معرفی
Dr. Leigh Sperka is a Lecturer at the School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, The University of Queensland. She graduated with First Class Honours in Bachelor of Health, Sport and Physical Education (2013) and earned her PhD (2018) from UQ. Her research interrogates outsourcing in education, particularly its effects on curriculum, pedagogy, and student agency in Health and Physical Education (HPE).
Her work emphasizes student-centered learning and inclusive pedagogy, advocating for marginalized voices in educational practices. She collaborates on projects like Students-as-partners and explores community health models through affiliations with the Centre for Community Health and Wellbeing and Centre for Sport and Society.
Recent publications analyze cost-efficiencies in outsourced HPE, feedback activation in physical education, and disability inclusion in sports pedagogy. Her studies span journal quality indicators, curriculum commercialisation, and critical discourse analysis of external providers in education.
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- U21 Health Sciences Teaching Excellence Award (2021)
- UQ Commendation for Student Learning (2020)
- Faculty of Health Teaching Excellence Award (2020)
As an advisor, she supports PhD research on topics such as community dance wellbeing, student voice in community schools, and feedback culture in HPE. Her scholarship bridges education policy, social justice, and pedagogical innovation.
