Marcela Huerta Villalobos
Position Ph.D. student/Early Childhood Teacher
Organisation The University of Melbourne/ Fox Kids Early Learning Centre
Location Melbourne, VIC

Bio
Marcela is a Chilean Early Childhood Teacher, who worked as a Preschool Teacher in different kindergartens for several years. She was awarded with a scholarship to study a Master of Educational Management at the University of Melbourne. In the masters Marcela explored the role of critical friends in schools, and worked with Glenn Proctor at Hume Central Secondary College. Her thesis uncovered how critical friends can support school leaders to implement major school improvement. It is one of the very few studies world-wide about a role that is becoming more common as schools strive to do the best for students in complex environments. For the doctorate, she continues her interest in school improvement, but this time she is focused on the technical pedagogical heads in Chilean secondary schools. Her doctoral thesis aims at the heart of Chilean schooling and the probabilities of a sustained improvement over time. Her research interests are early learning, school improvement and educational leadership. As a Preschool Teacher, she describes herself as a passionate teacher, who enjoys challenging all kids to get the best out of them. According to Marcela’s life philosophy, everything you accomplish in life is determined by your goals thus she always dreams bigger.