معرفی
Manjula Waniganayake is an Honorary Professor at the Macquarie School of Education, Macquarie University. She holds adjunct and visiting professorships at the University of Tampere (Finland) and the University of Oulu (Finland). Her work focuses on educational leadership, early childhood policy, child/family diversity, and professional mentoring. She has authored over 197 publications and led 10 research projects, including initiatives on quality improvement in early childhood education and health communication during the pandemic.
Key contributions include theorizing distributed leadership in early childhood settings, cross-cultural collaborations with researchers from Estonia, Finland, Norway, and South Africa, and editorial leadership at Bloomsbury’s Education and Childhood Studies platform. She has received prestigious awards such as the Doctor Honoris Causa in Education (2014) and the Commonwealth Postgraduate Research Scholarship (1985).
Her recent research emphasizes mentorship programs for early childhood teachers, cultural inclusion in foster care, and policy analysis for culturally diverse communities. Collaborative projects include the NSW Early Childhood Teacher Mentoring Program (2020–2021) and the MRFF-funded health communication initiative (2021).
- Leadership: Over 30 years in early childhood sectors, including policy advocacy roles with UNICEF Australia and Early Childhood Australia.
- Grants: Secured funding for mentoring programs, quality improvement studies, and cross-sector health initiatives.
Labs/Teams: Collaborates with Scandinavian researchers and global networks, contributing to international early childhood policy frameworks. Her work bridges theory and practice, emphasizing systemic leadership and equity.
