Suzanne Rice joined the Assessment Research Centre in September, 2009, after several years with the Centre for Post-compulsory Education and Lifelong Learning.

Suzanne spent nine years teaching in government and non-government schools, working as a primary generalist, a LOTE, TESOL and music specialist, and as a Leading Teacher and ICT coordinator. She also spent several years as a LOTE project coordinator with the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, and two years as a Senior Education Officer with the Open Training and Education Network in Sydney, producing professional development television programs for teachers in NSW and Victoria. She represented Victoria as an International Teaching Fellow to Spain, teaching English to senior secondary students in Salamanca. Suzanne has also taught LOTE methodology to postgraduate education students at La Trobe University.

Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE)

B.Mus (Hons), Dip. Ed., Grad. Dip. Hum., M.Ed.(Melb), A.S.C.M.(Sydney Conservatorium), Diploma de Espanol como Lengua Extrajera, Ph.D.

Teacher effectiveness
School staffing
Teacher retention
Student retention
School effectiveness and school improvement
School leadership

Rice, S. and Lamb, S. (2008). A Guide to Help Schools Increase School Completion. Melbourne: Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.

Lamb, S. and Rice, S. (2008). Effective Strategies to Increase School Completion. Melbourne: Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.

Teese, R. and Rice, S. (2009). Resources for Western Australian Schools: A Study of Resource Allocation in the Context of the Achievement Challenge and Equity. Report to the Western Australian Department of Education and Training.

Rice, S., & Lamb, S. (2008) Behaviours of High-performing Schools. Phase 1: Comparing Improving, Declining and Stable Schools: An Initial Investigation. Internal report to the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.

Polesel, J., Keating, J., Rice, S. and Helme, S. (2009). Achieving the 90% retention target for 15-19 year olds in NSW by 2016. Report to the NSW Department of Education and Training.

Rice, S. (2008). Getting good teachers into challenging schools. Curriculum Leadership 6(14). Available at http://cmslive.curriculum.edu.au/leader/default.asp?id=23264&issueID=11431

Sweet, R., Volkoff, V., Keating, J., Watts, T., Helme, S. Rice, S. and Pannell, S. (2009). Making Career Development Core Business. Prepared for the Departments of Education and Early Childhood Development and Innovation, Industry and Regional Development.

Helme, S., Teese, R. and Rice, S. (2009). An analysis of achievement in Government primary schools in the Northern Metropolitan Region. Prepared for the Northern Metropolitan Region of the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.

Rice, S. and Dulfer, N. (2008). Disengagement and Outcomes: Under What Circumstances Does Disengagement from School and Education Lead to Adverse Outcomes? Literature review prepared for the Victorian Department of Human Services and the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.

Rice, S., Mason, K., Lamb, S., Teese, R. and McKinley, J. (2007). Strengthening Communities for Educational Growth. Report to the Department of Victorian Communities by the Centre for Post-Compulsory Education and Lifelong Learning, University of Melbourne.

Rice, S. (2007). Simply the best: How to recruit and retain effective teachers in your school. Teacher, April.

Rice, S. (2006). Staying or going? Factors influencing effective teachers’ decisions on where to teach. Paper presented at the annual conference of the Australian Association for Research in Education, Adelaide, November 26th-30th.

Rice, S. (2006). Where will I teach? Examining teachers’ decisions so as to maximise the educational impact of staffing. Paper presented at the annual Postgraduate Conference, University of Melbourne, December 4.

Rice, S. (2005). The staffing of schools: towards greater school effectiveness through understanding teachers’ decisions about where to teach. Paper presented at the annual Postgraduate Conference, University of Melbourne, December 3.

Rice, S. (2005). You don’t bring me flowers any more: a fresh look at the vexed issue of teacher status. Australian Journal of Education, 49 (2), 182-196.

Rice, S. (2004). Familiarity Breeds Respect: An Examination of Proximity of Community, Teacher Status and Teacher Motivation. Paper presented at the annual conference of the Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE), Melbourne, December 1st-6th.

Suzanne is currently working on a 5-year DEECD-commissioned project evaluating the effectiveness of the Regional Network model in achieving system and school reform and improvement. The project involves a series of formative evaluations of the implementation of government Blueprint initiatives across all nine Victorian school regions.

Suzanne is also involved in a DEECD-commissioned project investigating literacy and numeracy standards in senior secondary years.