Prof Susan Danby

Professor, Faculty of Education

PhD (University of Queensland), MEd (Loyola University), BEdSt (University of Queensland), DipT (Brisbane College of Adv. Ed.)

Fields of Expertise

• Education Systems
• Linguistics
• Sociology
• Health Communication
• Pragmatics

Qualifications

• PhD (Interaction and Social Order  in Preschool), 1998, The University of Queensland, Australia
• Master of Education (Early Childhood), 1989, Loyola University, USA
• Bachelor of Educational Studies, 1983, The University of Queensland, Australia

Current Positions

2012 – 2017
Australian Research Council Future Fellow

School of Early Childhood, Faculty of Education, Queensland University of Technology

2016 – 2018
Australian Research Council College of Experts

School of Early Childhood, Faculty of Education, Queensland University of Technology

2016 – present
Professor/Co-Program Leader

Childhoods in Changing Contexts, Queensland University of Technology

Selected Project Experience

2012 – 2016
Investigating mobile technologies in young children’s everyday worlds, Chief Investigator, Australian Research Council, FT120100731, $889,426

2014 – 2015
Helping young children find their voice: Apps, e-therapy, and technical innovation to treat language disorders in children, Chief Investigator, QUT Engagement Innovation Grant, $30,000

2011 – 2013
Interacting with knowledge, interacting with people: Web searching in early childhood, Chief Investigator, Australian Research Council, DP110104227, $464,971

2007 – 2009
The impact of technological modality on troubles telling and advice giving on a national children’s helpline, Chief Investigator, Australian Research Council, DP0773185, $175,000

Awards and Fellowships

2016
 
Keynote speaker,  Varieties and Methodological Challenges in Educational Ehnography International Workshop, University of Zurich, Switzerland.

2009
 
QUT Nominee for Postgraduate Program, Australian Learning and Teaching Awards

1999

1998
 
Early Childhood Australia Doctoral Thesis Award

Australian Association for Research in  Education Doctoral Thesis Award

Professional Affiliations (memberships)

Australian Association for Research in Education

American Educational Research Association

Early Childhood Australia

International Institute of Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis

International Society for Conversation Analysis

Australian Institute for Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis

International Pragmatics Association

Recent Publications

Please refer to QUT for full publication list- http://eprints.qut.edu.au/view/person/Danby,_Susan.html  

Ekberg, S., Danby, S., Davidson, C., & Thorpe, K. J. (accepted, 23 September 2015). Identifying and addressing equivocal trouble in understanding within classroom interaction. Discourse Studies.

Davidson, C., Danby, S., Given, L. M., & Thorpe, K. (accepted September 2015). Facilitating young children’s use of the Web in preschool. International Journal of Early Childhood.

Danby, S., Davidson, C., Theobald, M., Houen, S., & Thorpe, K. (in press, 2015). Playing with technology: Young children making sense of technology as part of their everyday social worlds. In D. Pike, S. Lynch, & C. A’Beckett (Eds.), State of Play: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Play: Springer.

Danby, S., Davidson, C., Given, L. M., & Thorpe, K. (in press, 2015). Composing an email:  Social interaction in a preschool classroom. In S. Garvis & N. Lemon (Eds.), Technology and young children. Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK: Taylor & Francis/Routledge.

Davidson, C., Danby, S., Given, L. M., & Thorpe, K. (2014). Talk about a YouTube video in preschool: The mutual production of shared understanding for learning with digital technology. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 39(3), 76-83.

Thorpe, K., Hansen, J., Danby, S., Davidson, C., Zaki, F. M., Grant, S., . . . Given, L. M. (2015). Teachers, Teaching and Digital Technologies: Reports from the Early Childhood Classroom. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 32, 174-`182. doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2015.04.001

Danby, S., Davidson, C., Theobald, M., Scriven, B., Cobb-Moore, C., Houen, S., . . . Thorpe, K. (2013). Talk in activity during young children’s use of digital technologies at home. Australian Journal of Communication, 40(2), 83-99.

Spink, A., Danby, S., Mallan, K., & Butler, C. W. (2010). Exploring young children’s web searching and technoliteracy. Journal of Documentation, 66(2), 191-206.

Biography

Professor Susan Danby’s areas of expertise are in early years language and social interaction, childhood studies, and early literacy. Her methodological expertise is in qualitative approaches, including ethnomethodology and conversation analysis. She has published in the following areas: qualitative research, classroom discourse, helpline talk, gender, classroom interaction, early childhood education pedagogy, talk and interaction, children’s work and play, teacher-student interactions.

Susan Danby has a number of research projects, including an  Australian Research Council Future Fellowship investigating young children’s experiences of mobile technologies in home and school contexts, and Australian Research Council (ARC) Discoveries (20011-2013: young children’s interactions with digital technologies and knowledge building; 2007-2009: helpline interactions on a national children’s helpline; 2006-2008: social worlds of twins and friendships) and one investigating young children’s participation in everyday decision-making (2004-2006). These cross-disciplinary ARC Discoveries reside in Education, Linguistics and Psychology, and the national priority areas of Early Years and E-health. Her research explicates the everyday social and interactional practices of children, showing their complex and competent work as they build their social worlds within school settings, homes and communities.

Susan Danby’s doctoral thesis won the 1999 Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) Doctoral Thesis Award ,and the 1999 Australian Early Childhood Association (AECA) and Telstra’s Doctoral Thesis Award.

Susan Danby’s teaching leadership is recognised in higher education pedagogy and doctoral course design. In 2007, the Faculty of Education has invited her to lead a faculty-wide review of the postgraduate courses in the Faculty of Education and she led the development of the revised Master of Education. She coordinates, leads and teaches in University-wide postgraduate research student development programs and actively mentors early career academic staff. She has a strong record of postgraduate student completions, with over 10 doctoral completions. She has been a member of university governing committees (QUT Council, QUT Academic Board, QUT Research Degrees Committee) responsible for policy and implementation in research and university governance.

Professor Danby is a current member of the Australian Research Council College of Experts.

Additional information