Sharon Law-Davis

Senior Lecturer
Master of Education (The University of Notre Dame Australia), Bachelor of Education (Curtin University), Diploma of Teaching ECE (Curtin University)

Email: sharon.law-davis1@nd.edu.au
Phone: 9433 0112

  • Biography

    Sharon Law-Davis is a Senior Lecturer within the School of Education, Fremantle. Sharon has co-ordinated the Principles of Primary Religious Education for Primary and Early Childhood students as part of the Accreditation to Teach in a Catholic school. Sharon’s experience in Catholic Education in Western Australia spans 34 years where she held positions in teaching in primary and early childhood years and in administration and leadership. Sharon holds a Master of Education in Religious Education from the University of Notre Dame and lectures in the Religious Education field.

    She has lead research into teaching Scripture in Religious Education, in particular the use of the strategy Godly Play. This strategy and subsequent research has impacted on the Religious Education courses at UNDA where students are trained in the strategy and have expressed confidence in sharing scripture stories with students.

    Sharon and her co-researchers presented the paper at a national conference in 2018. Sharon has represented UNDA at several conference interstate and overseas. In 2025 the GRACE conference was hosted by St Mary's Twickenham, London and in 2026 it will be hosted by Boston College, Boston. Sharon has been on the steering committee for the GRACE conventions. Sharon has researched the effectiveness of the Religious Education courses for preparing graduate teachers to teach Religious Education in Catholic primary schools. Sharon is also using Professional Learning Communities to support students in the Religious Education courses. She has presented a paper on Professional Learning Communities at a national conference in 2019.

    A highlight was participating in an immersive study tour to Israel with students in 2023 as part of their Masters program where they explored the complex realities in the Holy Land. Sharon’s passion is creativity in the classroom and how to engage students in learning through creativity. Creativity is a general capability in the Australian Curriculum and is pertinent to successful engagement in 21st century society. Sharon lectures in Visual Arts in the various degrees.

    Sharon is an active participant in the Fremantle community where she lives and works. She welcomed her first grandson in 2023. She enjoys where she lives for the community engagement, the many places to visit including the beach and vibrant lifestyle. She has enjoyed the boating life with her husband for over 40 years. Sharon also paints using oils on canvas as one of her interests.

  • Teaching Areas

    • Religious Education
    • Visual Arts ECE program, BEd Primary, Master of Teaching program
    • Early Childhood Education
    • General Pedagogy

  • Research expertise

    Sharon is an active researcher in the field of Religious Education and  Pre-Service Teachers’ experiences. She is leading research in perspectives of pre-service teachers of teaching religious education in Catholic schools in Western Australia. Her co-researcher is John Topliss from the Catholic Institute of Western Australia.

    The aim of Sharon and John’s research project is to explore how confident pre-service teachers feel to teach Religious Education in Catholic Primary schools after initial teacher training at UNDA.

    This qualitative study aims to obtain a deeper understanding of aspects that affect teacher confidence in teaching Religious Education within the Primary school years. The importance of pursuing this topic lies in that there is a need for teachers to teach RE in Catholic primary schools but they need the confidence to teach the learning area.

    Pre-service teachers who choose to teach in a Catholic school are required to obtain the Accreditation to Teach RE in a Catholic school. UNDA provides courses that are part of the accreditation process. This research will add to our understanding of how the course structure can be designed to develop students’ confidence to teach RE through course workshop learning and teaching strategies. This research is intended to be published in a journal paper, and will be presented at a national conference in 2022.

    • Religious education courses for undergraduate teachers (2020)
    • Teaching Scripture in Religious Education (2018)
    • Professional Learning Communities (2019)
    • Pilgrimage

  • Journal articles

    • Law-Davis, S., Robinson, C., Fic, J. & Mola, R. (2019).  Godly Play: Pre-service teachers’ perspectives on teaching scripture in primary Religious Education. E-Journal of Catholic Education in Australasia. https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/ecea/vol3/iss1/11
    • Law-Davis, S., Robinson, C., Fic, J. & Mola, R. (2019).  Godly Play: Pre-service teachers’ perspectives on teaching scripture in primary Religious Education. E-Journal of Catholic Education in Australasia. https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/ecea/vol3/iss1/11
    • Law-Davis, S, & Topliss, J.(2022). Perceptions of pre-service and graduate early childhood and primary teachers regarding their confidence in teaching Religious Education in Catholic primary schools. British Journal of Religious Education. 10.1080/01416200.2022.2108001
    • Topliss, J., Pang, L. & Law-Davis, S. (2025). Confidently teaching Religious Education through a pilgrimage experience, International Studies in Catholic Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/19422539.2025.2561880
    • Law-Davis, S., Robinson, C., Fic, J. & Mola, R. (2019).  Godly Play: Pre-service teachers’ perspectives on teaching scripture in primary Religious Education. E-Journal of Catholic Education in Australasia. https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/ecea/vol3/iss1/11

  • Conference papers

    • Law-Davis, S., Robinson, C., Fic, J., & Mola, R (2018). Pre-service teachers’ perspectives about Godly Play as a strategy for teaching scripture in Religious Education in primary schools. Paper presented at the The Australian Institute of Theological Education, NSW.
    • Law-Davis, S. (2019). Professional Learning Communities in Religious Education Pre-Service Course. Paper presented at The Australian Institute of Theological Education, NSW.

  • Community Engagement

    • Teacher Registration Board of Western Australia
    • Catholic Institute of Western Australia
    • Catholic Education of Western Australia
    • Principals’ Forum, UNDA
    • Godly Play In-service Course for Catholic Primary school staff
    • Peer Review Portal Community