Rebecca Burtenshaw | UniSC | University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

Rebecca Burtenshaw is a teacher and researcher in mathematics education at the University of the Sunshine Coast. She has taught across diverse educational contexts, including large metropolitan schools, a bilingual–bicultural school for Deaf/deaf students, and remote Indigenous communities in Far North Queensland.

Rebecca is in the final stages of completing her PhD in Mathematics Education. Her research examines how ‘success’ in mathematics is defined, enacted, and evaluated in schooling contexts – with particular attention to assessment practices – and how competing definitions of ‘success’ shape what is valued, assessed, and overlooked in mathematics teaching and learning. Her work contributes to ongoing debates in mathematics education concerning equity, assessment, and student participation, with particular attention to how dominant narratives of success influence learners’ experiences and opportunities. Rebecca has presented her research at national and international conferences, including meetings of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia and the International Congress on Mathematical Education, as well as on the TEDx stage.

Her earlier research in Deaf/deaf education was presented through the Australian Awards Fellowship Program as part of international collaborative projects with the Solomon Islands Ministry of Education, the Tongan Ministry of Education, Queensland University of Technology, and Australian Aid. She has also contributed to collaborative research projects across areas, including mathematics and numeracy education, Autism, inclusive education, and trauma-informed approaches.