Sandra Hesterman

Sandra Hesterman is Associate Professor at Murdoch University with 17 years of institutional service, including leadership roles as Academic Chair and Director of Early Childhood Education. A Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), her career spans classroom teaching across early childhood and primary sectors in metropolitan, rural, and international contexts.

Her scholarship centers on:

• Promoting universal access to quality play experiences
• Advocating for children's rights and wellbeing
• Elevating children's voices in educational decisions
• Fostering school-university partnerships

Hesterman leads community initiatives to safeguard play-based learning, having contributed to policy documents including Early Childhood Australia's Statement on Play (2023) and the WA Play Charter. Her recent research examines pedagogical adaptations during the COVID-19 pandemic, globalization impacts on early childhood education, and integration of Indigenous knowledge in botanical literacies.

She maintains active advocacy through the 'Play is Learning' campaign and WA Play Strategy initiative, addressing systemic barriers to play-based pedagogies in Western Australian schools.