Ms Natalie McMaster
Researcher biography
Natalie McMaster is an Associate Lecturer in Education coordinating and teaching HPE and Technologies courses in the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education, Bachelor of Primary Education and Masters of Education programs at the University of the Sunshine Coast. She is also a current PhD student with the University of Queensland’s School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences. Her thesis questions the nature of health work being undertaken by teachers in Northern Territory Government (NTG) schools. This research provides much needed data on NTG teachers’ descriptions of the health work they perform, and the perception of this work from school and community members, in school sites, whose contexts differ greatly from mainstream schools in the rest of Australia. Natalie engages in a culturally sensitive manner with Indigenous participants in the research and seeks to foreground Indigenous ‘voices’. She has been advised by two Indigenous advisors (male and female) on data collection and communication methods (yarning sessions), interpretation of research data, and cultural background on content. Natalie’s research critically reflects on her perspective, position, power and privilege in relation to the data and how it was analysed and reported.
Research interests
Health education, physical education, physical activity, HPE curriculum implementation, health literacy, technology and ICT integration in teaching programs
Project title
Educating for healthy citizens: The health work of teachers in the Northern Territory