Rachel Barber

I am an Associate Lecturer in the School of Access Education and a doctoral student with the School of Education and the Arts at Central Queensland University, Cairns. Prior to that I was a Learning Advisor at James Cook University. I have over 20 years’ experience in higher education, with a career spanning English for Academic Purposes, enabling education, widening participation, and more than a decade in academic learning advising. I am deeply committed to social inclusion and specialise in supporting students from diverse and equity backgrounds to succeed in their studies. I am passionate about embedding academic language and learning (ALL) through intentional and inclusive curriculum design.

My doctoral research explores the first-year student experience of academic language and learning, with a focus on how it intersects with disciplinary knowledge and practice. Traditional academic literacy practices frequently remain tacit, requiring professional ‘decoding’ from academic learning advisors, thus inadvertently positioning students from diverse backgrounds as deficient. My research advocates for systemic curriculum and assessment reform, embedding transparent and inclusive academic literacy expectations, thereby enabling advisors to focus on authentic learning support rather than remedial interventions.

My research takes a critical, social justice lens on academic literacy development, aiming to uncover and dismantle systemic barriers faced by students due to socio-economic disadvantage, life circumstances, health challenges, and other structural factors beyond their control. Rather than locating responsibility within students, my work emphasises changing institutional structures and pedagogies. Specifically, I investigate how intentional, inclusive curriculum design and explicit teaching of academic literacy can reduce barriers to higher education participation and success. This work aligns closely with the priorities outlined in the recent Australian Universities Accord, which emphasises systemic reform to address persistent inequities in higher education and to ensure that access to education genuinely translates into equitable opportunities for success.

My research interests encompass adult literacy development, curriculum and pedagogy, socio-linguistics, and qualitative and feminist methodologies, underpinned by a transformative agenda committed to challenging discrimination and oppression in education.
This work directly contributes to achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals 4 (Quality Education) and 10 (Reduced Inequalities) by addressing ongoing inequities in higher education participation.