REDI researchers awarded ARC Discovery Project grants
Three REDI researchers have received more than $600,000 in funding from the 2024 Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project grants program.
Associate Professor Linda Hobbs and Dr Seamus Delaney have received funding to develop a framework for professional education for ‘out-of-field’ teachers and Dr David Farrugia’s project aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of the impact of side hustles on the lives of young workers.
Discovery Project grants support fundamental research and are the largest scheme under the ARC National Competitive Grants Program.
REDI’s successful projects are:
Associate Professor Linda Hobbs
Dr Seamus Delaney
Shifting the Culture of Out-of-field Professional Education for Teachers
Australian schools are currently facing a teacher shortage. Subsequently, secondary teachers are increasingly required to teach outside their area of specialisation. This project aims to support the diversification of teacher expertise through professional education and re-specialisation to build a more robust, resilient and consistently high-quality education system.
The project will integrate perspectives from across the education system to develop a framework for professional education for ‘out-of-field’ teachers in science, mathematics, English and the humanities. The framework will guide policy settings, education structures and school practices needed to support teachers through continuing subject-focused professional education.
Dr David Farrugia
Side-Hustles: Young People and Employment-Adjacent Entrepreneurship
Young people are increasingly engaging in small-scale entrepreneurial activities alongside formal employment, or ‘side hustles’. Amid increasing employment uncertainty and low wages, entrepreneurship is also being embraced as a policy solution by government. However, the consequences of side hustles are poorly understood. There is a risk that these policies may be ineffective or worsen the economic marginalisation of young people.
This project aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of the impact of side hustles on the lives of young workers. Working with government, industry and the non-government organisation sector, the team will examine the characteristics of side-hustlers, the nature of their entrepreneurial activities, the strategies they use to combine employment and entrepreneurship, and their experiences overall.