PhD (VUW)
Teaching Fellow (Programme Coordinator)
Contact details
Email alex.walker@otago.ac.nz
Research interests and activities
Alex is the Programme Coordinator for the lived experience education and research programme World of Difference | He Ao Whakatoihara kore within the Department of Psychological Medicine. He is a lived experience researcher who recently completed a PhD thesis exploring the epistemic barriers that prevent lived experience knowledge from thriving within Aotearoa’s mental health system.
Alex is deeply passionate about teaching in higher education. His pedagogical approach is interactive, enthusiastic, and underpinned by manaakitanga and whanaungatanga. Alex’s research interests include epistemic injustice, higher education and the student experience, and mental health lived experience.
You are welcome to contact him anytime.
Publications
Tait-McCutcheon, S. L., Bright, M., Jilina, P., Walker, A., & Wood, A. (2025). Student academic help-seeking in higher education: Insights from Bronfenbrenner's systems. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 22(2). doi: 10.53761/jfn9df65 Journal - Research Article
Walker, A., Tait-McCutcheon, S., & Wood, A. (2025). Whanaungatanga: Tutors' experiences of caring for students in an Aotearoa New Zealand university. Pastoral Care in Education, 43(1), 132-151. doi: 10.1080/02643944.2024.2308833 Journal - Research Article
Fraser, G., & Walker, A. (2025). 3.1 Frameworks for critical health psychology practice in Aotearoa. In S. Riley, K. McGuigan, E. Brittain, G. Terry, A. Kora, S. Healy-Cullen, C. van Ommen & D. Baken (Eds.), Critical health psychology: Foundations, approaches and applications. (pp. 309-334). Palmerston North, Aotearoa New Zealand: Massey University. doi: 10.82376/6WW0-P679 Chapter in Book - Research
Walker, A. D. M. (2025). From outsider to insider? Moving towards epistemic justice for peer supporters within Aotearoa New Zealand’s mental health system (PhD). Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand. doi: 10.26686/8xc6-zddv Awarded Doctoral Degree
Walker, A., Tait-McCutcheon, S. L., & Gilbert, A. (2023). Tutors’ responses to student disclosures: From “Suicidal Ideation to “Feeling a Little Stressed”. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 20(7), 10. doi: 10.53761/1.20.7.10 Journal - Research Article