Lecturer
Dr Geraldine Townend
BSc (Hons)
Masters Gifted Education
PhD
PGCE
Dip TESOL
Arts,Design & Architecture
School of Education
Geraldine Townend is a published academic with over a decade of experience in the field of gifted education, having expertise in the area of twice exceptionality. In the UNSW Arts, Design and Architecture Faculty, Geraldine lectures and conducts research in GERRIC (Gifted Education Research and Resource Information Centre) in the areas of gifted education, gifted with learning disability, and special learning needs. Her research interests focus on supporting gifted and twice-exceptional students to aspire to their potential in education, which includes the development of positive academic self-concept.
Supervising Higher Degree research Students and running specialist courses each year, Geraldine works with around 600 students each year. She also works with on grant funded research linkage projects with, for example, The Department of Education and Autism Australia.
Geraldine’s research findings indicate that there are several sociological and psychological influences on academic self-concept, including a social comparison theory, and she is particularly interested in the interaction between teachers and their students. She has also focused on outcomes for pre- and post-graduate teachers’ understandings of diversity in education, including inclusive classroom practices and applications of National Curriculum. Her university teaching was recognised with the award of Teaching Excellence Commendation.
Geraldine advises government around curriculum and education, and has been featured on national TV. She has been currently working in an advisory capacity with the Department for Education, New South Wales. Geraldine conducts professional development for schools in the identification of, and support for, gifted underachievers, and has featured on Australian National television.
She also provides advice for parents and families of gifted and twice-exceptional students, and works closely with State, National and International Associations.
E-mail
- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
ASPECT Linkage 2020
Provost Award for teaching at Griffith University 2015 - awarded to top 1% of lecturers
- Linkage research - ASPECT Australia - gifted with Autism
- South Australia CathEd - Gifted students
- Impact of training for educators in specialist gifted programs
- Big Fish Little Pond Effect - influences with twice-exceptional students
Publications
- Townend, G., Hay, P., Jung, J. Y., & Smith, S. R. (2020). Supporting gifted Australian students’ academic potential in rural settings. Gifted and Talented Development in the Asia Pacific: Springer International Handbooks of Education.
- Hately, S., and Townend, G. (2020). A qualitative meta-analysis of research into the underachievement of gifted boys. Australasian Journal of Gifted Education, Vol. 29, No. 1, Jun 2020: doi: 10.21505/ajge.2020.0002.
- Blackburn, A. & Townend, G. (2019). Gifted Girls with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Provisions and Priorities in Australian School Settings. Gifted and Talented Development in the Asia Pacific: Springer International Handbooks of Education.
- Townend, G., & Brown, R. (2016). Exploring a sociocultural approach to understanding academic self-concept in twice-exceptional students. International Journal of Educational Research, 80, 15- 24.
- Ronksley-Pavia, M., & Townend, G. (2016). Student voice: Listening and responding to the experiences of twice-exceptional students. TalentEd, 62, 4-18.
- Rowan, L., & Townend, G. (2016). Early career teachers’ beliefs about their preparedness to teach: Implications for the professional development of teachers working with gifted and twice- exceptional students. Cogent Education, 3(1), 1242458.
- Townend, G., & Pendergast, D. (2015). Student voice: What can we learn from twice-exceptional students about the teacher's role in enhancing or inhibiting academic self-concept. Australasian Journal of Gifted Education,24(1), 37-51.
- Townend, G., Pendergast, D., & Garvis, S. (2014). Academic self-concept in twice-exceptional students: What the literature tells us. Talented, 28(2014), 75-89.
- Rowan, L., Townend, G., Beavis, C., Kelly, L., & Fletcher, J. (2016). Museums, games, and historical imagination: Student responses to a games-based experience at the Australian national maritime museum. Digital Culture & Education, 8(3), 169–187.
- Sammel, A., Townend, G., & Kanasa, H. (2018). Hidden Expectations Behind the Promise of the Flipped Classroom. College Teaching, 1-11.
- Hall, D., Sultmann, W., & Townend, G. (2019). Constants in context: an exploration of conciliar and post-conciliar documents on the Catholic school. Journal of Religious Education, 67(1), 17-39.