معرفی
Stella Laletas is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Educational Psychology & Counselling, Faculty of Education, Monash University, Australia, where she has taught and researched since 2017. A practising Educational and Developmental Psychologist, she leads qualitative and mixed-methods projects on the mental-health and educational experiences of vulnerable children, adolescents and older adults, and serves on university ethics and academic-progress committees as well as on three not-for-profit boards in the aged-care and family-law sectors.
Education & Honours:
- PhD in Educational & Developmental Psychology, Monash University (Mollie Holman Medal 2017 – best faculty doctoral thesis)
- Nominee, Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) Ray Debus Award for Doctoral Research in Education (2018)
Research Interests:
Dr Laletas’ programme of research integrates phenomenology, qualitative inquiry and mixed-methods designs to investigate:
• Lifespan developmental psychology and inclusive teacher education;
• Lived experiences of children and adolescents facing parental mental illness, high-conflict divorce, or trauma;
• Cultural variations in counselling practice and ethics in school settings;
• Intersections between cognitive neuroscience, educational psychology and phenomenology;
• Wellbeing and social-emotional learning across mainstream and specialist educational contexts.
Recent Publication Trends (2022-2025):
Her 15 most recent articles reveal a concentrated focus on three inter-related strands: (i) therapy-animal and arts-based interventions that foster social-emotional learning for children with disabilities or dysgraphia; (ii) psychosocial experiences of professionals and families within complex healthcare and family-law systems; and (iii) teacher and adolescent mental health in high-socio-economic and post-pandemic contexts. Studies increasingly apply complex-adaptive or phenomenological lenses to generate nuanced, practice-relevant insights for schools, health services and judicial settings.
Scientific Awards & Recognition:
- Dean’s Early Career Researcher Award – Faculty of Education, Monash (2021)
- Dean’s Award for Innovation in Learning & Teaching – shared team award (2020)
- Faculty Award (2013) and Faculty Grant Award (2014)
- Mollie Holman Medal – best PhD thesis in Faculty (2017)
- AARE Ray Debus Award Nomination (2018)
Grants & Doctoral Supervision:
Dr Laletas is currently accepting PhD students and has led or co-investigated eight competitively funded projects (2019-2023) totalling over AUD 1 million, addressing respectful-relationships education, COVID-19 educational impacts, inclusion of athletes with autism, and development of an evidence-based ‘Kids App’ to support children navigating the family-law system. She particularly welcomes doctoral projects exploring vulnerable children’s wellbeing, childhood trauma, high-conflict divorce, disability, and inclusive teacher education.
Laboratories, Teams & Committees:
She chairs the Steering Committee of the Prato International Research Collaborative for Change in Parent & Child Mental Health, is a member of the Monash University Human Ethics Committee and Academic Progress Committee, and holds voluntary board directorships with Fronditha Care (aged care), To Be Loved Network, and Pacifica Congress, thereby linking research, governance and community impact.
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