Griffith University

Lecturer, School of Education and Professional Studies
Contact details for Dr Katherine Main

Research expertise

• Middle schooling
• Middle school reform
• The formation and development of teams considering the role of team, task, and relationship processes
• Organisational culture
• Beginning teachers in middle schooling
• Assessing and measuring groupwork skills in university coursework

Current teaching areas

• Learning and teaching in the middle years

Publications

Book chapters

• Main, K. (2010). Teams and teaming practices. In D. Pendergast & N. Bahr (Eds.), Teaching middle years: Rethinking curriculum, pedagogy and assessment (2nd Ed.), (Chapter 18, pp. 301-316). Crows Nest, NSW: Allyn & Unwin.
• Main, K. & Bryer, F. (2010). Efficacy and Research. In D. Pendergast & N. Bahr (Eds.), Teaching middle years: Rethinking curriculum, pedagogy and assessment (2nd Ed.), (Chapter 7, pp. 19-136). Crows Nest, NSW: Allyn & Unwin.
  
• Main, K. & Bryer, F. (2005). Researching middle school: An Australian perspective. In D. Pendergast & N. Bahr (Eds.), Teaching middle years: Rethinking curriculum, pedagogy and assessment, (Chapter 6, pp. 88-99). Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.

Journal articles

• Main, K. (Accepted for publication 18 January, 2011). Effective Middle School Teacher Teams: A ternary model of interdependency rather than a catch phrase. Teachers and Teaching; Theory and Practice. 
• Main, K. (2010). Groupwork in preservice education courses as preparation for teaching teams. The Australian Educational Researcher, 37(3).
• Main, K. (2010). Jumping the hurdles: Establishing and sustaining middle school teams. Pedagogies: An international Journal. 5(2),118-129.
  
• Main, K. (2008). Effective middle school teacher teams: A multidimensional model rather than a catch phrase. Manuscript submitted.
• Main, K. (2008). “Mind the gap”: Cultural revitalisation and educational change in Australian middle schooling. Manuscript under review.
• Main, K. (in press). Jumping the hurdles: Establishing and sustaining middle school teams. Pedagogies: An international Journal, 5(4).
• Main, K. (2008). Groupwork in preservice education courses as preparation for teaching teams. Manuscript under review.
• Main, K. (2008). The coalescence of middle school and multiage philosophies. Journal of Multiage Education, 3(3).
• Main, K. (2007). Conflict in middle school teaching teams. Friend or foe? Australian Middle School Journal, 7(1), 12-16.
• Main, K. & Bryer, F. (2007). A framework for research into Australian middle school practice. Australian Educational Researcher, 34(2).
• Bryer, F. & Main, K. (2005). Moving middle schooling reform from policy to practice: Issues for Queensland teachers. Issues in Educational Research, 15(2), 123-144.
• Main, K. & Bryer, F. (2005). How teachers perceive multiaging in a middle school. Journal of Multiage Education, 1(2), 15-19.
• Main, K., Bryer, F., & Grimbeek, P. (2004). Forging relationships: An integral feature of middle schooling practice. Australian Middle School Journal, 4(2), 8-17.

Refereed conference proceedings

• Main, K. (2008). Effective teaching teams: Facilitators and barriers. Paper presented at the Australian Teacher Education Association Conference, 8-11 July, 2008, Sunshine Coast, Australia.
• Bryer, F. & Main, K. (2006). The compounding challenges of middle school and multiage classes for beginning teachers. In F. Bryer (Ed.), Informing practice; improving research (pp.44-58). The 4th Annual International Conference on Cognition, Language, and Special Education Research. 6-7 July, 2006, Peabody College of Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
• Main, K. & Bryer, F. (2005a, July). The experiences of two beginning teachers in multiage-middle phase classroom. Paper presented at the inaugural national conference of the Australian Association of Multiage Education, Brisbane, Qld. (Published as part of conference proceedings).
• Main, K. & Bryer, F. (2005b). What does a “good” teaching team look like in a middle school classroom? In B. Bartlett, F. Bryer, & D. Roebuck (Eds.), Stimulating the “action” as participants in participatory research (Vol. 2, pp. 196-204). Brisbane, Australia: Griffith University, School of Cognition, Language, and Special Education.
• Main, K. & Bryer, F. (2004a). Essential skills for middle school teachers. In B. Bartlett, F. Bryer, & D. Roebuck (Eds.), Educating: Weaving research into practice (Vol. 2, pp. 230-245). Brisbane, Australia: Griffith University, School of Cognition, Language, and Special Education.
• Main, K. & Bryer, F. (2004b). Experiences of two beginning teachers in multiage-middle phase classrooms. In B. Bartlett, F. Bryer, & D. Roebuck (Eds.), Educating: Weaving research into practice (Vol. 2, pp. 238-245). Brisbane, Australia: School of Cognition, Language, and Special Education, Griffith University.
• Main, K. & Bryer, F. (2003). Reforming practice for young adolescents: Lessons from a study of a middle school trial in a Queensland K-12 school. In B. Bartlett, F. Bryer, & D. Roebuck (Eds.), Re-imagining practice—Researching change (Vol. 2, pp. 183-193). Brisbane, Australia: Griffith University, School of Cognition, Language, and Special Education.
• Main, K., Bryer, F. & Grimbeek, P. (2003, July). Transition into middle schooling: Journeying into an unknown ecology. Paper presented at the biennial conference of the Australasian Human Development Association, Auckland. (AJP, 2004, Supplement of Australian Psychology Conference Abstracts).
• Main, K., Bryer, F. & Grimbeek, P. (2003, May). Forging relationships: An integral feature of middle schooling practice. Paper presented at the conference of the Middle Schooling Association of Australia, Brisbane.

Conference presentations

• Main, K. & Bryer, F. (2005). Being acquainted with multiage for the first time: The experiences of two beginning teachers in multiage-middle phase classrooms. Presented at the Australian Association of Multiage Education Conference, 8-10 July, 2005, Brisbane, Queensland.

Other publications: book reviews

• Main, K. (2006). Using practice indicators to evaluate the acceptance, implementation, and sustainability of middle years programs [Review of the book Reforming middle level education. Considerations for policymakers.] Australian Educational Researcher, 34(2).