Our Team
Research Team Leader
Professor Theresa Dicke
Professor Theresa Dicke is an expert in how students, teachers, and school principals perform and thrive. She has spent her career studying how students—particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds—think about their own abilities, and how those beliefs shape their success at school. She has also made a significant contribution to our understanding of why so many teachers, especially those early in their careers, experience burnout. More recently, her work has expanded to include the wellbeing of school principals, and she is now working to connect all three perspectives—students, teachers, and principals—into a single, holistic picture of what makes a school genuinely healthy and thriving. Based at Australian Catholic University's Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, Theresa was named a Rising Star of Australian Research in 2020 and has published over 117 research papers that have been cited more than 5,600 times by researchers around the world.
Collaborative Research Team
Professor Herb Marsh
Professor Herb Marsh is one of the most influential education researchers in the world. For decades, he has studied how students think about themselves—their confidence, their sense of ability, their belief in what they can achieve—and how those inner beliefs shape the way they learn and grow. With over 800 published studies and more than 209,000 citations, his work have changed the way researchers, teachers, and policymakers around the world approach student motivation and school effectiveness. Professor Marsh holds positions at both Australian Catholic University's Institute for Positive Psychology and Education and the University of Oxford, and in 2025 was named an ACU MacKillop Distinguished Professor—one of only four researchers ever to receive this honour. For this project, Herb contributes his unmatched expertise in positive psychology, educational measurement, and statistical modelling, providing the methodological backbone that makes our research credible, precise, and impactful.
Associate Professor Paul Kidson
Paul Kidson is Senior Lecturer and researcher in Educational Leadership at the Australian Catholic University, whose work is uniquely grounded in extensive practical school experience. Prior to his academic career, he served as a school principal for over 11 years, leading schools across a range of communities—from low-income multicultural schools in western Sydney to more advantaged city schools, as well as regional schools in New South Wales and Victoria. Paul's work explores the real pressures school leaders face every day—the demands of the job, the weight of responsibility for their school community, and the challenge of sustaining themselves personally and professionally over the long haul. He is particularly interested in how the systems and policies that surround school leaders can either empower them or hold them back. Alongside his research, Paul has helped design leadership development programs for aspiring and mid-career leaders in both government and non-government schools—putting his insights directly to work in the field.
Founding Collaborator
Emeritus Professor Philip Riley
Professor Philip Riley is a former school principal who spent 16 years in schools before moving to the tertiary sector. He researches the overlapping space of psychology, education and leadership. Professor Riley He is currently affiliated with Deakin University's School of Education.
