Before joining the University of Wollongong (UOW) as a research officer in 1985, Beverly Derewianka accumulated extensive professional experience in language education in secondary schools.
In Australia, the findings have provided important references to inform policy development at different levels of school in the Australian National Curriculum.
Internationally, her research has influenced syllabus design in countries including Singapore, Hong Kong, the USA, and England.
Reviewed in The Australian Journal of Linguistics (14 September 2011), her co-authored book with Professor Frances Christie, School Discourse – based on findings from our ARC Discovery project – was described as ‘an invaluable resource for teachers of primary and secondary students’ and is the best-selling monograph of the series.
Her professional publications (reference books for literacy educators) have sold around 140,000 copies internationally and have been translated into Swedish and Danish.