Leaders

Sue Watson, Education Specialist
Founder, Lift Education
PhD, MEd (Distinction), BA, Dip Tchg

Sue is an education specialist with extensive experience in the education sector. She has research and lecturing experience in New Zealand and the United States and a strong publishing record. Sue has expertise in, and a commitment to, excellence and equity in educational provision. Her career has included employment as a Research Specialist at educational publisher Learning Media Limited; Research Associate at the Consortium for Policy Research in Education at the University of Pennsylvania; and Research Fellow in the School of Education at Victoria University of Wellington.

A trained teacher with teaching experience in three New Zealand high schools, Sue has also held the position of Education Officer at the Human Rights Commission.

Sue has been a guest lecturer in the School of Education at Victoria University of Wellington and guest reviewer for on-line US education journal Education and Policy Analysis Archives and the New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies. She has also been a visiting expert for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Paris, and for the World Bank, Washington D.C.

Professional Memberships

Aotearoa New Zealand Evaluation Association
Institute of Directors in New Zealand
American Educational Research Association
New Zealand Association for Research in Education
Australasian Evaluation Society

Service

Board member of Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), Wellington and Hutt Valley, 2002 - 2005

Selected Publications

Journal Articles

Glatter, R., Hirsch, D. and Watson, S. (2004) 'Choice and diversity: a decade on.’ In International Studies in Educational Administration.

Watson, S., Lauder, H. and Hughes, D. (2003). ‘Success’ and ‘failure’ in the educational marketplace: an example from New Zealand. In Journal of Educational Change, 4, (1).

Watson, S. and Supovitz, J. (2001). 'Autonomy and accountability in the context of standards-based reform.' In Education and Policy Analysis Archives.

Lauder, H., Hughes, D. and Watson, S. (1999). 'The introduction of educational markets in New Zealand: questions and consequences.' In New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 34, (1).

Watson, S., Hughes, D., Lauder, H., Strathdee, R. and Simiyu, I. (1998). 'Ethnicity and school choice.' In New Zealand Annual Review of Education, Victoria University of Wellington.

Watson, S. (1997). 'Single-sex education for girls: heterosexuality, gendered subjectivity and school choice.' In British Journal of Sociology of Education, 18, (3).

Books

Lauder, H., Hughes, D., Watson, S., Waslander, S., Thrupp, M., Strathdee, R., Simiyu, I., Dupuis, A., McGlinn, J. and Hamlin, J. (1999). Trading in Futures: Why Markets in Education Don't Work. London: Open University Press.

Research Reports

Mathea R, and Watson, S. (2005). Evaluation of Longer Term Outcomes of He Kahui Kakakura Strategic Leadership Programme 2001 – 2003. Prepared for Victoria University of Wellington and National Services Te Paerangi, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

Watson, S., and Bowen, E. (2005). Evaluation of Schools that Received Funds from the Second Language Learning Funding Pool (2004). Report to the New Zealand Ministry of Education.

Watson, S. (2005). Trialling the Draft Maori in the New Zealand Curriculum. Report to Learning Media and the New Zealand Ministry of Education.

Roorda, M., van Wichen Miller, J., Watson, S. and Poppelwell, E. (2005). Evaluation of Adult Literacy Learning Pool Programmes. Prepared for the Tertiary Education Commission.

Beals, F., Hipkins, R., Cameron, M. and Watson, S. (2003). An Evaluation of Professional Development to Support the Arts in the New Zealand Curriculum. New Zealand Council for Educational Research.

Watson, S., Phillips, R., Passantino, C., Christman, J., Luhm, T. and Yoshida, H. (2002). Children Achieving Challenge Case Studies: Introduction. Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE), University of Pennsylvania.

Watson, S. (2001). Teacher Quality in Philadelphia: An Overview and Analysis. Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE), University of Pennsylvania.

Supovitz, J. and Watson, S. (2000). Team-based Schooling in Cincinnati: The Third Year. Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE), University of Pennsylvania.

Hughes, D., Lauder, H., Watson, S., Strathdee, R., Simiyu, I., Robinson, T. and Hamlin, J. (2000). Do Schools Make a Difference? Hierarchical Linear Modelling of School Certificate Results in 23 Schools. The Smithfield Project Phase Three, Eighth Report to the Ministry of Education.

Hughes, D., Lauder, H., Watson, S., Strathdee, R. and Simiyu, I. (2000). Values, Class and Ethnicity: Competing Explanations for Changing Secondary School Rolls in a Market Context. The Smithfield Project Phase Two, Seventh Report to the Ministry of Education.