Dr Kathleen Mahon

Affiliate Senior Lecturer of School of Education

School of Education

k.mahon@uq.edu.au

Researcher biography

Dr Kathleen Mahon is a Senior Lecturer, Higher Education, at the University of Queensland. Kathleen’s main research areas are higher education pedagogy and the professional learning of university teachers and leaders. She is particularly interested in how the university environment affects teaching and learning and educational leadership in higher education, and how sustainable and sustaining conditions can be promoted. Much of her work is centred on the notions of praxis and praxis-oriented pedagogy, and the challenges and possibilities for both in today's universities. Her interest in praxis has stemmed from concerns she has, after over thirty years as an educator, that there is still much work to be done to ensure that educational institutions live up to their own good intentions. Since completing her PhD on critical pedagogical praxis in higher education in 2014, Kathleen has become known internationally for her work on both educational praxis and practice theory, with her co-authored publications on the theory of practice architectures being particularly widely cited.

Kathleen is a co-founding Senior Editor of the international journal, Journal of Praxis in Higher Education, and a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal for Experiential Education. She is also a member of the Pedagogy, Education and Praxis (PEP) international collaborative research network, which includes scholars from universities in Australia, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, Colombia, and New Zealand.

Kathleen is a Docent (Associate Professor) at the University of Boras, in Sweden, where she has been working as an academic developer since 2016. Her research and university teaching is grounded in many years of teaching and leading in secondary schools in Queensland and the Northern Territory, and outdoor education centers in Queensland, Australia. Kathleen currently supervises PhD doctoral candidates in Sweden and Uganda.

Publications

Book Chapters (13)

Journal Articles (17)

Book Chapters

Kemmis, Stephen and Mahon, Kathleen (2023). Finding worlds worth living in. Living Well in a World Worth Living in for All: Volume 1: Current Practices of Social Justice, Sustainability and Wellbeing. (pp. 225-233) edited by Kristin Elaine Reimer, Mervi Kaukko, Sally Windsor, Kathleen Mahon and Stephen Kemmis. Singapore: Springer Singapore. doi: 10.1007/978-981-19-7985-9_13

Mahon, Kathleen (2021). “Neoliberalised” (human) bodies and implications for professional education. Embodiment and professional education: body, practice, pedagogy. (pp. 213-228) edited by Stephen Loftus and Elizabeth Anne Kinsella. Singapore: Springer Singapore. doi: 10.1007/978-981-16-4827-4_15

Edwards-Groves, Christine, Wilkinson, Jane and Mahon, Kathleen (2020). Leading as shared transformative educational practice. Pedagogy, education, and praxis in critical times. (pp. 117-140) edited by Kathleen Mahon, Christine Edwards-Groves, Susanne Francisco, Mervi Kaukko, Stephen Kemmis and Kirsten Petrie. Singapore: Springer Singapore. doi: 10.1007/978-981-15-6926-5_6

Mahon, Kathleen, Edwards-Groves, Christine, Francisco, Susanne, Kaukko, Mervi, Kemmis, Stephen and Petrie, Kirsten (2020). Preface. Pedagogy, Education, and Praxis in Critical Times. (pp. v-vii) Singapore: Springer.

Kaukko, Mervi, Francisco, Susanne and Mahon, Kathleen (2020). Education for a world worth living In. Pedagogy, education, and praxis in critical times. (pp. 1-13) edited by Kathleen Mahon, Christine Edwards-Groves, Susanne Francisco, Mervi Kaukko, Stephen Kemmis and Kirsten Petrie. Singapore: Springer Singapore. doi: 10.1007/978-981-15-6926-5_1

Mahon, Kathleen, Heikkinen, Hannu L. T., Huttunen, Rauno, Boyle, Tess and Sjølie, Ela (2020). What is educational praxis?. Pedagogy, education, and praxis in critical times. (pp. 15-38) edited by Kathleen Mahon, Christine Edwards-Groves, Susanne Francisco, Mervi Kaukko, Stephen Kemmis and Kirsten Petrie. Singapore: Springer Singapore. doi: 10.1007/978-981-15-6926-5_2

Mahon, Kathleen, Francisco, Susanne and Lloyd, Annemaree (2018). Practice Architectures and Being Stirred into Academic Practices of a Research Group. Education in an Era of Schooling. (pp. 167-181) Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-13-2053-8_12

Kemmis, Stephen and Mahon, Kathleen (2017). Practice architectures of university education. Practice theory perspectives on pedagogy and education: praxis, diversity and contestation. (pp. 107-141) edited by Peter Grootenboer, Christine Edwards-Groves and Sarojni Choy. Singapore: Springer Singapore. doi: 10.1007/978-981-10-3130-4_6

Francisco, Susanne, Mahon, Kathleen and Kemmis, Stephen (2016). Transforming Education and Professional Practice. Exploring Education and Professional Practice. (pp. 257-264) Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-10-2219-7_15

Mahon, Kathleen, Kemmis, Stephen, Francisco, Susanne and Lloyd, Annemaree (2016). Introduction: Practice theory and the theory of practice architectures. Exploring education and professional practice: through the lens of practice architectures: through the lens of practice architectures. (pp. 1-30) edited by Kathleen Mahon, Susanne Francisco and Stephen Kemmis. Singapore: Springer Singapore. doi: 10.1007/978-981-10-2219-7_1

Kemmis, Stephen and Mahon, Kathleen (2016). Coming to ‘practice architectures’: A genealogy of the theory. Exploring education and professional practice: through the lens of practice architectures: through the lens of practice architectures. (pp. 219-238) edited by Kathleen Mahon, Susanne Francisco and Stephen Kemmis. Singapore: Springer Singapore. doi: 10.1007/978-981-10-2219-7_13

Mahon, Kathleen and Galloway, Letitia (2016). Provoking praxis amidst a faculty restructure: a practice architecture perspective. Exploring education and professional practice: through the lens of practice architectures: through the lens of practice architectures. (pp. 183-199) edited by Kathleen Mahon, Susanne Francisco and Stephen Kemmis. Singapore: Springer Singapore. doi: 10.1007/978-981-10-2219-7_11

Mahon, Kathleen (2016). Creating a niche for critical pedagogical praxis. Positive psychology for positive pedagogical actions. (pp. 7-21) edited by Benjamin Zufiaurre and Maider Perez de Villarreal. Hauppauge, NY, United States: Nova Science Publishers.

Journal Articles

Heikkinen, Hannu L. T., Huttunen, Rauno, Mahon, Kathleen and Kemmis, Stephen (2024). Beyond an anthropocentric view of praxis: towards education for planetary well-being. Environmental Education Research, ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print), 1-14. doi: 10.1080/13504622.2024.2326460

Rouse, Rebecca, Kalckert, Andreas and Mahon, Kathleen (2023). Praxis perspectives on doctoral supervision from across disciplines. Journal of Praxis in Higher Education, 5 (2), 1-11. doi: 10.47989/kpdc528

Mahon, Kathleen (2023). Doctoral supervision as and for praxis. Journal of Praxis in Higher Education, 5 (2), 118-139. doi: 10.47989/kpdc318

Mahon, Kathleen, Dentler, Sigrid and Seipel, Sina (2022). Nurturing professional growth among new academics. Teaching in Higher Education, 27 (2), 155-170. doi: 10.1080/13562517.2019.1704725

Langelotz, Lill and Mahon, Kathleen (2021). Risk for professional learning when the academic community is forced online?. Studies in Continuing Education, 44 (2), 284-299. doi: 10.1080/0158037x.2021.1928054

Aarnikoivu, Melina, Mahon, Kathleen, Agnafors, Marcus, Hoffman, David and Angervall, Petra (2021). Another higher education journal: Really?. Journal of Praxis in Higher Education, 1 (1), 1-9. doi: 10.47989/kpdc89

Mahon, Kathleen, Angervall, Petra, Khalifeh Soltani, Sara, Hoffman, David, Aarnikoivu, Melina, Langelotz, Lill and Player Koro, Catarina (2020). Maybe-ing and must be-ing in higher education. Journal of Praxis in Higher Education, 2 (2), 1-10. doi: 10.47989/kpdc85

Hoffman, David, Aarnikoivu, Melina, Angervall, Petra, Player-Koro, Catarina and Mahon, Kathleen (2020). The historical potential of flux in this unique moment. Conceptually highlighting an opportunity for praxis-driven change. Journal of Praxis in Higher Education, 2 (1), 1-10. doi: 10.47989/kpdc78

Sjølie, Ela, Francisco, Susanne, Mahon, Kathleen, Kaukko, Mervi and Kemmis, Stephen (2020). Learning of academics in the time of the Coronavirus pandemic. Journal of Praxis in Higher Education, 2 (1), 85-107. doi: 10.47989/kpdc61

Langelotz, Lill, Mahon, Kathleen and Dahlberg, Giulia Messina (2020). Walking on the edge: educational praxis in higher education. Learning and Teaching, 13 (3), v-xv. doi: 10.3167/latiss.2020.130301

Mahon, Kathleen and Smith, Heidi (2019). Moving beyond methodising theory in preparing for the profession. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 20 (4), 357-368. doi: 10.1080/14729679.2019.1686039

Mahon, Kathleen, Heikkinen, Hannu L. T. and Huttunen, Rauno (2019). Critical educational praxis in university ecosystems: enablers and constraints. Pedagogy, Culture and Society, 27 (3), 463-480. doi: 10.1080/14681366.2018.1522663

Mahon, Kathleen (2017). Negotiating democratic relations in a doctoral project examining university conditions and pedagogical praxis. Educational Action Research, 25 (1), 71-87. doi: 10.1080/09650792.2016.1138870

Clayton, Kathleen, Smith, Heidi and Dyment, Janet (2014). Pedagogical approaches to exploring theory-practice relationships in an outdoor education teacher education programme. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 42 (2), 167-185. doi: 10.1080/1359866x.2014.894494

Kearney, Emma, McIntosh, Leonie, Perry, Bob, Dockett, Sue and Clayton, Kathleen (2014). Building positive relationships with Indigenous children, families and communities: learning at the cultural interface. Critical Studies in Education, 55 (3), 338-352. doi: 10.1080/17508487.2014.914963

Clayton, Kathleen, Karanxha, Zorka and Msibi, Thabo (2013). Book Reviews: Plantation Pedagogy: A Postcolonial and Global Perspective, Teaching, Learning and Intersecting Identities in Higher Education, Acting on HIV: Using Drama to Create Possibilities for Change. Power and Education, 5 (3), 330-336. doi: 10.2304/power.2013.5.3.330

Clayton, Kathleen Ann (2013). Looking beneath the surface: a critical reflection on ethical issues and reflexivity in a practitioner inquiry. Reflective Practice, 14 (4), 506-518. doi: 10.1080/14623943.2013.808180