Projects per year
Personal profile
Research interests
Dr. Cathy Waite is a Research Fellow in the Centre for Youth Policy and Education Practice.
Cathy’s scholarly work is concerned with highlighting the inequalities faced by young people in contemporary Australia and providing a voice for those on the margins. As a researcher, Cathy seeks to contribute to a body of knowledge that helps to improve participation in, and access to, education by articulating barriers and focusing on opportunities for change. In particular, she is interested in young people in Australia’s rural and regional areas and their subjective experiences of space and place through the lens of digital media.
Cathy’s current work in the Centre for Youth Policy and Education Practice seeks to change the conversation about young people in Australia within the current Covid-recovery landscape. Her work in the Centre aims to inform policy and educational interventions designed to mitigate youth disadvantage, while ultimately helping to improve youth outcomes now and into the future.
Biography
Cathy completed her PhD in Youth Studies and Sociology in the School of Social Sciences, Monash University. Her doctoral research investigated the place-making practices of young people from different backgrounds in regional Australia, and highlighted the contradictory role that digital technologies played in young peoples’ spatial experiences.
She has previously worked as a Research Consultant at the Social Research Centre (owned by the Australian National University) where she was project manager on multiple program evaluations. These projects were commissioned by government to ascertain the effectiveness of a range of social interventions, ranging from education programs to employment initiatives, and projects focused on supporting vulnerable youth and child care subsidy recipients.
Cathy is also a committed and innovative educator, having taught across a range of areas within the field of Sociology. Cathy has lectured in the areas of Family studies, Youth studies and first year sociology, and tutored in the areas of ethnicity and identity, popular culture, digital life, environment and society, gender and sexuality, globalization and social theory.
Supervision interests
- Young people and youth sociology
- Rural and regional experience
- Space and place as an analytical lens
- Digital life and social media analyses
- Youth transitions
- Education and youth policy interventions
- Qualitative methods
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
Sociology , PhD, Young people making place in the country: Place- making under the conditions of globalisation, MONASH UNIVERSITY
3 Mar 2014 → 31 Jan 2018
Award Date: 31 Jan 2018
Sociology , Master of Philosophy, 'It keeps me in the loop': Re-thinking social networking sites from the perspectives of young rural residents, University of Melbourne
1 Jun 2010 → 29 Nov 2013
Award Date: 29 Nov 2013
Sociology and Anthropology, Bachelor or Arts(Hons), Australian National University (ANU)
1 Feb 2003 → 31 Oct 2006
Award Date: 31 Oct 2006
Research area keywords
- Youth studies
- Digital culture
- Place-making
- Space and place
- Rural issues
- Policy studies in education/training and work
- Youth transitions
- Youth and media
- Qualitative Methods
- Rural and Regional Education
- Social Media
- Digital education
- Young People
- Evaluation
- Evaluation methodology
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 1 Finished
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Barriers and drivers into young people aged 15-24 years utilising the National Careers Institute’s School Leavers Information Service
Roberts, S., Lyall, B., Smith, J., Robards, B., Trott, V., Wright, B., Waite, C. & Smith, J.
30/06/21 → 31/10/21
Project: Research
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Building Better Food Solutions: International Students’ Perspectives and Experiences
Waite, C., Gallo Cordoba, B., Walsh, L., Kleve, S., Choi, T., Mukherjee, A. & Lin, Y., May 2023, Melbourne Vic Australia: Monash University. 40 p.Research output: Book/Report › Other Report › Research
Open AccessFile -
Negotiating senses of belonging and identity across education spaces
Waite, C., Walsh, L. & Black, R., 2023, (Accepted/In press) In: The Australian Educational Researcher. 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
Young australians navigating the ‘careers information ecology’
Roberts, S., Lyall, B., Trott, V., Foeken, E., Smith, J., Robards, B., Genat, A., Graf, D., Jones, C., Marple, P., Waite, C. & Wright, B., Feb 2023, In: Youth. 3, 1, 21 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
2022 Australian Youth Barometer: Understanding Young People in Australia Today
Walsh, L., Gallo Cordoba, B., Waite, C. & Cutler, B., Dec 2022, Melbourne VIC Australia: Monash University. 68 p.Research output: Book/Report › Other Report › Research
Open AccessFile -
Constructing ‘Micro-territories of the local’: young people making place in regional Australia
Waite, C., 2022, In: Australian Geographer. 53, 3, p. 331-345 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Prizes
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Dean’s Sessional Commendation for Outstanding Contribution
Waite, Cathy (Recipient), 4 May 2018
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Activities
- 1 Contribution to conference
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Building Pathways to Empowerment Conference on Young People's Rights to Civic Engagement in East Asia and Pacific 2021
Lucas Walsh (Speaker), Cathy Waite (Speaker), Yen Esmerald (Speaker), Earl Joshua Santos (Speaker) & Jose de Jesus (Speaker)
2021Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to conference
Press/Media
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Young people feel let down by education: new report
Lucas Walsh, Beatriz Gallo Cordoba, Cathy Waite & Blake Cutler
14/12/22
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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What matters to young people in Australia today
Lucas Walsh, Beatriz Gallo Cordoba, Cathy Waite & Blake Cutler
14/12/22
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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Going days without food, increased anxiety and insecure housing among issues reported in youth survey
Lucas Walsh, Beatriz Gallo Cordoba, Cathy Waite & Blake Cutler
14/12/22
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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A new report has found young people here in the far north and across the nation are struggling financially from a rise in schemes such as - buy now, pay later
Beatriz Gallo Cordoba, Lucas Walsh, Cathy Waite, Blake Cutler & Masha Mikola
8/11/22
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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‘It’s kind of suffocating’: queer young Australians speak about how they feel at school and what they think of politicians
Lucas Walsh, Blake Cutler, Beatriz Gallo Cordoba & Cathy Waite
29/07/22
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature