Staff Profiles
Dr Sue Thomson
Principal Research Fellow
BAppSci (Maths) RMIT , DipEd Monash , GradDipMathsEd Deakin , MEdSt, PhD Monash
Dr Sue Thomson is a Principal Research Fellow at the Australian Council for Educational Research in the National and International Surveys research program.
Dr Thomson's main role has been the National Research Coordinator for Australia in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), which measures trends in mathematics and science achievement for students in grades 4 and 8, and the National Project Manager for Australia for the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which examines reading, mathematical and scientific literacy of 15-year-old students.
Since joining ACER in 1998, Dr Thomson has been a member of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth project team. She has also managed the Australian component of Schools around the World, an international project examining assessment in science and mathematics, and Project Good Start, which examined children's numeracy in the transition from preschool to the first year of school.
Before joining ACER, Dr Thomson lectured at a number of universities in Statistics and Research Methodology while she completed her PhD focusing on students' attributions and engagement in mathematics over the transition from primary to secondary school. She also participated in a variety of research studies in mathematics education including gender issues, transitions and engagement with learning.
Dr Thomson worked as a Mathematics and IT teacher in secondary schools before completing her Master of Educational Studies degree at Monash University.
Dr Thomson has published a variety of articles and research reports based on her work at ACER (see also under Sue Fullarton), and has presented findings at conferences in the USA (AERA), Europe (BERA, EARLI) and Australia (MERGA, AARE).