Prof Field Rickards
Dean, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne
A member of the LH Martin Institute's Advisory Board, representing the University of Melbourne's Graduate School of Education.
Field Rickards was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne in August 2004. Prior to this appointment he was President of the Academic Board and Pro Vice-Chancellor.
He joined the Faculty of Education in 1989 from the Department of Otolaryngology in the Faculty of Medicine, having been first appointed to the University of Melbourne as lecturer in 1973 to establish Australia’s first post-graduate training in audiology in 1974. He was appointed to Professor of Education of the Hearing-Impaired in 1994. From 1994-2000 he served as Head of Department. He has been a member of various Faculty, Academic Board, University and University Council Committees. He was Deputy Dean of the School of Graduate studies (1999-2001).
He is currently a Director of the Royal Children's Hospital Education Institute and the Bionic Ear Institute. He is Chairman of the Asia Education Foundation Board.
Field's research interests lie in the broad area of childhood deafness, in particular the early detection and diagnosis of deafness, the early intervention of hearing impaired children, and the educational outcomes of hearing impaired children. His current funded research includes: population outcomes and cost-effectiveness of universal newborn hearing vs. risk factor screening; identifying personalised learning strategies for early literacy in children in pre-school and the first year of school; and improving outcomes for children with congenital hearing loss.
As Dean, he has guided the transformation of the Faculty of Education to the Melbourne Graduate School of Education on 1 January 2008, and the reform of the professional training of teachers with the introduction of the new Master of Teaching program.
