Rate My Professor Robyn Babaeff

Dr. Robyn Babaeff is a Lecturer in the School of Educational Psychology and Counselling within the Faculty of Education at Monash University. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Monash University, awarded in 2024 for her thesis titled 'Teaching Practices in Early Childhood Educational Settings in Victoria and the Development of Children’s Agency: A Cultural-historical Analysis.' Prior to her current role, Babaeff worked as a preschool director and teacher in early childhood education settings, and she has experience in adult education and training. Her research centers on early childhood education, contemporary pedagogies in early childhood and primary education, child development, professional partnerships, leadership and professional learning, diversity and social justice, multilingualism, and qualitative research methodologies. Babaeff examines topics such as family, diversity, heritage languages and culture, and pre-service teacher research related to professional experiences in local and international contexts.

Babaeff has produced several key publications, including 'Sedimented professional identities: early childhood education pre-service teachers' (Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 2020, with A. Keary, S. Clarke, K. Garnier), 'Professionalism and everyday practices in early childhood education and care: Singaporean pre-service teachers’ perspectives' (Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 2023, with A. Keary, K. Garnier), 'Ghana's basic education Headteacher leadership: critical discourse analysis of the Headteachers’ handbook' (Journal of Educational Administration and History, 2024, with P. S. Dare, L. Henderson), and the forthcoming 'Basic education headteacher leadership in Ghana: a review of empirical studies from 1994 to 2022' (Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 2025, with P. S. Dare, L. Henderson). She contributed the chapter 'Principle 5: Be generous with others, be kind' to the book The Gentle Academic (Springer, 2026, with S. Lea, E. Leif, K.-A. Allen, E. Berger, A. Reupert). Babaeff serves as Chief Investigator on projects including the Team Teaching Professional Learning program (2024-2027), Respectful Relationships Professional Learning for Early Childhood Educators (2021-2023), and Dynamic Leadership in the Early Years (2019-2021). She has provided submissions to the Productivity Commission Inquiry into Early Childhood Education and Care (2023) and the Senate Education and Employment References Committee (2023), and performs peer review for journals such as Learning, Culture and Social Interaction.