Dr Tom Stehlik

Welcome to my home page. I have been at the University of South Australia since 1991, teaching and researching in the areas of adult education, organisational development and teacher education. In 1994 I taught at the Northern Territory University in Darwin. Before my involvement in higher education I worked in Human Resources with the Australian Taxation Office, and prior to that I was a secondary teacher with the SA Education Department, teaching English and Humanities subjects. From April to September 2004 I completed a Research Fellowship at the Hawke Research Institute for Sustainable Societies. From June 2005 to January 2006 I was seconded to the Social Inclusion Unit in the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, managing a research project evaluating the state government's School Retention Action Plan as part of the SA Government's Strategic Plan and social justice agenda.

As a Senior Lecturer and Program Director in the School of Education, I have been responsible for developing and coordinating a range of undergraduate and post graduate awards in education, including the Graduate Certificate in Education which has a specialisation in University Teaching that is mandated for all new academic staff in the university. In 2008 I completed a six-month secondment to undertake an academic research fellowship for the Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences. The fellowship involved mapping and developing the Teaching-Research Nexus across the eight schools in the division. Check out the link below to the 'Teaching-Research nexus- In a nutshell' - 5 minute overview

I am Program Director of the Graduate Certificate in Education (Specialisation), and the Graduate Diploma in Education (Adult, Vocational and Workplace Learning).

I am also the Research Degrees Coordinator and Program Director of the PhD program for the School of Education, Mawson Lakes.

I served as Director of the Centre for Research in Education, Equity and Work (CREEW), a research concentration associated with the School of Education and the Hawke Research Institute, from December 2007 to June 2009.

In February 2009 I was appointed Associate Dean: Research Education in the School of Education.

School of Education

Centre for Research in Education, Equity and Work (CREEW)

The Hawke Research Institute

Teaching-Research nexus- In a nutshell - 5 minute overview

• I teach in a number of programs - the Bachelor of Education (Adult, Vocational and Workplace Learning), the Graduate Certificate in Education (Specialisation), and the Graduate Diploma in Education (Adult, Vocational and Workplace Learning).
• I also supervise a number of part-time and full-time students in Masters, Professional Doctorate and PhD programs.

AVTEC (Australian Vocational Teacher Educators' Colloquium)

ANTaR (Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation)

Bachelor of Arts (Flinders University)

Diploma in Education (Adelaide University)

Master of Education, Human Resource Studies (University of South Australia)

Doctor of Philosophy (University of New England)

• Workplace Learning, organisational culture
• Learning communities, communities of practice
• Steiner Education and Waldorf Schools
• The Teaching-Research Nexus in Higher Education
• Adult learning in social contexts
• I am currently Associate Dean: Research Education for the School of Education, overseeing the school's research training programs including honours and higher degrees. I supervise a number of doctoral students as Principal, Associate and Co-Supervisor.

Stehlik, Tom, 2009, ‘Waldorf Schools as communities of practice and sites for promoting social sustainability’, Chapter 19 in Willis, Peter; McKenzie, Stephen and Harris, Roger (eds) Rethinking Work and Learning, The Netherlands: Springer

Stehlik, Tom, 2008, ‘Thinking, feeling and willing: How Waldorf Schools provide a creative pedagogy which nurtures and develops imagination’, Chapter 17 in Willis, Peter and Leonard, Tim (eds) Pedagogies of the Imagination: Mythopoetic curriculum in educational practice, The Netherlands: Springer

Stehlik, Tom, 2008, ‘(Re)constructing academic identities through practice’, proceedings of “Insightful Encounters - Regional Development and Practice–Based Learning” Conference on Regional Development and Innovation Processes, March 5th-7th, Porvoo - Borgå, Finland, ISBN 978-952-5685-19-0

Stehlik, Tom, 2008, 'Mind the gap: Researching school leaver aspirations', National Centre for Vocational Education Research VOCED Database, http://www.voced.edu.au/

Stehlik, Tom and Churchman, Deborah, 2007, ‘Communities of practice: Promoting diversity within Australian universities’, Journal of Organisational Transformation and Social Change, Vol 4 No 3, pp.263-278

Stehlik, Tom and Christie, Michael, 2007, ‘The relative value of investment in ‘second chance’ educational opportunities for adults in Sweden and Australia: A comparative analysis’, Australian Journal of Adult Learning, Vol 47, No 3, November

Stehlik, Tom and Gelade, Susan, 2007, ‘Partnerships between ACE and VET providers: how good practice in delivering collaborative vocational education programs can benefit local communities’, refereed paper presented at 37th Annual Conference, SCUTREA, Belfast, Northern Ireland, July 3-5

Gelade, Susan; Stehlik, Tom and Willis, Peter, 2006, Learning collaborations between ACE and vocational education and training providers: Good practice partnerships, NCVER, Adelaide

Stehlik, Tom and Christie, Michael, 2006, 'Involving teachers and learners in quality assurance in higher education', in Christie, Michael (ed), Shifting perspectives in engineering education, C-SELT, Götebotg, Sweden, ISBN 91-631-8476-1

Stehlik, Tom, 2006, ‘Schooling vs education: (Re)engaging early school leavers in meaningful learning through whole-of-community approaches to learning as part of social inclusion initiatives in South Australia’, refereed paper presented to New Zealand Association for Research in Education National Conference, Rotorua, December 5 - 8

Stehlik, Tom, 2006, Levels of engagement: report of findings on action research project across school retention initiatives, Social Inclusion Unit, Department of the Premier and Cabinet, SA Government

Churchman, Deborah and Stehlik, Tom, 2005, 'Communities of practice: An alternative model for determining value and quality in Australian enterprise universities',in Conference Papers: 4th International Conference on Researching Work and Learning, edited by Geof Hawke and Paul Hager, OVAL Research UTS Sydney, ISBN 1920754 97 0

Stehlik, Tom and Carden, Pam, (eds) 2005, Beyond communities of practice: theory as experience, Post Pressed, Flaxton Qld.

Stehlik, Tom, 2005, 'Educating for Humanity: The worldwide Waldorf School movement and its outcomes', International Journal of the Humanities, Vol 2, No 3, ISSN 1447-9508

Stehlik, Tom, 2005, 'What does teacher education for social inclusion look like?', Primary Focus, South Australian Primary Principals Association Inc (SAPPA), Vol 19 no 4

Gelade, Susan and Stehlik, Tom, 2004, Exploring locality: The impact of context on Indigenous vocational education and training aspirations and outcomes, Adelaide: National Centre for Vocational Education Research

Stehlik, Tom, Simons, Michele, Kerkham, Lyn, Pearce, Ron and Gronold, Judy, 2003, Getting connected: Professional development of contract and casual staff providing flexible learning, Volumes 1 and 2, Adelaide: National Centre for Vocational Education Research

Stehlik, Tom, 2003, 'Parenting as a vocation: Lifelong learning can begin in the home', International Journal of Lifelong Education, vol 23 no 4, July-August, pp.367-379

Stehlik, Tom, 2002, Each parent carries the flame: Waldorf Schools as sites for promoting lifelong learning, creating community and educating for social renewal, Post Pressed, Flaxton, Qld

I am able to provide media comment in the following areas of expertise:

Discipline: Education

• Adult and Vocational Education
• Rudolf Steiner Education (Waldorf Schools)
• Social Inclusion Initiatives
• Communities of Practice