Dr Kate McLay
Co-Director of Indigenous Engagement & Honours Coordinator & Senior Lecturer
School of Education
Researcher biography
My research is informed by sociocultural theories that conceive learning as simultaneously intellectual, relational, emotional, and ideological. This understanding has been shaped by my own journey from secondary teacher to teacher educator, and an appreciation for teaching and learning as complex, human endeavours rather than simple exchanges of knowledge.
I investigate how people learn and form a sense of self across diverse educational settings, from secondary classrooms to universities, including in digital environments. Much of my work focuses on how preservice teachers navigate the process of becoming professionals in a climate of policy reform and public scrutiny.
Drawing on theorists including Vygotsky and Bakhtin, my research illuminates the experience of being both a teacher and a student as complex, relational, and deeply human.
Publications
Book
Hardy, Ian, Poed, Shiralee, Gowlett, Christina, Heimans, Stephen, Edwards, Elizabeth, Armour, Danielle, McLay, Katherine, Abdul Hameed, Suraiya, Beencke, Andrew, Lee, Richard, Rueda Balaguera, Laura and Ocriciano, Michelle (2025). Shaping school success: empowering educational leaders. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781032666839
Book Chapters
Ligorio, M. Beatrice, Amenduni, Francesca and McLay, Katherine (2022). A blended model for higher education. International handbook of psychology learning and teaching. (pp. 1-24) edited by Joerg Zumbach, Douglas Bernstein, Susanne Narciss and Giuseppina Marsico. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-26248-8_65-3
Soyoof, Ali, Vazquez-Calvo, Boris and McLay, Katherine Frances (2022). Inclusive language education and digital games : a literature review and EFL students' perceptions. Research anthology on developments in gamification and game-based learning. (pp. 1920-1937) edited by Information Resources Management Association. Hershey, PA USA: IGI Global. doi: 10.4018/978-1-6684-3710-0.ch092
Ligorio, M. Beatrice, Amenduni, Francesca, Sansone, Nadia and McLay, Katherine (2020). Designing blended university courses for transaction from academic learning to professional competences. Cultural views on online learning in higher education: a seemingly borderless class. (pp. 67-86) edited by María Gabriela Di Gesú and María Fernanda González. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature Switzerland. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-63157-4_4
Soyoof, A., Vazquez-Calvo, B. and McLay, K. (2020). Inclusive language education and digital games: a literature review and EFL students' perceptions. Inclusive theory and practice in special education. (pp. 156-173) edited by Henriette van Rensburg and Shirley O’Neill. Hershey, PA United States: IGI Global. doi: 10.4018/978-1-7998-2901-0.ch008
Ligorio, M. Beatrice, Amenduni, Francesca and McLay, Katherine (2019). Triangulating identity, groups and objects: a university case. The Routledge International Handbook of Research on Dialogic Education. (pp. 509-523) edited by Neil Mercer, Rupert Wegerif and Louis Major. Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge Editor. doi: 10.4324/9780429441677-41
Journal Articles
Smala, Simone, McLay, Katherine and Gillies, Robyn M. (2025). Teacher relationships and social connectedness. Teachers and Teaching, ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print), 1-24. doi: 10.1080/13540602.2025.2494036
Tsao, Jack, Alhadad, Sakinah, Heinrichs, Danielle, Abdul Hameed, Suraiya and McLay, Katherine (2025). The digital-intercultural-transdisciplinary nexus: Online international exchanges for transdisciplinary education. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 41 (1), 27-41. doi: 10.14742/ajet.9620
McLay, Katherine Frances and Reyes, Vicente Chua (2024). Beyond TPACK: A case for foregrounding affect in technology rich 21st‐century teaching and learning. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 40 (6), 3201-3214. doi: 10.1111/jcal.13055
Stahl, Garth, Oberg, Glenys, Fairbairn, Kirsten, McLay, Kate, Noble, Christy, Sale, Martin, Mandrusiak, Allison, MacMahon, Stephanie, Findlay, Wendy and Zafar, Sobia (2024). Investigating the development of peer-led asynchronous digitally mediated feedback in higher education: three case studies. Reflective Practice, 25 (5), 1-22. doi: 10.1080/14623943.2024.2372882
McLay, Katherine Frances and Renshaw, Peter David (2024). “Can’t you just tell us when to teach them how to use an apostrophe?” The worthwhile struggle to cultivate agential preservice teachers in a compliance culture. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 52 (3), 350-365. doi: 10.1080/1359866x.2024.2330081
Soyoof, Ali, Reynolds, Barry Lee, Neumann, Michelle, Scull, Janet, Tour, Ekaterina and McLay, Katherine (2024). The impact of parent mediation on young children's home digital literacy practices and learning: a narrative review. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 40 (1), 65-88. doi: 10.1111/jcal.12866
D'aprile, Gianvito, Talò, Cosimo and McLay, Katherine (2024). Bridging corporate social responsibility and affective organizational commitment: the moderated mediation effect of organizational identification and sense of community. Community Psychology in Global Perspective., 10 (2), 71-93. doi: 10.1285/i24212113v10i2-2p71
Heinrichs, Danielle H., Hameed, Suraiya, Tsao, Jack, McLay, Katherine, Nguyen, Huong and Alhadad, Sakinah (2024). Mundane matters: entangling moments of student wellbeing across cultures, time, space, and virtual worlds. Critical Studies in Education, 65 (3), 235-255. doi: 10.1080/17508487.2023.2252469
Soyoof, Ali, Reynolds, Barry Lee, Chan, Kan Kan, Tseng, Wen-Ta and McLay, Kate (2023). Massive online multiplayer games as an environment for English learning among Iranian EFL students. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 38 (1-2), 128-171. doi: 10.1080/09588221.2023.2171065
McLay, Katherine Frances, Thomasse, Lauren and Reyes, Vicente Chua (2023). Embracing discomfort in active learning and technology-rich higher education settings: sensemaking through reflexive inquiry. Educational Technology Research and Development, 71 (3), 1-17. doi: 10.1007/s11423-023-10192-6
Annese, Susanna , Amenduni, Francesca , Candido, Vito , McLay, Katherine Francis and Ligorio, Maria Beatrice (2022). Tutor’s role in WhatsApp learning groups: a quali-quantitative methodological approach. Frontiers in Psychology, 12 799456, 799456. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.799456
Sansone, Nadia, Cesareni, Donatella, Bortolotti, Ilaria and McLay, Katherine Frances (2021). The designing and re-designing of a blended university course based on the trialogical learning approach. Education Sciences, 11 (10) 591, 591. doi: 10.3390/educsci11100591
Smala, Simone, Gillies, Robyn, McLay, Katherine and Ngyuen, Huong (2021). Second language teachers’ perceptions of their pedagogical practices, collaborations, and relationships with other teachers through professional development. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 46 (9), 39-54. doi: 10.14221/ajte.2021v46n9.3
Amenduni, Francesca, Annese, Susanna, Candido, Vito, McLay, Kate and Ligorio, Maria Beatrice (2021). Blending academic and professional learning in a university course for future e-learning specialists: the perspective of company tutors. Education Sciences, 11 (8) 415, 415. doi: 10.3390/educsci11080415
Soyoof, Ali, Reynolds, Barry Lee, Vazquez-Calvo, Boris and McLay, Katherine (2021). Informal digital learning of English (IDLE): a scoping review of what has been done and a look towards what is to come. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 36 (4), 1-27. doi: 10.1080/09588221.2021.1936562
Reyes, Vicente, McLay, Katherine, Thomasse, Lauren , Olave-Encine, Karen, Karimi, Arafeh, Rahman, Modammed Tareque , Seneviratne, Lalanthi and Tran, ran Le Nghi (2021). Enacting smart pedagogy in higher education contexts: sensemaking through collaborative biography. Technology, Knowledge and Learning, 26 (4), 1153-1168. doi: 10.1007/s10758-021-09495-5
D'Aprile, Gianvito and McLay, Katherine (2020). Toward a psychosocial model of employees’ participation in corporate social responsibility. Evidence from Italian small and medium-sized enterprises. Journal of Promotion Management, 27 (2), 1-26. doi: 10.1080/10496491.2020.1829772
Ritella, Giuseppe, Di Maso, Rosa, McLay, Katherine, Annese, Susanna and Ligorio, Maria Beatrice (2020). Remembering, reflecting, reframing: examining students’ long-term perceptions of an innovative model for university teaching. Frontiers in Psychology, 11 565, 565. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00565
McLay, Katherine Frances and Reyes, Vicente Chua (2019). Identity and digital equity: Reflections on a university educational technology course. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 35 (6), 15-29. doi: 10.14742/ajet.5552
McLay, Katherine Frances and Reyes Jr, Vicente Chua (2019). Problematising technology and teaching reforms: Australian and Singapore perspectives. International Journal of Comparative Education and Development, 21 (4), 277-294. doi: 10.1108/IJCED-10-2018-0045
McLay, Katherine Frances and Renshaw, Peter David (2019). Making ‘us’ visible: using membership categorisation analysis to explore young people's accomplishment of collective identity‐in‐interaction in relation to digital technology. British Educational Research Journal, 46 (1) berj.3565, 44-57. doi: 10.1002/berj.3565
Soyoof, Ali and McLay, Katherine Frances (2018). The impact of video game intervention on reducing stress and enhancing language achievement and communication skills. International Journal of Pedagogies and Learning, 14 (1), 45-58.
Impedovo, M. A., Ligorio, M. B. and McLay, K. F. (2018). The “friend of zone of proximal development” role: ePortfolios as boundary objects. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 34 (6), 753-761. doi: 10.1111/jcal.12282
McLay, Katherine F. (2018). Geeks, gamers, and girls: revealing diverse digital identities with membership categorisation analysis. Discourse, 40 (6), 1-16. doi: 10.1080/01596306.2018.1457625
McLay, Katherine, Renshaw, Peter and Phillips, Louise Gweneth (2017). iBecome: iPads as a tool for self-making. International Journal of Educational Research, 84, 68-78. doi: 10.1016/j.ijer.2016.05.009
D'Aprile, Gianvito , Racano, Margherita , Annese, Susanna and McLay, Katherine (2016). Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility in Social Media: Sense-making processes evolving with the development of virtual Communities of Practice. QWERTY - Open and Interdisciplinary Journal of Technology, Culture and Education, 11 (1), 44-62.
Department Technical Report
Hardy, Ian, Poed, Shiralee, Gowlett, Christina, Heimans, Stephen, Edwards, Elizabeth, Armour, Danielle, McLay, Kate, Hameed, Suraiya, Beencke, Andrew, Lee, Richard, Rueda, Laura and dos Santos Ocriciano, Michelle (2022). Shaping school success: Commissioned report for the Department of Education and Training, Queensland. School of Education, University of Queensland.
Thesis
McLay, Katherine Frances (2016). iKnow, iAm, iPad: a reflexive microethnographic investigation of iPad-using high school students. PhD Thesis, School of Education, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/uql.2016.190
Research Reports
Stahl, Garth, Fairbairn, Kirsten, McLay, Kate, MacMahon, Stephanie, Matthews, Kelly, Noble, Christy, Sale, Martin, Mandrusiak, Allison, Findlay, Wendy and Zafar, Sobia (2024). Building feedback literacy authentically: Digital peer feedback approaches to enhance future employability in caring professions. St Lucia, QLD Australia: The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/64a9021
Kubler, M., McLay, K. and Johnstone, M. (2023). Consultation report on proposed revisions to the Australian Curriculum: Languages Phase 5. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: University of Queensland.
Kubler, Matthias, McLay, Kate and Johnstone, Melissa (2023). Consultation report on proposed revisions to the Australian Curriculum: Languages Phase 4. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: Institute for Social Sciences.
Kubler, Matthias, McLay, Kate and Johnstone, Melissa (2023). Consultation report on proposed revisions to the Australian Curriculum: Languages Phase 3. Brisbane, QLD Australia: The University of Queensland.
Kubler, Matthias, Johnstone, Melissa and McLay, Kate (2022). Consultation report on proposed revisions to the Australian Curriculum: Languages Phase 2. Brisbane, QLD Australia: The University of Queensland.
Kubler, Matthias, Johnstone, Melissa, McLay, Katherine, Clague, Denise and Tomaszewski, Wojtek (2021). Consultation report on proposed revisions to the Australian Curriculum: Science. Brisbane, QLD Australia: Institute for Social Science Research.
Kubler, Matthias, McLay, Katherine, Clague, Denise, Johnstone, Melissa and Tomaszewski, Wojtek (2021). Consultation report on proposed revisions to the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics. Brisbane, QLD Australia: Institute for Social Science Research.
Kubler, Matthias, Johnstone, Melissa, McLay, Kate, Clague, Denise and Tomaszewski, Wojtek (2021). Consultation report on proposed revisions to the Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences. Brisbane, QLD Australia: Institute for Social Science Research.
McLay, Kate, Kubler, Matthias, Johnstone, Melissa, Clague, Denise and Tomaszewski, Wojtek (2021). Consultation report on proposed revisions to the Australian Curriculum: English. Brisbane, QLD Australia: Institute for Social Science Research.
McLay, Katherine, Kubler, Matthias, Johnstone, Melissa, Clague, Denise and Tomaszewski, Wojtek (2021). Consultation report on proposed revisions to the Australian Curriculum: Languages. Brisbane, QLD Australia: Institute for Social Science Research.
McLay, Katherine, Kubler, Matthias, Clague, Denise, Johnstone, Melissa and Tomaszewski, Wojtek (2021). Consultation report on proposed revisions to the Australian Curriculum: Technologies. Brisbane, QLD Australia: Institute for Social Science Research.
Johnstone, Melissa, Kubler, Matthias, McLay, Katherine, Clague, Denise and Tomaszewski, Wojtek (2021). Consultation report on proposed revisions to the Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education. Brisbane, QLD Australia: Institute for Social Science Research.
Kubler, Matthias, Johnstone, Melissa, McLay, Katherine, Clague, Denise and Tomaszewski, Wojtek (2021). Consultation report on proposed revisions to the Australian Curriculum: Arts. Brisbane, QLD Australia: Institute for Social Science Research.
Johnstone, Melissa, Kubler, Matthias, McLay, Katherine, Clague, Denise and Tomaszewski, Wojtek (2021). Consultation report on proposed revisions to the Australian Curriculum: Cross-curriculum Priorities. Brisbane, QLD Australia: Institute for Social Science Research.
Johnstone, Melissa, Kubler, Matthias, McLay, Katherine, Clague, Denise and Tomaszewski, Wojtek (2021). Consultation report on proposed revisions to the Australian Curriculum: General Capabilities. Brisbane, QLD Australia: Institute for Social Science Research.