Sharon Thompson
Education Coordinator
Qualifications:
Master of Teaching, Charles Darwin University, 2005
Bachelor of Anthropology and Cultural Studies, Monash University, 1999.
Location:
Darwin - Charles Darwin University, Casuarina campus
Biography:
Sharon is a multidisciplinary academic with 25 years’ experience working across education, social science and public health research in the Northern Territory (NT). Driven by a passion for human rights, social justice and life-long learning, Sharon’s work aims to improve lives through education and research. Sharon has a particular interest in how culture, history, politics and economics influence education and public health, especially in settler colonial and First Nations contexts. Her research interests include qualitative methods, cultural epistemology, political ontology and cross-cultural communication in public health and education.
Sharon’s community-based active living research in remote Northern Territory explores the socio-cultural link between health, the environment and economics. The study has informed national public health policy and practice through: the 2018 Mayi Kuwayu National Study of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing; the 2020 Descriptors of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ Cultures and their Links to Health and Wellbeing; the 2020 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework; and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2021–2031.
Sharon specialises in the creation of education and public health resources, learning design and curriculum development. She currently coordinates the postgraduate public health and health research program at Menzies.
Research Themes
- Thompson, S.L., Chenhall, R.D., & Brimblecombe, J.K. (2013). Indigenous perspectives on active living in remote Australia: a qualitative exploration of the socio-cultural link between health, the environment and economics. BMC Public Health, 13(473).
- Thompson, S. (2010). Aboriginal Perspectives on Physical Activity in Remote Communities: Meanings and Ways Forward. Darwin, Australia: Menzies School of Health Research.
- Cairney, S., Fitz, J., Thompson, S., & Currie, J. (2009). The Gunja (Yarndi) Brain Story. Darwin, Australia: St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne and Menzies School of Health Research.
- Cairney, S., Fitz, J., Thompson, S., & Currie, J. (2009). The Grog Brain Story. Darwin, Australia: St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne and Menzies School of Health Research.
