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Sylvia Robertson image 2020Senior Lecturer

Tel +64 3 479 4993
Google Scholar Sylvia Robertson
ORCID orcid.org/0000-0003-4931-1822
Email sylvia.robertson@otago.ac.nz

Biography

I returned home to Dunedin in 2011 after 18 years teaching and studying in Sydney and the UK. I started working at the College of Education in 2016 as I completed my PhD. Prior to this, I held teaching and leadership roles in diverse primary school settings in New Zealand (Hutt Valley and Wainuiomata), Australia (Sydney) and the UK (Hertfordshire). As I travelled and taught across different countries, in independent and state schools, bilingual settings, all-boys and all-girls and co-educational settings, I became very aware of one constant in education everywhere – change. Thus my research interests include leadership preparation, leadership identity, and management of change. I have published and presented on the leadership self, teacher effectiveness, leadership for social justice, and leadership in high-needs settings.

At the University of Otago College of Education from 2016 to 2019, I taught across a number of different academic and professional practice papers at Bachelor and Masters levels. Currently, I lecture in Education Studies in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. I am Director, University of Otago Centre for Educational Leadership and Administration, and Co-Director, UCEA Centre for the International Study of School Leadership.

Teaching Sectors

  • Primary
  • Bachelor of Teaching / Bachelor of Arts
  • Master of Education and Learning
  • Postgraduate supervision

Teaching Areas

  • Education Studies
  • Professional practice (Primary)
  • Educational leadership

Research Interests

  • Leadership of change
  • Leader identity
  • Leadership in high-needs settings
  • Leadership for social justice
  • Leadership preparation
  • Student metacognition

Publications

Striepe, M., Cunningham, C., Devi, M., Gurr, D., Longmuir, F., Robertson, S., … Thompson, P. (2025). Lessons from Australasian principals’ experiences with crises: adapting, learning and transforming. School Leadership & Management. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/13632434.2025.2546094 Journal - Research Article

Robertson, S., & Morrison, M. (2025). Preparing for principalship: Case studies from Aotearoa New Zealand. In D. Gurr & P. Liu (Eds.), Educational leadership preparation and development: An international and future focused perspective. (pp. 251-265). Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-92064-6_15 Chapter in Book - Research

Robertson, S. (2025, May). Addressing problems of practice: Strategies from school leaders in four countries. College of Education Research Seminar Series, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. [Research Presentation]. Other Research Output

Robertson, S. (2024). Aotearoa New Zealand: Leading for equity through disruption and uncertainty. In S. Hardie, H. Goode & D. Gurr (Eds.), Leading schools through and beyond the pandemic. (pp. 121-136). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing. Chapter in Book - Research

Robertson, S. (2024). And only connect!: Inclusive leadership in a New Zealand context. In S. C. Moss & R. J. Emenuga (Eds.), Inclusive leadership: From theory to practice. (pp. 23-41). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing. Chapter in Book - Research

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