MrsElspeth Stephenson

BIO

Elspeth Stephenson is a Lecturer in Teacher Professional Learning at the School of Education in the College of Arts, Law and Education. Elspeth specialises in Trauma Informed Practice, reflective practice, and practitioner research. She is qualified as a practitioner in Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI). Elspeth has held a number of positions at UTAS including Program Director B.Ed (Early Childhood) and Professional Experience Leader (Early Years). She has coordinated units at undergraduate and post graduate levels. Elspeth is the recipient of several teaching merit awards including two national citations from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council. In 2020, she was the recipient of the ‘New Voice’ Scholarship (Australian Council for Educational Leaders), awarded for her work in the Trauma field.

Elspeth has more than 30 years’ experience in education working with children from six weeks of age through to adult. She has taught in several countries including England, Singapore, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, and Australia. Elspeth has held various leadership positions including Director of an early year’s centre, Assistant Principal of a primary school, trainer, and assessor for the International Baccalaureate Organisation across the Asia Pacific region, and more recently, Program Director for the Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) degree at UTAS.

In 2017, Elspeth was awarded a career development scholarship and was sponsored by the Karyn Purvis Institute for Child Development to study at Texas Christian University, Texas, USA where she gained a qualification in Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), an approach to working with children and youth who have experienced early adversity. The focus of Elspeth’s PhD and early research was children’s rights and wellbeing particularly during times of transition. More recently her research has centred on children who have histories of trauma and the development of professional learning for sustainable change. Elspeth has a transdisciplinary focus, collaborating with all colleagues who ‘touch the lives’ of vulnerable children, youth and their families.

Memberships

Australian Council of Educational Leaders
Early Childhood Australia
Northern Early Years Group (Committee member)