Rate My Professor Cathy Lembke

Dr Cathy Lembke is an Adjunct Lecturer in the Faculty of Education at Southern Cross University, where she has been employed for nearly 19 years. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Sydney, a Graduate Diploma in Education from Southern Cross College of Advanced Education, a Master of Education from Southern Cross University, and a Doctor of Education from Southern Cross University. In her roles as Lecturer, Teaching Associate, Acting Director of Professional Experience, and Director of Professional Experience, Cathy teaches Professional Experience units, focusing on final-year pre-service teachers completing their Teacher Performance Assessment during placements. She maintains extensive community engagement through established relationships with schools across Australia and internationally, and supervises Honours and Masters students. Her contributions align with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals related to quality education.

Cathy's research specializations encompass the cultural competence of pre-service teachers, professional experience in initial teacher education, and international immersion programs. She organizes and leads the Cambodia immersion program for pre-service teachers and has investigated its impact on participants' cultural competence. Additionally, she has participated in the North Coast Initiative for School Improvement. Key publications include 'A framework for effective mentor teacher written feedback to improve pre-service teacher practice' (2025, International Journal of Educational Research Open, co-authored with Winslade, Isaac, McLeod et al.); 'Improving ITE Training by Developing Guidelines for the Role of In-School Coordinators Before, During and After Professional Experience' (2024, book chapter in Re-imagining Teaching Improvement, co-authored with Isaac, Hudson et al.); 'The Professional-Experience In-School Coordinator's Role: Perspectives from the Field' (2023, book chapter in Work-Integrated Learning Case Studies in Teacher Education, co-authored with James, Isaac, Hudson, Bullivant, Ryan); 'The impact of an immersion programme in Cambodia for Australian pre-service teachers' (2019, Journal of International and Cross Cultural Education, co-authored with Boyd and Scott); and 'Uplifting leadership for real school improvement—The North Coast Initiative for School Improvement: an Australian telling of a Canadian story' (2017, Alberta Journal of Educational Research, co-authored with Chaseling et al.).