Shelley Worthington

Shelley Worthington is a Lecturer in the Department of Education within the Faculty of Arts and Society at Charles Darwin University. She holds a PhD from the Faculty of Arts and Society and is affiliated with the Higher Degree by Research (HDR) Cohort. Her work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in advancing quality education and reducing inequalities. As a research fellow in the Northern Institute, she specializes in project management for the Realist Evaluation team, focusing on enhancing research capability within the RREALI group.

Research Interests: Shelley's expertise spans project management methodologies, realist evaluation frameworks, and Indigenous education. Her work emphasizes culturally responsive teaching practices, eLearning innovation, and participatory research methods. She actively engages in initiatives addressing educational equity, teacher professional development, and cross-cultural pedagogy.

Projects:

• 2020–2021: Managed Indigenous Cultural Competency Research, focusing on literature reviews and documentation.
• 2019–2021: Led Rainmaker Readiness, developing tools for Indigenous-specific teacher standards.
• 2019–2021: Co-investigated Creative Careers in Central Australia, exploring occupational pathways in specific industries.
• 2020–2021: Contributed to IAS Rainmaker Start Up for international development sustainability analysis.
• 2020–2021: Project-managed USAID IDEAL - InCLuDe Application with The Hunger Project.

Grants & Advising: Shelley has secured over AUD 500,000 in research funding through collaborative projects. She advises on curriculum development and evaluation frameworks but has no listed formal advisees. Her work integrates participatory action research with policy implementation.

Labs/Teams: Shelley is part of the Northern Institute’s Realist Evaluation team (RREALI) and collaborates with the International Action Sustainability (IAS) group. She contributes to interdisciplinary projects addressing educational equity and sustainable development.