• University Medal-winning Bathurst graduate aims to continue her studies to deliver quality education for all Australian school students

A Bathurst teacher and mother of four sons has been awarded a Charles Sturt University Postgraduate University Medal at her graduation ceremony in Bathurst.

Mrs Stacey Jones (pictured above with her family, and below with Charles Sturt Vice-Chancellor Professor Renée Leon) graduated with a Master of Education (Educational Research) in the Charles Sturt School of Education at a ceremony in Bathurst at 10am on Wednesday 7 December.

The University Medal is the highest honour that a student can receive. To be awarded a University Medal, a student has to achieve High Distinctions (HDs) in nearly all their subjects and if a student receives all HDs they will receive a possible Grade Point Average (GPA) of seven.

Mrs Jones and her husband Matthew and children relocated to Bathurst in 2012 and she is the second in her family to go to university (her mother was also a teacher). This is her fourth university qualification and her third with Charles Sturt. She holds a Bachelor of Business (Management), and three Charles Sturt qualifications - a Bachelor of Teaching (Secondary), a Diploma of Policing  and now a Master of Education (Educational Research).

In 2021 she was awarded the NSW Minister for Education’s Award for ‘Excellence in Teaching’.

She said she decided to study a Master of Education (Educational Research) because she was interested in the theory/practice nexus that seems to exist in education and questioned how to go about bridging this gap in a practical way.

Her master’s research project was titled ‘School University Partnerships: Collaborating to enhance teacher education student supervision through peer group mentoring’. 

“I was working as part of ‘The Hub’ school-university partnership between Charles Sturt University and the NSW Department of Education (2017-2021),” she said.

“Working alongside academics at the University as a guest lecturer in tutorials inspired me to take on further study.

“In particular, encouragement from my colleague Associate Professor Deb Clarke (pictured left with Mrs Stacey Jones) is the reason I chose Educational Research. This was an area of specialisation I had not considered, and Deb recognised my natural interest in educational research before I did and ‘sold’ it to me.

“Upon reflection, I have always had a natural tendency towards engaging with research, and I just hadn’t acknowledged it until she pointed it out to me.”

Mrs Jones said that while leading Charles Sturt tutorials as a guest lecturer (secondary teacher), she became aware that she could positively contribute to teacher education.

“A logical way for me to actively contribute to bridging the theory-practice gap between schools and universities seemed to be to learn more about educational research by completing my Master of Education,” she said.

As a full-time secondary educator, sessional lecturer, and mother of a large young family, things certainly got very challenging many times and what motivated her during her studies was engaging with current educational research which highlighted research gaps and opportunities that awaited her at the end of her course.

“Knowing I could actively contribute to enhancing teacher quality was a great motivator for me to continue,” she said.

“My rock-solid mentor Associate Professor Deb Clarke took a sincere professional interest in my progression, and she invested in me significantly with her time, and I did not want to let her down.

“Finally, my own children (aged 14, twins 12, and 7) were watching and I was very focused on modelling to them the importance of working consistently towards a long-term goal, slowly but steadily.

“Regular weekend sessions in the library were also very helpful to escape the world and dig into my research/writing.”

Mrs Jones has just concluded time teaching with St Stanislaus College in Bathurst (December 2022) and has concluded another successful year of sessional lecturing in Teacher Education at Charles Sturt.

In 2023, she plans to commence full-time PhD studies at Charles Sturt and continue to lecture in the School of Education.

Mrs Jones is thankful to have the opportunity of sharing her love and enthusiasm for education within the Bathurst community among students, their families, and her fellow educators in various contexts.

“I am able to support others to value and enjoy learning which I feel is so important for the well-being of our community,” she said.

“I look forward to working closely with schools and university students in the future, assisting them to deliver quality education for all Australian school students now and into the future.”