As an educator of eight years, I have demonstrated a strong capacity to be forward thinking, relevant and responsive. Through further study, I pursued links between literacy and HPE which led to my academic paper being published in the journal 'Literacy Learning: The Middle Years.' which became a core reading for cross-curricular literacy at Flinders University. This became the foundation for my current PhD through Western Sydney University. This process has allowed me to explore the changing nature of literacy, and education itself. HPE has suffered due to neoliberal policies and it’s own failure to adapt to the educational climate, leading to marginalisation in the academic curriculum. My PhD is responsive to the current educational climate and seeks to explore ways that HPE can better deliver cross curricular literacy outcomes, and become more relevant. I am using creativity and forward-thinking to allow HPE to reinstate itself as an essential part of the curriculum. Currently, sedentary behaviours are the fourth leading cause of mortality in the world with a quarter of Western children expected to have diabetes by 2020 (CDC, 2010). It is estimated that 3.2 million Australians suffer from mental illness costing approximately $A20 billion dollars (ABS; 2013; ABS, 2016). As the human and economic costs of these ailments increase, the importance of legitimising HPE in the curriculum to allow students to holistically develop is essential for health. Right now, and in to the future, our students need the skills to be able to keep themselves engaged, balanced and self-aware and I am trying to lead the charge through my educational research to reinstate the value of HPE within the academic curriculum.

As the Head of Department for HPE at Radford College, I am seeking to put my research in to practice by beginning a process of curriculum renewal and innovation. With the help of my colleagues, we have begun the process of creating a new scope and sequence that allows students to explore health concepts that are relevant to them. Health policies and initiatives are constantly changing and as a department, we need to as well. For example, for our renewed drug education unit, Canberra has been the centre of the pill testing debate during music festivals, many of which our students will attend in the future. Previously, these contemporary public health issues were not discussed which was not responsive or relevant to Radford student needs. Additionally, we have introduced a social entrepreneurship public health unit where students create their own social enterprise to address a health issue that is prevalent in their local community. The invigoration of our curriculum is allowing our students to explore the issues and skills that are relevant to their future. As HPE leader, I am looking forward to future trends in relation to health and wellbeing to ensure that my department is being responsive and delivering the most relevant learning experiences for the students. My ultimate goal is to have one of the most relevant, interesting and rigorous HPE courses in the country.