australian Sociological Association