A lifetime of achievement in literacy education

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A lifetime of achievement in literacy education


Forty years of dedication to adult literacy by Mosman resident Sheilagh Kelly has been recognised by the University of Technology, Sydney with one of the university's annual Human Rights Awards. Ms Kelly, who retired from UTS in July, has received the Vice-Chancellor's Human Rights/Social Justice Award for an outstanding contribution by a member of the university staff to the advancement of social justice and human rights at a local, national or international level. According to the award citation, "There is barely a teacher, and consequently a learner, in adult basic education in NSW who has not gained from, or been touched by, Sheilagh's significant skill as a teacher educator." Ms Kelly's work as a literacy educator spanned several different sectors. She started her teaching career in the South Australian Education Department as a primary school teacher in 1965 and by the mid 1970s she had moved into special education, where she developed innovative literacy programs for young people with intellectual disabilities. In NSW she worked in the TAFE sector for a decade before joining the UTS Faculty Education as a lecturer. While working in TAFE she was instrumental in the implementation of professional development programs for both TAFE and Adult Migrant English Service teachers in south-western Sydney and isolated parts of NSW. At UTS her dedication and impact was extended to teachers overseas through AusAID-funded training programs for English teachers in Laos. This work led her to support the cause of refugees to Australia - helping newly-arrived residents with poor English language skills, publishing articles about refugee issues, assisting in organising conferences and campaigns and raising funds to support community development in countries such as Afghanistan and Indonesia. From 2000 Ms Kelly's work at UTS focused on supporting the academic literacy development of students in the Faculty of Education. This involved mainly mature age students from diverse cultural and educational backgrounds enrolled in a both undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Beneficiaries included Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and international students. She worked closely with the subject lecturers to devise support programs appropriate to the needs of the students. According to her award citation, "Through her effort in helping students with their individual academic literacy needs she gave many access to powerful academic knowledge that they otherwise would not have been able to access." Not only students benefited from her knowledge and experience. "Her conviction that literacy is a basic human right and a critical social resource meant that she spent the time and energy over and above her call of duty to help and guide many of her colleagues to integrate academic literacy development in their teaching." Wednesday 28 September 2005