Jessica Amy Sears

Jessica Amy Sears is a Lecturer in Teacher Education and Associate Head (Staffing and Development) at the School of Education, Charles Sturt University. She serves as the discipline lead of Health and Physical Education, bringing extensive experience from her previous career as a school teacher in public, systemic, and private schools across K-12 settings.

Dr. Sears holds a B.Ed (Human Movement & Health Education) (Hons), M.Ed (Leadership & Management), and completed her PhD in 2021. Her doctoral research examined how PDHPE and School Sport are being delivered and valued in NSW schools.

Dr. Sears has a long-standing passion for Physical Education, Health Education, and School Sport. Her research focuses on curriculum implementation in health and physical education, staffing and outsourcing issues in schools, school-university partnerships, and the impact of work-integrated learning on teacher education students. She is currently expanding her PhD research to investigate the enacted HPE curriculum across Australia and is actively involved in multiple school-university partnerships where she investigates the effects of WIL on initial teacher education student's efficacy.

Analysis of Dr. Sears' recent publications reveals a strong focus on systemic challenges in health and physical education delivery in Australian schools, with particular attention to staffing shortages, outsourcing practices, and their impact on educational quality. Her work bridges academic research and practical application through school-university partnerships, demonstrating commitment to improving teacher preparation and student outcomes in physical and health education. She has gained public recognition through The Conversation articles addressing critical issues like why some Australian students must pay for PE at public schools.

• Participated in the NSW deep dive Workshop to improve physical activity levels across NSW
• Her teaching was filmed in 2016 as part of the Uni2Beyond segment on Lateline

Dr. Sears has extensive experience mentoring teacher education students through professional experience placements and school-university partnerships. She has been investigating the effects of work-integrated learning on initial teacher education students' efficacy and has developed innovative approaches to teacher preparation through micro-teaching and instructional coaching models. Her research directly informs her teaching practice in PE Pedagogies, Health Pedagogies, Classroom and Behaviour Management, and Sports Coaching across multiple teacher education programs.

Dr. Sears maintains strong connections with school settings through multiple school-university partnerships where she collaborates with schools to enhance teacher education programs and address challenges in health and physical education delivery. These partnerships allow her to stay current with classroom practices while contributing research-based solutions to real-world educational challenges.