Areas of expertise: qualitative research; programme evaluation; teacher education; health and physical education; community engagement; health; wellbeing; international engagement; intercultural engagement; indigenous programmes
Phone: +61 2 9701 4132
Email: renata.cinelli@acu.edu.au
Location: ºÚ°µ±¬ÁÏÍø Strathfield Campus
HDR Supervisor accreditation status: HDR Supervisor (Full)
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-2090-6390
ORCID link:
Dr Renata Cinelli is Associate Professor and Deputy Head of the School of Education (NSW) at ºÚ°µ±¬ÁÏÍø, Strathfield. Renata has an established track record in the fields of health and physical education, wellbeing, Indigenous health and education, and global cross-cultural teaching. Her scholarship is driven by a commitment to service-learning and community engagement, with a particular focus on mission-aligned projects involving Aboriginal and culturally diverse communities.
Renata has published over 30 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, accumulating more than 1,800 citations and an H-index of 13 since 2020. Her research spans qualitative and quantitative methodologies, contributing to impactful studies such as the Gunawirra Young Aboriginal Mothers' Program evaluation, large-scale school-based interventions, and international teacher education programs.
Renata's research excellence has been recognized through awards including the ºÚ°µ±¬ÁÏÍø Vice-Chancellor's Excellence Award for Research and Research Partnerships, the Uniservitate Award for Service-Learning, and multiple teaching and research citations.
Renata holds a PhD from the University of Sydney, a Graduate Diploma in Psychology, and a Bachelor of Education (Honours). Her research continues to shape educational practice, policy, and community engagement in Australia and beyond.
Select publications
(Publications since 2020)
- Cinelli, R., Jones, M., & Gallagher, M. (2026). An Awakening? Personal and professional outcomes for Australian preservice teachers 12-months after an international teaching experience in Solomon Islands. In Exploring International University Immersion Programs: Researching Impactful Experiences. Springer.
- Jones, M., Cinelli, R. L., & Gallagher, M. (2024). "Voices on the ground": Solomon Islands teachers' perceptions of hosting an Australian pre-service teacher education program. International Journal of Educational Research, 124, 102317.
- Cinelli, R., Robinson, K., & Durmush, G. (2023). Healing in Culture: Evaluation of Gunawirra's Young Aboriginal Mothers' Program. (/-/media/acu_sesu-report_gunawirra-yamp_rgb-web_060723-source-v2.pdf?rev=f6d0735107f84065af2ea1fb1efa0022&hash=DA637428FE1F984D3ADBB6A5747C6052)
- Jones, M., & Cinelli, R. (2023). Teacher education in Solomon Islands. HM Studies and Publishing.
- Peralta, L. R., Cinelli, R. L., Cotton, W., Morris, S., Galy, O., & Caillaud, C. (2022). The Barriers to and Facilitators of Physical Activity and Sport for Oceania with Non-European, Non-Asian (ONENA) Ancestry Children and Adolescents: A Mixed Studies Systematic Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(18), 11554.
- Jones, M., Cinelli, R., & Gallagher, M. (2022). Teacher education for global citizenship: what can an international practicum offer? In J. Zajda (Ed.), Globalisation, Comparative Education and Policy Research (pp. 139-158). Springer. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-71583-0_9
- Peralta, L. R., Cinelli, R. L., Marvell, C. L., & Nash, R. (2022). A teacher professional development programme to enhance students' critical health literacy through school-based health and physical education rogrammes. Health Promotion International, 37(6), daac168.
- Mackley, H., Edwards, S., McLean, K., & Cinelli, R. (2022). Building collaborative competencies through play with outdoor loose parts materials in primary school. Cambridge Journal of Education, https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2022.2030300
- Eades, O., Toombs, M. R., Cinelli, R., Easton, C., Hampton, R., Nicholson, G. C., McCabe, M. P., Busija, L. (2021). The Path to Eldership: Results from a Contemporary Indigenous Australian Community. The Gerontologist. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnab062
- Lonsdale, C., Sanders, T., Parker, P., Noetel, M., Hartwig, T., Vasoncellos, D., Lee, J., Antkzac, D., Kirwan, M., Morgan, P., Salmon, J., Moodie, M., McKay, H., Bennie, A., Plotnikoff, R., Cinelli, R. L., Greene, D., Peralta, L. R., Cliff, D. P., Kolt, G. S., Gore, J. M., Gao, L., Boyer, J., Morrison, R., Hillman, C., Shigeta, T. T., Tan, E., & Lubans, D. R. (2021). Effect of a scalable school-based intervention on cardiorespiratory fitness in children: a cluster randomised clinical trial. JAMA Pediatrics. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.0417
- Peralta, L. R., Cinelli, R. L., & Marvel, C. (2021). Health literacy in school-based health programmes: A case study in one Australian school. Health Education Journal. https://doi.org/10.1177/00178969211003600
- White, R., Bennie, A., Vasconcellos, D., Cinelli, R., Hilland, T., Owen, K., & Lonsdale, C. (2020). Self-determination theory in physical education: A systematic review of qualitative studies. Teaching and Teacher Education, 103247.
- Busija, L., Cinelli, R., Toombs, M., Easton, C., Hampton, R., Holdsworth, K., Macleod, A., Nicholson, G., Nasir, B., Sanders, K., & McCabe, M. (2020). The role of Elders in the wellbeing of a contemporary Indigenous Australian Community. The Gerontologist, 60(3), 513-524. doi:10.1093/geront/gny140
- Vasconcellos, D., Parker, P. D., Hilland, T., Cinelli, R., Owen, K. B., Kapsal, N., Ntoumanis, N., Ryan, R., & Lonsdale, C. (2020). Self-Determination Theory applied to physical education: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 112(7), 1444.
Projects
- 2025-2027- Research Awards for Academic Staff following Parental Leave, ºÚ°µ±¬ÁÏÍø.
Project title: Understanding Primary Pre-service Teachers’ Self-Efficacy and Attitudes Towards Health and Physical Education.
Role: Chief Investigator (CI); Project lead | Total Funding: $12,500
- 2025-2027
Project title: ºÚ°µ±¬ÁÏÍø NextGen STEM Play: “Empowering the next generation of problem-solvers with ºÚ°µ±¬ÁÏÍø.”
Role: Chief Investigator (CI); Project lead.
- 2025-2027- Teaching Development Grant, ºÚ°µ±¬ÁÏÍø.
Project title: Impactful Community Engagement for Social Justice
Role: Investigator | Total Funding: $13,000
- 2025-2026- Faculty of Education and Arts Discovery Grant, ºÚ°µ±¬ÁÏÍø.
Project Title: Primary Teacher Agency Concerning Disciplinary Specialisations: A Cultural Psychological Approach
Role: Investigator | Total Funding: $7,190
- 2026-2026 – University of Sydney SEED funding
Project Title: OzHarvest FEAST Programme Evaluation
Role: Investigator
-
2021-2022- Stakeholder Engaged Scholarship Unit Project, ºÚ°µ±¬ÁÏÍø
Project Title: Gunawirra Young Aboriginal Mothers’ Group Programme Evaluation
Role: Chief Investigator (CI), Project lead | Total Funding: equivalent to $16,000
Awards
- 2022 Uniservitate Award: Service-Learning Experiences in Catholic Higher Education
- 2021 Senior Fellow, Higher Education Academy
- 2021 ºÚ°µ±¬ÁÏÍø Vice-Chancellor's Excellence Award for Research and Research Partnerships: iPLAY team
- 2019 ºÚ°µ±¬ÁÏÍø Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning
- 2018 ºÚ°µ±¬ÁÏÍø Vice-Chancellor's Staff Excellence Award: Excellence in Community Engagement
- 2017 ºÚ°µ±¬ÁÏÍø Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning (Early Career)
- 2016 Australian Teacher Education Association: Early Career Researcher Grant
