Research in the Department of Professional Practice and Wellbeing
The School of Education is recognised for world-class research that tackles the most complex challenges facing education today.
We investigate the issues shaping systems and classrooms – from declining literacy and numeracy outcomes and widening equity gaps, to educator wellbeing, workforce retention and the role of AI in learning.
Our research doesn’t sit on the shelf. We translate evidence into action – informing policy, strengthening teaching practice and driving system-level reform across Australia.
Through flagship initiatives including the Science of Language and Reading (SOLAR) Lab, the Science of Mathematics Education (SOME) Lab, Nexus, and Momentum Schools, we are building the national capability needed to lift outcomes for all learners.
Research impact
Our research is redefining what it means to teach and learn – delivering measurable impact across classrooms, communities and systems.
We are national leaders in evidence-informed practice. Through the SOLAR Lab, more than 12,500 educators have adopted approaches aligned with the science of reading.
We are applying this same evidence-based approach to numeracy through the SOME Lab – Australia’s first dedicated hub for evidence-informed mathematics practice.
We have also produced a practical guide to help secondary teachers use generative AI (GenAI) in the classroom in ways that strengthen learning, rather than shortcut it, as schools navigate one of the fastest-moving changes in contemporary education.
Through Momentum Schools – a five-year longitudinal research initiative – we are supporting system-wide change by connecting high-performing schools with those beginning their implementation journey, sustaining practice change and measuring impact over time.
Research highlights the impact of teacher shortages on disrupted learning in regional, rural and disadvantaged communities, reinforcing the urgent need to attract and retain qualified teachers. This work underpins our award-winning Nexus program, which aligns teacher education with system need. Nexus creates pathways for mid-career professionals and education support staff to train as teachers while working in hard-to-staff schools. Graduates are choosing to stay in the communities where they trained, strengthening workforce stability and contributing to the Federal Government’s expansion of Nexus into NSW.
Our research is continuously shaping policy and classrooms across Australia. Our findings have informed the introduction of systematic synthetic phonics and evidence-based teaching approaches across Victoria and other states.
Research areas
We are strengthening our impact on education by focusing on:
Our researchers lead work in teacher and learner wellbeing, inclusive pedagogy and curriculum innovation. Our research examines the personal, professional and systemic factors shaping teacher wellbeing – including workload, professional identity, leadership and policy – with a focus on workforce sustainability and retention. It explores how learning environments and pedagogies support wellbeing, inclusion and participation for all learners, with an emphasis on equity and strengths-based approaches.
A key focus is initial teacher education, driving evidence-informed curriculum and innovation to equip the next generations of graduates with the tools and strategies they need for the classrooms of today and tomorrow. Within this, emerging research investigates the impact of AI on wellbeing, focusing on ethical, human-centred approaches that support sustainable educational practice.
Our researchers are driving meaningful, lasting change in Australian education. Our research directly shapes how educators teach, how schools include and how communities thrive – with impact felt from classrooms to policy tables.
Our work centres on developing inclusive pedagogies and curriculum frameworks, incorporating approaches that are trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and recognise diverse ways of knowing and leading.
Deep partnerships with schools, communities and advocacy groups ensure research translates into practical solutions that empower learners and educators and drive meaningful, lasting change across classrooms and communities.
Our researchers are dedicated to understanding how people learn and translating that knowledge into innovative, technology-enhanced education. We integrate learning sciences, educational psychology, AI and digital innovation to turn evidence into impact, shaping future-focused teaching, learning and system practices. Working closely with schools, education systems and communities, research informs practical approaches to pedagogy, policy and innovation. Our work spans literacy and numeracy, learner cognition and motivation, STEM education, AI in education and digital learning design. By combining evidence, data and technology, we improve learning outcomes and drive sector-wide impact at scale.
Graduate research
Our graduate researchers are instrumental in advancing education research to drive real-world change.
Working alongside leading experts and with industry, they contribute to projects that address current challenges – from equity and inclusion to literacy, wellbeing and emerging technologies.
Supported by high-quality supervision, collaborative networks and applied research opportunities, our doctoral and research students develop the expertise to influence policy, inform practice and strengthen the education system that they will be the next to lead.
Flagship initiatives
La Trobe's School of Education is leading the national shift towards evidence-informed education, with a proven ability to move research into classrooms and sustain it at scale.
The SOLAR Lab leads research, professional learning and system partnerships in evidence-informed literacy instruction. Grounded in the science of language and reading, SOLAR translates rigorous research into practical tools, short courses and postgraduate programs that embed explicit reading instruction in classrooms. Through national partnerships with schools and systems, La Trobe’s SOLAR Lab has already equipped more than 12,500 educators with the evidence-informed expertise to lift literacy outcomes at scale.
The SOME Lab is Australia’s first dedicated hub for evidence-informed mathematics education. Focused on explicit instruction and strong numeracy foundations, SOME integrates research, classroom implementation and workforce development to translate evidence into practical tools that strengthen teacher expertise and lift mathematics outcomes across primary and secondary education.
Many schools want to shift to explicit instruction but face uncertainty about where to begin, how to sustain change and how to measure impact. Momentum Schools is a research initiative, supported by the Bertalli Family Foundation, that connects high-performing schools that have successfully embedded explicit instruction with schools beginning their journey. Through structured networks and shared implementation insights, Momentum supports schools to adopt evidence-informed teaching practice in line with the Victorian Government’s direction on structured phonics and explicit instruction.
In response to teacher shortages and the resulting disruption to student learning, particularly in regional and rural communities, La Trobe launched Nexus – an employment-based pathway that enables mid-career professionals and education support staff to train as teachers while working in the schools that need them most. Grounded in workforce research and system partnership, Nexus builds sustainable local teacher pipelines by preparing educators in context, in community and in practice – strengthening retention and continuity where it matters most, with more than 80 per cent of graduates remaining in their placement school for at least a year after graduation.
Research centres
Our staff make key contributions to La Trobe University's research centres.
The Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre works with autistic people and their families to produce high-quality research to facilitate positive developmental outcomes in the lives of autistic people, from infancy through to early childhood and beyond; enable autistic people to realise their full potential throughout their life course; and support families as their young autistic children grow and develop.