Dr Marcia Thorne ~ Lecturer, Education

An education background with experience teaching early childhood, secondary school and vocational training with Indigenous adults prepared me as a small IT business owner (20 years) to manage training and career pathways for up to 24 staff to customise work practices, manage accounts and cash flow, accommodate industry and business innovations and to meet government quality accreditation requirements. I then created a specialist, personal development training organisation and delivered hundreds of seminars across Australia between 2002 and 2010. At James Cook University, I upgraded my Diploma of Teaching to a Bachelor of Education (Prof Dev) in 2008, a Master of Education in Sustainability in 2011 and a PhD in 2017. 

 

Teaching

• ED3442: Inclusive Education: Differentiated Learning for Students with Special Needs and Abilities (Level 3; TSV)
• ED3590: Early Childhood Education and Care 2 (Level 3; TSV)
• ED4621: Leading Wellbeing and Sustainability in Learning Communities (Level 4; TSV)
• ED5093: Individual Subject (Level 5; TSV)
• ED5912: Social Learning Perspectives for a Sustainable Future (Level 5; TSV)
• ED5913: Communicating Sustainability and Climate Change (Level 5; TSV)
• ED5914: Individual Researched Action Project (Level 5; TSV)
• ED5980: Teachers as Researchers for Learning and Change in Primary School Contexts (Level 5; CNS & TSV)
• ED5985: Teachers as Researchers for Learning and Change in Secondary School Contexts (Level 5; CNS & TSV)

Interests

Professional

• Centre of Excellence in Autism, Committee Member

Research

• Neuro motor maturity, engagement and learning readiness
• Wellbeing, resilience and teacher retention in the profession
• Environmental stewardship and care pedagogy

Teaching

• Action reserach to enhance pedagogy
• Inclusive education and differeniation

Experience

• 2019 to present - Coordinator B Ed PRI, James Cook University (Townsville)
• 2018 to present - Education Lecturer, James Cook University (Townsville)
• 2018 - Coordinator B Ed ECE, James Cook University (Townsville)
• 2013 to 2016 - Supply Teacher, Education Queensland (Cairns)
• 2002 to 2010 - Personal Development Educator, Own Consultancy Business (Across Australia)

Research Disciplines

• Specialist studies in education (3904)
• Education systems (3903)

Memberships

• 1980 - Queenlsand College of Teachers

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

• Thorne M and Whitehouse H (2018) Environmental stewardship education in the Anthropocene (part two): a learning for environmental stewardship conceptual framework. The Social Educator, 36 (1). pp. 17-28
• Carter M, Pagliano P, Francis A and Thorne M (2017) Australian university students and mental health: viewpoints from the literature. International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change, 3 (3). pp. 1-25
• Nicholls J and Thorne M (2017) Queensland teachers' relationship with the sustainability cross-curriculum priority. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 33 (3). pp. 189-200
• Thorne M and Whitehouse H (2017) Environmental stewardship education in the Anthropocene: what have we learned from recent research in North Queensland schools adjacent to the Wet Tropics? The Social Educator, 35 (1). pp. 17-27
• Thorne M (2015) Learning for stewardship in the Anthropocene: a study with young adolescents in the wet tropics. Etropic: electronic journal of studies in the tropics, 14 (1). pp. 28-36

Book Chapters

• Whitehouse H, Evans N, Jackson C and Thorne M (2018) Children caring for the Australian wet tropics as a response to the anthropocene. In: Research Handbook on Childhoodnature: Assemblages of Childhood and Nature Research. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Cham, Switzerland
• Thorne M and MacGregor C (2017) Pedagogy and learning for sustainability in a virtual world scaffold. In: Authentic Virtual World Education: Facilitating Cultural Engagement and Creativity. Springer, Singapore, pp. 9-23

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current

• Backpackers or Educators, A Comparative Analysis of International Teachers in Schools across Southern China (Masters , Secondary Advisor)

Completed

• Researching nannagogy: a case study celebrating women in their prime crafting eco-activism (2022, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Home from school early: why are school suspensions on the rise? (2022, PhD , Secondary Advisor)