
PhD (Queensland University of Technology)
Judith comes from an extensive career and experience within government schooling in Queensland. She has worked as a teacher, school counsellor and student behaviour specialist and has held both regional and state leadership positions with the Queensland Education Department. Judith’s work has always had a keen focus on addressing the concerns faced by young learners living with the outcomes of complex trauma and the people working hard to educate them. She promotes a neuroscience-informed approach – to which she believes every educator needs access. Judith oversees pre-service and post-graduate teacher education in Trauma-Aware Education at QUT (including the popular, Graduate Certificate in Trauma-Aware Education and M.Ed. Trauma-Aware Education) and has developed online courses that are reaching thousands nationally and internationally. She supervises a growing number of PhD students who are adding to the research evidence base for Trauma-Aware Education and is the founder and principal organiser for the biennial Trauma-Aware Education Conference. She is the author of the popular book: “Distressed or Deliberately Defiant: Managing Challenging Student Behaviour due to Trauma and Disorganised Attachment (2013) and her more recent publication, “Trauma-Aware Education” Essential Information and Guidance for Educators, Education Sites and Education Systems” (2022). Judith continues to be busy researching, writing, speaking and training, and developing resources to advance Trauma-Aware Education across Australia.
Additional information
Judith regularly engages with key state, national, and international colleagues and stakeholders to promote and develop trauma-aware schooling across Australia. She regularly speaks on the topic in keynote addresses and delivers training and seminars examining trauma-aware school practice and the impact of complex childhood trauma on child development and school behaviour and engagement. She has led the development of the "National Guidelines for Trauma-Aware Education".
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 2022
- Details
- Australian Award for University Teaching: Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning
- Type
- Fellowship of a Learned Academy or Membership of AIATSIS
- Reference year
- 2020
- Details
- Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 2019
- Details
- QUT Vice Chancellor's Award for Teaching and Research Excellence (Individual)
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 2004
- Details
- Master of Education High Academic Achievement Award (GPA: 7)
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 1996
- Details
- Australian College of Education Award
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 1996
- Details
- Queensland University of Technology Medal for Academic Excellence (GPA: 6.9)
- Howard, J., (2022). Trauma-aware education: Essential information and guidance for educators, education sites and education systems. Australian Academic Press. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/238193
- Brown, M., Howard, J. & Walsh, K. (2022). Building Trauma Informed Teachers: A constructivist grounded theory study of remote primary school teachers' experiences with children living with the effects of complex childhood trauma. Frontiers in Education, 7. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/232454
- Howard, J., L'Estrange, L. & Brown, M. (2022). National Guidelines for Trauma-Aware Education in Australia. Frontiers in Education, 7. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/232311
- Howard, J., L'Estrange, L. & Brown, M. (2022). The School Counsellor's Role in Trauma Aware Education. Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools, 32(2), 243–253. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/227631
- L'Estrange, L. & Howard, J. (2022). Trauma-informed initial teacher education training: A necessary step in a system-wide response to addressing childhood trauma. Frontiers in Education, 7. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/234338
- Howard, J., (2021). National Guidelines for Trauma-Aware Education. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/207800
- Howard, J. & L'Estrange, L. (2021). The Guidance Counsellor's role regarding Trauma-Aware Schooling in Brisbane Catholic Education schools: Report for Brisbane Catholic Education. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/207801
- Howard, J., (2020). Trauma-aware early childhood education and care. Early Childhood Australia. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/200422
- Howard, J., (2019). A systemic framework for trauma-informed schooling: Complex but necessary! Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma, 28(5), 545–565. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/120275
- Howard, J., (2017). A Tier 3 approach to complex childhood trauma. Developing positive classroom environments: Strategies for nurturing adolescent learning, 261–277. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/114538
- The Role of The School Counsellor in Supporting Trauma-Impacted Students in Java, Indonesia
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Meegan Brown
- Building Trauma Informed Teachers: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Study of Remote Primary School Teachers' Experiences With Children Living With the Effects of Complex Childhood Trauma (2021)
- Examining the Primary School Experiences of Intercountry Adoptees: Perspectives of Adoptive Parents and Children (2017)