Dr Mary Leahy is Program Coordinator (Graduate Coursework) and Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Vocational and Educational Policy, Melbourne Graduate School of Education.
Mary has extensive experience in research and policy and has made significant contributions to the development of evidence-based government policy in Australia through commissioned research reports she has written or co-written for governments and non-government organisations. Her work draws on comparative education; theories on gender; Nussbaum and Sen’s capabilities approach; and theories on choice and preference formation.
Recent research projects have examined transitions within education and between education and employment; the nature of vocational education; young people’s decisions about tertiary education; vocational education funding and quality vocational teaching.
Mary’s research interests include vocational education; pathways; the interface between education sectors; transitions within education and between education and employment; gender; education policy; Nussbaum and Sen’s capabilities approach; and theories on choice, preference formation and decision making.