Profiles
Merete Schmidt
Merete Schmidt
Lecturer, Sociology
Room B143 , Building B
+61 3 6430 4929 (phone)
Merete Schmidt is a lecturer in Sociology at the Cradle Coast Campus. She is especially interested in community partnered research for and with communities and creating local solutions through place-based research and learning.
Biography
In 2004 Merete completed an undergraduate degree in Scandinavian Languages and Literature, specializing in sociolinguistics, at the University of Aarhus (Denmark). After completing undergraduate studies and Honours in Sociology, in 2016 she completed her PhD in Sociology at the University of Tasmania (Australia).
Career summary
Qualifications
Degree | Thesis title | University | Country | Date of award |
BA Scandinavian Languages and Literature | Aarhus University | Denmark | 2004 | |
BA (Hons) | UTAS | Australia | 2007 | |
PhD | Young people’s post-compulsory educational choices in a small rural Tasmanian town | UTAS | Australia | 2016 |
Languages (other than English)
- Danish
Memberships
Committee associations
- 2020-current: Regional research network
- 2019-current: Cradle Coast Leadership Group
- 2017-Current: Sustainable Regions Applied Research Network
- 2016-Current: The Cradle Coast Academic Community of Practice
- 2006-Current: The Australian Sociological Association (TASA)
- 2006-Current: TASA’s thematic group on Education, Social Inequality, Youth and Rural Studies
Administrative expertise
- Unit Coordinator, Cradle Coast
Teaching
First year Sociology, Sociology of Education, Youth, Gender, Rural Areas
Teaching responsibility
HGA101 Sociology: Understanding the Social World
HGA102 Sociology: Experiencing Social Life
View more on Dr Merete Schmidt in WARP
Expertise
- Sociology of education
- Rural areas
- Gender
- Young people
Research Themes
Merete’s research aligns with the University’s research theme of Creativity, Culture and Society. Her research expertise includes the Sociology of Education, educational inequality, education in a regional context, young people, rural areas and gender.
Merete is currently involved in a number of projects examining educational aspirations in a rural context. For example, together with colleagues from three other regional universities in Australia she is conducting the study Studying Regionally: Experiences of University Students on Regional Campuses. This study aims to strengthen the understanding of the experiences and needs of regional students and develop policy and practice recommendations to improve sustainability for the provision of regional university education.
Merete is especially interested in community partnered research for and with communities and creating local solutions through place-based research and learning.
Fields of Research
- Sociology of education (390203)
- Social change (441004)
- Health and community services (420305)
- Rural sociology (441003)
- Higher education (390303)
- Humanities and social sciences curriculum and pedagogy (excl. economics, business and management) (390107)
- Curriculum and pedagogy theory and development (390102)
- Education policy (390201)
- Sociology (441099)
- Rural community development (440406)
- Australian government and politics (440801)
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health promotion (450408)
Research Objectives
- Equity and access to education (160201)
- Management, resources and leadership (160204)
- Higher education (160102)
- Expanding knowledge in human society (280123)
- Community health care (200302)
- Political systems (230203)
- Learner and learning (160199)
- Policies and development (160205)
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community service programs (210101)
Publications
Total publications
14
Journal Article
(2 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Schmidt M, Ooi CS, Shelley B, ''School is not for me': young people's perceptions of being a self-directed learner in a small rural Tasmanian town', Journal of Applied Learning & Teaching, 5, (2) pp. 1-11. ISSN 2591-801X (2022) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.37074/jalt.2022.5.2.4 [eCite] [Details] Co-authors: Ooi CS; Shelley B | |
| 2017 | Schmidt M, ' No one cares in the city': how young people's gendered perceptions of the country and the city shape their educational decision Making', Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, 27, (3) pp. 25-38. ISSN 1839-7387 (2017) [Refereed Article] |
Chapter in Book
(1 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Krabbe R, Schmidt MS, Smith Caroline, 'Sustainable wellbeing and learning communities for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals', Education and the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Praxis within and beyond the classroom, Springer Academic Publishers, K. Beasy, C. Smith, & J. Watson (ed), pp. 21. (In Press) [Research Book Chapter] Co-authors: Krabbe R; Smith Caroline |
Conference Publication
(8 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Eversole R, Aberdeen L, Carlon C, Schmidt MS, 'Cinderella on the path at midnight: regional campus students and equity', Proceedings of the 2022 Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia Conference, 27-30 June 2022, Melbourne, pp. 1-18. (2022) [Conference Extract] Co-authors: Eversole R | |
| 2022 | Schmidt M, Aberdeen L, Carlon C, Eversole R, 'Intellectual labour on regional campuses', Celebrating the impact of regional research and education, 11 November 2022, Burnie, Tasmania, pp. 14. (2022) [Conference Extract] Co-authors: Eversole R | |
| 2022 | Schmidt M, Finnen M, Angel C, Duniam M, Krabbe R, et al., 'Better together : people, place and purpose', Celebrating the impact of regional research and education, 11 November 2022, Burnie, Tasmania (2022) [Conference Extract] Co-authors: Finnen M; Angel C; Duniam M; Krabbe R; Smith Caroline | |
| 2022 | Schmidt M, Ooi CS, Shelley B, ''School is not for me': young people's perceptions of being a self-directed learner in a small rural Tasmanian town', Celebrating the impact of regional research and education, 11 November 2022, Burnie, Tasmania, pp. 13. (2022) [Conference Extract] Co-authors: Ooi CS; Shelley B | |
| 2021 | Goldberg L, Schmidt M, Schramm T, LoGiudice D, Baldock AD, et al., 'Re-imagining approaches to reduce dementia risk: an important change in preventive care', Public Health Association Australia Conference 2021, 23 - 24 September 2021, virtual (2021) [Conference Extract] Co-authors: Goldberg L; Schramm T | |
| 2021 | Schmidt M, Aberdeen L, Eversole R, Carlon C, ''Filling the gaps': Regional academics and invisible innovation', TASA Thematic Week Book of Abstracts, 22-26 November 2021, Virtual Conference, Online (2021) [Conference Extract] Co-authors: Eversole R | |
| 2019 | Smith C, Schmidt M, 'The role of interdisciplinarity in 21st century transformative pedagogies: Experiences of the Cradle Coast Academic Community of Practice', Teaching Matters, 26 November 2019, Launceston, Tasmania (2019) [Conference Extract] Co-authors: Smith C | |
| 2016 | Finnen M, Schmidt M, Brett P, 'Peripherality, place and possibilities', Teaching Matters, 7 December 2016, Launceston, Tasmania (2016) [Conference Extract] Co-authors: Finnen M; Brett P |
Thesis
(1 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Schmidt MS, 'Young people's post-compulsory educational choices in a small rural Tasmanian town' (2015) [Professional Doctorate] |
Other Public Output
(2 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Schmidt M, 'Reimagining our region: the transformative power of education', The Advocate, Tasmania, Australia, 3 September 2020, pp. 1-1. (2020) [Newspaper Article] | |
| 2014 | Schmidt MS, 'Question taken on notice: Extent of Income Inequality in Australia', Community Affairs References Committee, Australia Govenment, Online (2014) [Report Other] |
Grants & Funding
Funding Summary
Number of grants
4
Total funding
Projects
- Description
- The research proposes a comparative, qualitative study of Regional Campus students across three Regional Campuses in three Australian states (Western Australia, Victoria and Tasmania). The research takes a strengths-based approach to understand what is required to support and encourage regional students studying on regional campuses. It will identify the role the regional campus plays in supporting equitable access to lifelong learning. The outcomes of this project will provide vital information to inform policy and practice in supporting regional, rural and remote students.People from Australia's non-metropolitan regions are much less likely than their capital-city counterparts to attend university and only half as likely to hold a university degree.
- Funding
- Spencer Foundation ($64,660)
- Scheme
- Grant-Small Research Grant on Education
- Administered By
- Swinburne University of Technology
- Research Team
- Eversole R; Carlon C; Aberdeen L; Gow D; Schmidt MS
- Year
- 2021
- Description
- This grant supported members of the Cradle Coast Academic Community of Practice to develop excellent and distinctive teaching and learning and research programs.
- Funding
- University of Tasmania ($10,000)
- Scheme
- null
- Administered By
- University of Tasmania
- Research Team
- Schmidt MS; Richey SM; Evans JD; Hawkins C; Prior SJ; Angel CJ; Smith CJ; Finnen MJ
- Year
- 2018
- Description
- This grant supported members of the Cradle Coast Academic Community of Practice to develop excellent and distinctive teaching and learning and research programs.
- Funding
- University of Tasmania ($15,000)
- Scheme
- null
- Administered By
- University of Tasmania
- Research Team
- Schmidt MS; Richey SM; Evans JD; Hawkins C; Prior SJ; Angel CJ; Smith CJ; Finnen MJ
- Year
- 2017
- Description
- This grant supported members of the Cradle Coast Academic Community of Practice to develop excellent and distinctive teaching and learning and research programs.
- Funding
- University of Tasmania ($8,000)
- Scheme
- null
- Administered By
- University of Tasmania
- Research Team
- Schmidt MS; Richey SM; Evans JD; Hawkins C; Prior SJ; Angel CJ; Smith CJ; Finnen MJ
- Year
- 2016
Research Supervision
Current
3
Current
| Degree | Title | Commenced |
|---|---|---|
| PhD | Pentecostal Churches in Tasmania | 2020 |
| PhD | Innovative Collaborations in Regional Areas A study of how the social dynamics of regions can impact innovation processes | 2022 |
| PhD | Exploring the Intersection of Dementia, Aged Care, and Cultural Safety: Perspectives of Aboriginal People and Non-Aboriginal Healthcare Providers in Tasmania | 2023 |