Little, Cathy
Director of Initial Teacher Education, University of Sydney, Australia
Experience
Cathy Little, Ph.D. in Education, has a long career teaching children and young people in Pre-School and Primary Education centers. In particular, she is noted for her extensive experience in Special Education centers, where she has taught students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Behavioral Disorders. In this field, she was assistant director of a Support Unit attached to a prestigious elementary school. She has also taught at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels and has held the position of Director of Initial Teacher Education at the University of Sydney.
Throughout her career she has proven to be an educator who is passionate about providing an engaging and positive educational experience for all students. Her areas of interest are high support needs and positive behavioral guidelines. Therefore, her research work has focused on the study of efficient pedagogical models that address the most complex learning difficulties.
In this line, one of her projects has dealt with teachers' attitudes and social inclusion of students with Asperger syndrome. She has also collaborated with Srinakharinwirot University in Bangkok to investigate the behavior, knowledge and perceptions of Thai teachers about children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder. She is also a member of the International Society for Autism Research and a member of the Australian Special Education Association.
She has an extensive list of published scientific articles and conference papers on education. She has also published the book Supporting Social Inclusion for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders. For all this, she has been awarded twice with the Teaching Excellence Award from the Faculty of Education and Social Work of the University of Sydney.
- Director of Initial Teacher Education, University of Sydney, Australia
- Deputy Director of a Primary School Support Unit
- Teacher in pre-school, primary and special education schools
- PhD in Education
- Master's Degree in Special Education, University of Syndey
- Master's Degree in Pre-school Education, University of Wollongong
- Master's Degree in Pre-School Teaching from Macquarie University
- Bachelor's Degree in Primary Education from the University of Syndey
- Member of:
- Australian Society for Autism Research
- International Society for Autism Research