ACHPER Health Promoting Schools Committee

The ACHPER Health Promoting Schools Committee has been established to assist in advancing ACHPER's engagement with health education communities. The overall role of the ACHPER Health Promoting Schools Committee is to:

  • Advise ACHPER on strategies to extend ACHPER’s connectedness with teachers who work in the health education sector, and with prospective members in this sector;
  • Identify opportunities to extend ACHPER’s profile within health education and particularly the teacher education sector;
  • Develop contributions in the area of health education for ACHPER’s bookshop and ACHPERs journals, including Curriculum Studies in Health and Physical Education Journal, including proposing special issues which focus on health education;
  • Advise ACHPER on ways in which the organisation can create strategic projects and strengthen partnerships with influential stakeholders in health education fields; and,
  • Propose events and projects that align with the HPS remit and ACHPER’s strategic priorities

Below are the dedicated professionals who make up the ACHPER Health Promoting Schools Committee.  

John Williams, Chairperson
John Williams is an ACHPER National Board Director and an Assistant Professor at the University of Canberra.  John researches in the fields of quality Health and Physical Education (HPE), health education, physical education pedagogy and traditional cultural games. John is also a member of the HealthLit4Kids network that educates and supports principals, teachers, students and their families about health literacy teaching and learning.
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Hugh Shannon
Hugh is a former Health and Physical Education (HPE) teacher and currently a Senior Lecturer at Queensland University of Technology. His professional and research interests include HPE curriculum, pedagogy and assessment; and applied health education and promotion in schools and other settings. His PhD research investigated the impact of digital storytelling as a health communication strategy on engagement and health literacy indicators.
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Donna Barwood
Donna is a Honorary Senior Lecturer and Educational Consultant in Western Australia. Donna’s research focuses on health education, physical education, pedagogy and inclusivity in HPE. Donna is an ACHPER Fellow and has an Australian Award for University Teaching.
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Natalie McMaster
Natalie is a Lecturer in Education at the University of the Sunshine Coast, coordinating courses in HPE in undergraduate and post graduate studies in education. She is the editor of the textbook titled Teaching Health and Physical Education in Early Childhood and the Primary years published by Oxford University Press in 2019. Natalie is finalising her PhD with the University of QLD where her research focuses on the health work of teachers in the Northern Territory. She is actively contributing to a range of programs designed to enhance health education in school settings.
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Joseph Scott
Joe is Lecturer in Curriculum and Pedagogy (HPE) at the University of Sunshine Coast and is an adjunct Lecturer at Edith Cowan University. He completed his PhD at University of Newcastle which focused on physical activity in adolescents. Joe’s program of research focuses on multifaceted approaches to promote physical and mental health in children and adolescents. He is also interested in increasing teachers' ability to promote health in these populations. His particular research interests include: physical activity, physical literacy; sun safety; mental health, harm minimisation; nutrition; teacher education; HPE curriculum and pedagogy. Tw: @JoeScottHPE
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Melisa Chong
Melisa is a teaching and research academic in HPE at The University of Southern Queensland. Her research is around the health work of teachers, elements of health education within the curriculum, mandated health-related policies and implicit aspects of health-related caring teaching that teachers currently undertake in schools. She is passionate about HPE, particularly how the health and wellbeing of students can be enhanced through a whole school approach in health.
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Sally Blane
Sally is SunSmart Manager at Cancer Council WA. Sally oversees skin cancer prevention programs across WA, including programs for schools, early years, sports clubs, outdoor workers and tertiary students; mass media campaigns, and advocacy work. She has previously coordinated school nutrition programs at Cancer Council WA, and is a former generalist primary school teacher.
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Kira Patterson
Kira is a former Health and Physical Education teacher and has taught across primary and secondary disciplines in a range of Tasmanian schools. Kira is currently a Lecturer in Health Pedagogy at the University of Tasmania. Kira has a background in life course epidemiology and her research focuses on the role of physical activity in the prevention of obesity and chronic diseases. More recently, Kira’s work has focused on bringing the education and health sectors together to improve health literacy. Kira is particularly interested in how we can better integrate health into physical education, and other learning areas of the Australian Curriculum, to develop the health literacy of young people.
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