Tamara Cumming

Tamara Cumming is a Senior Lecturer with the School of Teacher Education, and a CSU Research Fellow (2018-2020). Tamara has worked in the early childhood sector for over 15 years. Prior to becoming an academic she held positions as an early childhood educator, inclusion support manager and research officer in a children's services organisation prior.

Tamara’s research concerns the complexity of early childhood practice, and the well-being and sustainability of the early childhood workforce. She is co-leader of the Early Childhood Educator Well-being Project, a Chief Investigator on the Exemplary Educators at Work ARC Linkage Project, and Co-leader of the Early Childhood Research Group at CSU. Tamara supervises PhD students in the areas of early childhood workforce and practice.

Tamara also works with community services working to support children in regional and rural Australia. She works with the Bathurst Child and Family Network and recently with Royal Far West on the Stories of the Invisible Children report.

Tamara completed her PhD with CSU in 2015. Her thesis was titled 'Making visible ways that educators negotiate complexity in early childhood practice'. Her research interests include: early childhood educators' well-being, the complexity of educators' practice and the sustainability of the early childhood workforce. Tamara is available for supervision of Masters and PhD students with interests in the early childhood workforce and early childhood practice.

Tamara is also available for contract research and evaluation. Together with colleagues she has completed evaluations for organisations including SDN Children's Services, The Samaritans Foundation, the National Community Hubs program, the Bathurst Child and Family Network and CareWest.