Rate My Professor Anne Keary

Anne Keary is an Associate Professor in the School of Education Culture & Society within the Faculty of Education at Monash University, where she joined as a Lecturer in 2015. Her teaching experience spans the early childhood, schools, and higher education sectors. Keary holds a PhD in Education and Women's Studies from the University of Queensland, awarded in 1997 for her thesis "Growing up Catholic: the mother-daughter nexus"; a Master's in Applied Linguistics from Charles Darwin University, awarded in 2000; a Master's with Honours in Education from James Cook University for "Mother Earth: The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women of Palm Island"; a Bachelor's in Education from James Cook University; and a Diploma in Early Childhood Education from Monash University. She has served as President of the Australian Council of TESOL Associations from April 2022 to August 2023 and President of the Victorian Association of TESOL. Keary has been editor of the journal TESOL in Context, organized professional learning activities for teachers from early childhood to adult sectors, initiated a research grant for partnerships between researchers and educators in TESOL, and provided consultancy to the Department of Education Victoria and the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

Keary's research enhances the provision of socially-just education in diverse cultural and linguistic settings, employing a qualitative intergenerational longitudinal approach to explore social and cultural understandings of families and communities and how they shape educational opportunities. Her research interests include early childhood education, bi/multilingual education, language and literacy education, TESOL pedagogy, cultural studies, gender studies, and educating for diversity and inclusion. She teaches in the fields of early childhood education, bi/multilingualism, and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. Key publications include the edited book Evidence and Insights to Inform Early Years Practice (Routledge, 2026, co-edited with Lucas Walsh, Joanna Scull, and Susanne Garvis); "Enhancing early language and literacy development: a self-study of shared book reading strategies in a preschool context" (Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 2026); "ESP in context: a systematic review of practices, challenges and innovations in a middle-income country" (ESP Today, 2026); "Refugee education in Australia: reflections on resettlement policy, educational provision, and schooling practices" (Journal of Education Policy, 2026); and "Australian multilingual early childhood educators' use of languages in early childhood education settings: findings of a qualitative (pilot) study" (2025). Keary collaborates internationally with partners from universities in the UK, Nordic states, and Indonesia, and has presented at conferences including the VicTESOL Symposium 2022 and ACTA International Conference 2022. Her expertise relates to UN Sustainable Development Goals such as Quality Education and Gender Equality.