Any parent who’s watched their child race off in excitement to play and learn at Early Start Discovery Space will be glad to hear that one of its creators has been honoured for her work.
In June, Professor Lisa Kervin, Director of Research at Early Start at the University of Wollongong, was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for “significant service to tertiary education and to research in early childhood digital literacy” in the King’s Birthday Honours.
“It was a lovely surprise, I feel very, very humbled,” said Lisa, thanking both her amazing colleagues and her family for their support.
“My children have pretty much grown up on the campus. So it’s nice that it’s very much a shared story. I’ve got three young sons, two in high school, one in primary school. They’re quite excited … It’s nice for them to see that there’s some sort of recognition and outcome for the work that I do.”
All three of her boys were raised amid the delights of Early Start, from being involved in research projects to enjoying birthdays on campus.
“My eldest son was one of the babies that was photographed for our original bid for Early Start – he’s now 17. So it’s quite lovely to see the changes over his lifetime in what we’ve been able to achieve through the facility here.”
Lisa was born in Bathurst and worked as a teacher before joining UOW more than 20 years ago. “Working with children has always been part of my life,” she said.
Today she is part of a team of more than 70 researchers and 50 PhD students. “My role is overseeing the Early Start research environment and ensuring that our researchers are supported. A big part of my work is making sure that we’re disseminating research findings, so making sure that families that access Discovery Space, for example, are experiencing best practice.
“Every experience that we offer in the Discovery Space has a team of researchers working behind it to make sure that what we are promoting through our facility is what we hand-on-heart know is what children need.”
Early Start works collaboratively with community organisations, state and national partners, Lisa said. “Probably the most important part of my work is making sure that people have access to the cutting-edge research that is coming out of Early Start.”
As a researcher, Lisa’s area of interest is children’s literacy development – how they play and make sense of their world. “We have a space in the Early Start building, which is right alongside the Discovery Space, which is the children’s technology play space. I’m the academic lead of that space and we offer weekly workshops for children and their adults to come and work with us on digital technologies.”
As someone who grew up in a time before the internet (“my own children cannot believe that I didn’t get an email address until I was at university”), Lisa has seen the concept of play change hugely. “But there’s some fundamentals that are still there. It’s fun and it’s child-led.
“One of the things that gives me the greatest delight is seeing so many children and their families come to visit us on campus each day.”
This is especially rewarding, Lisa said, as UOW data shows that one-third of those visitors have never been on a university campus before.
“The work that I’ve always been really passionate about is community-facing work. So to have a space where children and families, who may not have previously seen themselves as part of a university community, firmly established in our university is important.
“That’s what gives me my biggest smile each day, is seeing children grow up on our campus – as my own children have done.”
Lisa’s eldest son is now in year 12. “Who knows what’s on the horizon,” she said. “But he did do one of the master classes last summer here on campus in our science and medicine faculty.
“We have a little joke in Early Start that we are looking after student recruitment for about 2036 onwards.”
At the end of a day’s work, it’s always a joy to come home to Coledale. “There’s nothing like the feeling of, when you drive through Austinmer, you just start breathing differently because you’re almost home. There’s space around, the sound of the ocean, the friendliness of the neighbourhood.
“It’s a really great place.”