Dr Alicia Phillips
Senior Lecturer, Course Coordinator - Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Care), Course Coordinator - Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Primary) - Faculty of Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences and Education; School of Education
Email: aphill54@une.edu.au
Building: E011, Room 138
Biography
Dr Alicia Phillips is a Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Education at the University of New England. Alicia’s professional career, spanning over two decades in the education sector, has been driven by her passion and commitment to improving the quality of the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) sector. She has worked in impactful roles in various education contexts such as universities, national government organisations, schools and early childhood services.
Alicia’s research focuses on improving the quality of ECEC both in Australia and internationally. She is particularly interested in factors that enhance or diminish quality ECEC such as government regulation and quality assurance mechanisms, initial teacher education programs and early childhood professional experience, and the early childhood workforce. In 2023, she was awarded the Faculty of Education Early Years Researcher of the Year at Southern Cross University for achieving the highest research productivity metrics.
Alicia has extensive experience developing and delivering professional learning aligned with her research interests and has been regularly invited to present at national and international conferences and professional learning seminars. She has been highly acknowledged for her excellence in teaching, receiving the following awards: 2020 SCU School of Education Professional Experience group teaching excellence award; 2016 SCU Teacher commendations: In recognition of excellence in contributing to student learning, student engagement and overall student experience; and 2015 University of Sydney Faculty of Education and Social Work Teaching Excellence Award.
Qualifications
2020 Doctor of Philosophy, University of Sydney
2004 Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) (Honours), Charles Sturt University
Awards
2023 Faculty of Education Early Career Researcher of the Year Award, Southern Cross University
2023 Faculty of Education Research Development, Southern Cross University
2022 Faculty of Education Research Accelerator Fellowship, Southern Cross University
2020 Faculty of Education Professional Experience Teaching Excellence Award, Southern Cross University
2015 Faculty of Education and Social Work Teaching Excellence Award, The University of Sydney
2005 Elwyn Morey Award in Early Childhood Education, Charles Sturt University
Teaching Areas
Various early childhood related subjects
Research Interests
Quality Early Childhood Education and Care
The National Quality Framework, National Quality Standard and assessment and rating process
Early Childhood Initial Teacher Education Programs and Professional Experience
Early Childhood service governance and leadership
Foucauldian theory
Research Grants
2024 VVOB Education for Development Grant: Preschool Teachers Apply Language-Rich Teaching Skills and Knowledge (TALK) Research on Change in Teacher Pedagogical Practices project ($120,970)
2024 Forest Hill Grant: Co-design and Creation of an Early Childhood Education and Care Decision Tree Initiative in Regional NSW ($7078)
2024 SEED & Industry Grant: Understanding needs and possibilities for optimising young children's social and emotional wellbeing in regional early education: a co-design committee initiative ($15,000)
2023 SEED & Industry Grant: Belonging in Early Childhood ($15,000)
2023 Teaching & Learning Innovation Grant, Southern Cross University ($5000)
2021 SEED & Industry Grant: Pre-service teachers’ wellbeing on professional experience during COVID-19 and beyond ($7000)
Research Supervision Experience
Alicia has substantial experience in supervising Higher Degree Research students, having supervised 2 PhD students, 1 Masters student, and 2 Honours degree students to successful completion.
Publications
Phillips, A. (2025). Supporting Early Childhood Education and Care Workforce and Service Quality Through Governance Practices. Education Sciences, 15(3), 267. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15030267
Phillips, A., & Fenech, M (2024). Educators’ perceptions of Australia’s early childhood education and care quality assurance rating system, European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, DOI: 10.1080/1350293X.2023.2211758
Phillips, A & Boyd, W.(2023). Characteristics of high-quality early childhood education and care: A study from Australia Frontiers in Education.
Simpson, K., Boyd, W., & Phillips, A. (2023). A Vision for High Quality Early Childhood Education and Care. In D. Lynch, T. Yeigh & Boyd (Eds). Re-imagining Teaching Improvement. Springer.
Phillips A., Boyd, W. (2023). Supporting pre-service teachers’ wellbeing on professional experience during COVID-19 and beyond. Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) conference.
Boyd, W., & Phillips, A., (2021). Getting it right for early childhood teacher programs in Australia. In W. Boyd, & S. Garvis, (Eds.). International Perspectives on Early Childhood Teacher Education in the 21st Century. Springer.
Phillips, A. (2023). Early Childhood Pre-Service Teachers’ Curiosity on Professional Experience During COVID-19 and Beyond. European Early Childhood Education Research Association Conference Portugal.
Phillips A., Boyd, W. (2023). Characteristics of high-quality early childhood education and care: educators’ perspectives. Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) conference Melbourne.
Phillips, A (2020). Exceeding the National Quality Standard: An investigation of high-quality long day care services in Australia [Doctoral dissertation, The University of Sydney].
