Martyn Mills-Bayne

(he/him)

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I am a Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Education at the University of South Australia where I have been teaching in Initial Teacher Education across early childhood and primary programs for over 17 years. Before becoming a university teacher educator, I taught in junior primary schools and preschools across Adelaide's North and North-East suburbs.

My honours research was centred on the areas of moral reasoning and values education in Early Childhood settings and my PhD doctoral thesis was titled 'Fostering Children’s Capacity for Empathic Reasoning: The Role of Community of Inquiry in an Empathic Pedagogy'. I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) and support a range of early career academic colleagues through UniSA’s Teaching Academic Group (TAG) in the Education Futures Unit.

My research interests are in Social Emotional Learning, neurodiversity in education, supporting international student teachers, and the benefits of esports in schools and communities.

I am AuDHD and have a passion for supporting neurodiverse learners through universal design principles and approaches across all areas of teaching and learning. I am a co-leader of the newly founded Neurodiversity@UniSA Special Interest Group.

I am also an enthusiastic advocate for a gender diverse Early Years Workforce, and I promote and support a push for more men in ECEC through UniSA's innovative MENtor Program for Males in ECE and my involvement with the Minderoo Foundation Dad's Alliance.

I have delivered a wide range of conference presentations and invited lectures across Australia and internationally, including recent international keynotes for the 2024 Family Education and Social Support Academic Symposium at Sichuan Normal University in China, and the 2024 NZ Office of Early Childhood Education National Summit in Wellington, New Zealand.

Experience

  • 2008–present
    Senior Lecturer, University of South Australia
  • 2021–2023
    Program Director: Bachelor of Education, University of South Australia
  • 2008–2013
    Early Childhood Teacher, SA Department for Education

Education

  • 2024 
    University of South Australia, Graduate Certificate in Education Studies (Digital Learning)
  • 2018 
    Advance HE, Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
  • 2017 
    University of South Australia, Doctor of Philosophy
  • 2008 
    University of South Australia, Bachelor of Early Childhood Education (Honours)

Publications

  • 2025
    The Australian Educational Researcher, Raymond, S., Mills-Bayne, M. & Bateman, P. From vulnerable to valuable: a strengths based approach to international student teaching placements. Aust. Educ. Res. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-025-00843-3
  • 2024
    Making humanities and social sciences come alive: early years and primary education , Mills-Bayne, M 2024, ‘Engaging with ethical understanding in the early years and beyond: the community of inquiry approach’, Making humanities and social sciences come alive: early years and primary education (2nd edn), eds D Green & D Price, Cambridge University Press, UK, pp. 213-226.
  • 2021
    Facilitators of, and barriers to, positive esports behaviours: A pilot study, Taddeo, CM, Mills-Bayne, M, Barnes, A, Taddeo, VL, & Spears, BA 2021, Facilitators of, and barriers to, positive esports behaviours: A pilot study, University of South Australia.
  • 2020
    Teaching Education, Soong, H, Kerkham, L, Reid-Nguyen, R, Lucas, B, Geer, R & Mills-Bayne, M 2020, ‘Reimagining transcultural identity: a case study of field experiences for international preservice teachers, Teaching Education, https://doi.org/10.1080/10476210.2020.1790516
  • 2019
    Making humanities and social sciences come alive: early years and primary education, Mills-Bayne, M 2019, ‘Engaging with ethical understanding in the early years and beyond: the community of inquiry approach’, Making humanities and social sciences come alive: early years and primary education, eds D Green & D Price, Cambridge University Press, UK, pp. 213-226.
  • 2016
    The Space, Mills-Bayne, M 2016, ‘Building an empathic pedagogy’, The Space, no. 44, pp. 18-19.
  • 2015
    Children’s voices in play: Report prepared for City of Salisbury Council, Webb-Williams, J, Mills-Bayne, M & Raymond, S 2015, Children’s voices in play: Report prepared for City of Salisbury Council, University of South Australia. http://search.library.unisa.edu.au/record/UNISA_ALMA71129439680001831
  • 2013
    Every Child, Mills-Bayne, M 2013, The MENtor program for males in early childhood education', Every Child, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 40-41.
  • 2009
    Critical & Creative Thinking: The Australasian Journal of Philosophy in Education, Mills-Bayne, M 2009, ‘A lesson in underestimating young children’, Critical & Creative Thinking: The Australasian Journal of Philosophy in Education, vol. 17, no. 1, May, pp. 35-41. http://search.library.unisa.edu.au/record/UNISA_ALMA51119831840001831
  • 2008
    Critical & Creative Thinking: The Australasian Journal of Philosophy in Education, Mills-Bayne, M 2008, ‘Because it’s being nice: an exploratory study of moral reasoning, tolerance and values in early childhood’, Critical & Creative Thinking: The Australasian Journal of Philosophy in Education, vol. 16, no. 1, May, pp. 101-125. http://search.library.unisa.edu.au/record/UNISA_ALMA51109028240001831

Professional Memberships

  • Australian Association for Men in Early Childhood (AAMEC)
  • AITSL ITE Accreditation Panel Member
  • Humanities and Social Sciences Association Australia (HAA)
  • South Australian Philosophy in Education Association (SAPEA) (2007-2016)
  • Affiliated Member of Centre for Change and Complexity in Learning (C3L)
  • Associate Member of the Higher Education Research Network (HERN)

Contact Martyn for

  • General
  • Media request
  • Speaking request
  • Consulting / Advising
  • Research collaboration
  • Research supervision