Rate My Professor Maria Vieira

Dr. Maria Vieira is a Lecturer (Level B) in the School of Education at Adelaide University, within the College of Education, Behavioural and Social Sciences. She earned her PhD in STEM from the University of South Australia between 2021 and 2025, a Master’s degree in the Psychology of Creativity from the Autonomous University of Barcelona in 2014-2015, and a Bachelor’s degree from Universidade Regional de Blumenau in Brazil from 2005 to 2010. Prior to joining Adelaide University in 2026, she held a position as Lecturer (Level A) at the University of South Australia from 2021 to 2025. As a member of the Centre for Change and Complexity in Learning (C3L), she contributes to the university’s Signature Research Theme, Creative and Cultural Strategy. Eligible to co-supervise Masters and PhD students, she is actively involved in course coordination, curriculum development—including the flagship common core course Igniting Change: Ideas to Action—and outreach programs.

Maria Vieira’s research specializations encompass educational psychology, curriculum and pedagogy, gender, sexuality and education, human-computer interaction, creativity, and secondary education, with a focus on creativity, human-AI collaboration, and gender equity in STEM fields where women remain underrepresented. Her work has generated impact through partnerships with schools, industry, and museum spaces, attracting international media attention. She has authored multiple first-author publications in prominent journals, including 'Bridging the Gender Gap in STEM: The Impact of Self-Beliefs on Domain-Specific Creativity among Secondary Students' (Thinking Skills and Creativity, 2025), 'Creative self-efficacy: why it matters for the future of STEM education' (Creativity Research Journal, 2025, with co-authors), and 'How design thinking can make STEM education thrive in the AI era' (Teaching Science, 2024). Additional key works include 'Reasserting care in higher education: perspectives from female early and mid-career researchers' (Discourse, 2025, co-authored), contributions to Artificial Intelligence in Education (2025), and reports such as 'Design thinking for creative confidence' (University of South Australia, 2024). She leads the STEM Girls Academy, engaging hundreds of school students annually, and communicates her research in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.