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Fiona Cooney

Fiona Cooney

Professional Doctorate Candidate
Arts, Design & Architecture
School of Education

·¡³¾²¹¾±±ô:Ìýf.cooney@unsw.edu.au

³§³Ü±è±ð°ù±¹¾±²õ´Ç°ù²õ:ÌýPaul Evans, Rebecca Collie

Fiona Cooney is a Doctor of Education (EdD) candidate at the School of Education, ºÚÁÏÍø´óʼÇ. She holds a Bachelor of Economics (Social Science) (Honours) (USYD), a Master of Teaching (USYD), and a Master of Educational Leadership (MQ). Fiona is Head of Learning Enrichment and Research at Ravenswood School for Girls, where she works with students and teachers to nurture curiosity, promote inclusion, strengthen engagement, support wellbeing, and encourage achievement for all learners. Her work is grounded in evidence-informed practice and the science of learning.

Her EdD research explores how teacher motivational styles and instructional practices relate to student engagement, disengagement, prosocial behaviour, low-level disruptive behaviour and achievement. Using Self-Determination Theory, she examines how the satisfaction and frustration of students’ psychological needs mediate these relationships. Fiona is committed to bridging theory and practice, emphasising the reciprocal relations that help inform both research and classroom practices.
Educational Psychology Topic: Exploring associations between teacher motivational styles and instructional practices and adolescents engagement, behaviour and achievement in the classrooms mediated by basic psychological needs within a Self Determination Theory framework
MacMahon, S., Cooney, F., Matthews, N., & Otto, J. (2024, July). Advancing knowledge and practice: Building collaborative communities between research and practice. Paper presented at the International Mind, Brain, and Education Society (IMBES) conference, Leuven, Belgium.