Summer Research Program
2025 Summer Research Program
Engage in a formal research project over the summer semester with the UQ Summer Research Program.
The UQ Summer Research Program provides UQ students with an opportunity to gain experience working alongside a researcher in a formal research environment in their area of interest at UQ.
Student applications open 23 September 2024
Student applications close 13 October 2024
The 2025 program will officially start on Monday 13 January 2025 and concludes on 21 February 2025.
Discover more about the Summer Research Program
Available projects with Education 2025:
Arts-based interventions to support the wellbeing and engagement of high school students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Project title: | Arts-based interventions to support the wellbeing and engagement of high school students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds: A systematic review |
Project duration & delivery | 6 weeks (Summer program duration: 13 January to 21 February 2025) Applicants can work off-site after initial training. Team meetings can be conducted via Zoom. 30-36 hrs/week |
Description: | Scholars will assist with conducting a registered systematic review of the global literature using creative arts-based interventions with high school students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. We are particularly interested in any studies that have examined outcomes related to engagement and wellbeing. Scholars will work in a team and assist with literature searches, screening of articles and extraction of data from relevant identified studies. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Scholars will gain skills in conducting a systematic literature review as well as knowledge of the evidence for using art-based interventions with young people. Scholars will have the opportunity to contribute to one or more presentations for scholarly and community audiences. |
Suitable for: | This project is most suitable for UQ enrolled students with an interest in supporting the wellbeing of young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Experience with searching library databases, End Note and Covidence are an advantage, but not essential. Genuine curiosity is required. |
Primary Supervisor: | Dr Elizabeth (Liz) Edwards, Associate Professor, School of Education |
Further info: | Feel free to contact the Primary Supervisor for further details: |
Inclusive Strategies for Language and Literacy Development in Australian Schools: Supporting All Learners, Including EAL/D Students
Project title: | Inclusive Strategies for Language and Literacy Development in Australian Schools: Supporting All Learners, Including EAL/D Students |
Project duration & delivery | The project requires 2-4 hours per week of collaborative work on site or on zoom with me, and 15 to 20 hours of independent research per week (in the six week of 13 Jan – 21 Feb 2025). |
Description: | Project Overview: Research for UQ Library Pressbook on Teaching EAL/D in Mainstream Australian Schools Background: The increasing linguistic diversity in Australian schools presents unique challenges and opportunities for educators. As the number of students who speak additional languages and dialects (EAL/D) continues to grow, there is a pressing need for comprehensive resources that support effective teaching strategies in mainstream classrooms. This pressbook aims to fill this gap by providing an accessible, research-based textbook that integrates insights into bilingualism, multilingualism, second language learning, and the integrated learning of curriculum content and an additional language that is not the students’ native or first language. Aim: The primary aim of this project is to develop an online textbook that will serve as a core resource for EDUC2750 Multilingualism and Education, a mandatory course offered since 2020 as part of the Bachelor of Primary Teaching at the School of Education. The course focusses on teaching EAL/D students in mainstream Australian schools. The book will also be designed to be adaptable for use in similar courses at other universities, making it a valuable reference for educators and students alike. Approach: To achieve this aim, the project will involve a structured six-week research phase, during which a research assistant will be engaged to:
The outcome of this research phase will directly inform the writing and development of the pressbook, ensuring it is grounded in current educational theory and practice while being highly applicable to the needs of educators in Australia. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Learning Outcomes: This project offers undergraduate students a valuable opportunity to develop a range of academic and professional skills. By participating as a research assistant, the successful applicant can expect to:
Deliverables: As part of their role, the undergraduate research assistant will be expected to complete the following tasks:
This experience will help students develop important academic and research skills, while also giving them the chance to contribute to a project that will have a real impact on educational practices. It will be a valuable addition to their academic experience and portfolios. |
Suitable for: |
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Primary Supervisor:
| Dr. Simone Smala |
Further info: | Feel free to contact the Primary Supervisor for further details: |
Children's writing and wellbeing in a digital world
Project title: | Children's writing and wellbeing in a digital world |
Project duration & delivery | The selected student researcher will work for 30-35 hours per week during the period between 13 Jan – 21 Feb 2025. The project will be offered mainly on-site, although some of the activities (e.g., meetings) can take place virtually. |
Description: | This research project will explore primary school children’s (Years 4-6, aged 9 to 12) writing life in a digital environment in Australia. The project will pursue the following research questions: RQ1: What are the different kinds of writing that primary school children do in their day-to-day life? RQ2: How do children’s writing lives look like in a digital environment? RQ3: What kind of attitudes do children have towards writing in a digital landscape? RQ4: Are there relationships between writing and wellbeing with reference to children? Writing is an essential skill for citizens in literate societies for their social and economic survival and wellbeing. It is also considered one of the 21st century skills for children as well as adults. However, children’s writing development has been a concern across education systems. For example, in the Australian context, NAPLAN writing shows students’ lower level of performance and limited progress and development over the years. Research has reported some children’s aversion to writing. Writing instruction at school is less than optimal due to various constraints including limited instruction time and support for writing. We argue that children’s aversion to writing and poorer writing performance may be associated with their growing attraction to the screen and their limited engagement with writing outside school in a digital environment. The development of writing requires a lot of practice and support at school and home. Children are exposed to reading relatively easily as this can be done any time anywhere. However, writing needs more thinking, preparation, and investment. Although children’s digital interests may require some kind of writing (e.g., online chatting with friends), we don’t know much about this writing, how it relates to school writing and how it may contribute to their writing development. More critically, there are concerns that writing may be neglected by children as it may not be aligned with their interests in screen and other forms of digital consumption. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | The summer scholar will develop various skills and insights from their participation. First, they will develop an understanding of children’s writing and writing life in a digital environment. Second, they will learn how to plan, manage and analyse data. Third, they will learn how to conduct literature review and synthesise findings from this review. Finally, they will understand how ethics relates to research and what ethical rules and principles govern research projects. They will work with the research team to generate publications based on the data that they will be collecting as part of the project. |
Suitable for: | The project is open to students from the Master of Educational Studies program in the School of Education at UQ. They would have completed the first semester of their study. Students who have studied TESOL/literacy courses would be given priority as the project is related to these areas. |
Primary Supervisor: | Associate Professor Obaid Hamid |
Further info: | Potential applicants are welcome to contact the supervisor for any question. The email address is: m.hamid@uq.edu.au |
How first-in-family males transition to and experience Australian university
Project title: | How first-in-family males transition to and experience Australian university |
Hours of engagement & delivery mode | 6 weeks – 30-36 hrs/wk |
Description: | Males from low socio-economic backgrounds remain severely underrepresented in higher education, and significant gaps exist in our knowledge of how these students experience university life. This project aims to provides the first detailed account of how gender, ethnicity and social class impact on Australian males from low socio-economic backgrounds as they transition to university. Scholars will investigate the experience of young men who are first-in-family by qualitatively analysing longitudinal data from 42 participants located in the northern suburbs of Adelaide and the western suburbs of Sydney. Scholars will also contribute to developing emergent sub-themes. |
Expected learning outcomes and deliverables: | Scholars will gain skills related to thematic analysis and NVivo coding. Scholars will contribute to one or more presentations and/or publications for scholarly and/or practitioner audiences. |
Suitable for: | This project is most suitable for UQ enrolled students with an interest in gender/masculinities, social inequalities/social justice and education. Genuine curiosity required. |
Primary Supervisor: | Dr Garth Stahl, Associate Professor, School of Education |
Further info: | Feel free to contact the Primary Supervisor for further details: |