Elizabeth A. Cassity

Short Biography & Significant Contribution

Elizabeth Cassity is a Senior Research Associate and Lecturer in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney. She received her PhD in 2001 from Teachers College, Columbia University in Comparative and International Education. Dr Cassity's area of doctoral research was the Australian official education sector aid program to the University of the South Pacific. Donor aid to education in the Asia and Pacific region continues to be a focus of her work. Her research interests combine international educational development, bilateral aid, comparative education, youth and education policy processes. Cassity has published in leading journals, edited books, conference proceedings, and has had a major role in the writing of two Australian government reports. She has worked closely with colleagues at the University of Sydney in developing the M.Ed. degree in International Education. She has also taught in the fields of international educational development and comparative education to both undergraduate and postgraduate students. She is currently conducting a major Australian Research Council Linkage Project (with Professor Phillip Jones), which examines Australian official aid to education in the Asia and Pacific region.

Prior to joining the University of Sydney, Cassity built on her considerable research experience with two significant projects at the Centre for Cultural Research, University of Western Sydney. The Young Africans in Schools Project (2004-2005) was a partnership with the New South Wales Department of Education and Training, Multicultural Programs Unit, and examined the high school experiences of recently arrived young African refugees in Sydney, Australia. ThePartnerships in Humanities Research Project (2003-2004) was a prestigious Australian Research Council Special Project that considered change in humanities research in Australia. She has worked as a research analyst at the Academy for Educational Development in New York, USA, and was an adult literacy teacher in northern Namibia.

Cassity's contribution to the field to date is her work on international development aid and educational policy. She has developed expertise in the Asia and Pacific region and bilateral aid to education. Her research on refugee youth in Australia has been widely recognized in the government and education communities. She uses the disciplines of history, comparative education and international relations to frame her analyses.

Educational Background

BA, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, USA (1989)

MA, Teachers College, Columbia University, USA (1997)

PhD, Teachers College, Columbia University, USA (2001). Principal fields: Comparative Education and History; Donor aid to education in the Pacific region

Professional Background

Project Director/English Literacy Teacher, Oshikuku, Namibia, (1993-1994)

Visiting Researcher, Institute of Education, University of the South Pacific, Fiji (2000)

Visiting Scholar, School of Social, Policy and Curriculum Studies, Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney (1999-2000)

Research Analyst, Academy for Educational Development, New York, USA (2000-2001)

Research Associate, Centre for Cultural Research, University of Western Sydney (2003-2005)

Lecturer, Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney (2005-2006)

Senior Research Associate, Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney (2007 to present)

Affiliations (associations, organizations, institutions)

Member of Australia New Zealand Comparative and International Education Society (ANZCIES)

Member of Comparative and International Education Society (CIES)

Member of Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE)

External Reviewer for: Youth Studies Australia (National Clearinghouse for Youth Studies, Tasmania); ANZCIES; AARE

Founding Member and Editor of Current Issues in Comparative Education (CICE), Teachers College, Columbia University (1998-1999)

Selected Publications

Cassity, E. A. & Ang, I. (2004). The attraction of strangers: Partnerships in humanities research. Canberra: Australian Academy of the Humanities.

Cassity, E.A. (2005). Going for Global: Youth transition in the South Pacific. In N.F. Bagnall (Ed.), Youth transition in a globalised marketplace. New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Cassity, E.A. & Gow, G. (2005). Making up for lost time: The experiences of Southern Sudanese young refugees in high schools. Youth Studies Australia, 24(3), 51-55.

Cassity, E.A. & Gow, G. (2006). Making up for lost time. Young African refugees in Western Sydney high schools. Sydney: University of Western Sydney.

Cassity, E.A. & Ang, I. (2006). Humanities-Industry partnerships and the 'knowledge society': The Australian experience.Minerva, 44(1), 47-63.

Kirk, J. & Cassity, E.A. (2007). Minimum standards for quality education for refugee youth. Youth Studies Australia , 26(1), 50-56.

Cassity, E.A. (2007). Voices shaping education: Young African refugees in Western Sydney high schools. International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives, 1(1).

Cassity, E.A. (In Press). Cast the net a little wider: Australian aid in the South Pacific. International Journal of Educational Development.

Created: 3/17/2008

Updated: 3/17/2008

Contributed By: Elizabeth Cassity