Professor Jessica Mantei

National Head of School, Education
Acting Executive Dean, Faculty of Education, Philosophy & Theology
BEd, MEd (Res), PhD

Email: jessica.mantei@nd.edu.au

  • Biography

    Jessica Mantei has been in education for more than 30 years in early childhood, primary, secondary and tertiary sectors in Catholic, independent and public school systems. Jessica’s work is underpinned by the premise that education changes lives, and specifically, that literacy is the key to that change. As a teacher, educational researcher and leader, Jessica’s engagement in the tertiary sector is underpinned by a commitment to ensuring education is accessible to anyone who seeks it, and that it be accessible within their own community.

  • Research expertise and supervision

    • Language and literacy
    • Literacy and digital technologies
    • Teacher professional identity
    • Teacher pedagogies
    • Reflective practice

  • Book chapters

    • Kervin, L., Ewing, R., Smith, D., Waugh, F., & Mantei, J. (2021). Identifying resonances for a reflective practice pedagogy for education and social work professions. In Reflective Practice in Education and Social Work (pp. 26-40). Routledge.
    • Mantei, J., & Kervin, L. (2021). The ‘Wollongong way’: Addressing issues of reflection and the development of professional identity with time-poor preservice teachers. In Reflective Practice in Education and Social Work (pp. 119-134). Routledge.
    • Mantei, J., & Kervin, L. (2021). A case study: Using principles for reflective practice pedagogies to develop preservice teachers' reflective capacities. In Reflective Practice in Education and Social Work (pp. 103-118). Routledge.
    • Ewing, R., Kervin, L., Mantei, J., O’Mara, J., & Smith, D. L. (2021). What does it mean to be a reflective practitioner in education?. In Reflective Practice in Education and Social Work (pp. 41-58). Routledge.
    • Bowles, W., Chambers, B., Ewing, R., Kervin, D. J. M., Morely, C., O’Mara, J., ... & Smith, D. The contribution of becoming reflective on the employability of teachers and social workers
    • Mantei, J., Lipscombe, K., Cronin, L., & Kervin, L. (2019). Engaging learners with digital literacy practices. In Handbook of Research on Innovative Digital Practices to Engage Learners (pp. 28-51). IGI Global.

  • Journal articles and proceedings

    • Kilgariff, L., Kervin, L., & Mantei, J. (2025). Exploring Young Children’s Research Practices as They Engage as Research Partners. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 24, 16094069251371798.
    • Alruthaya, S., Mantei, J., White, S. L., & Kervin, L. (2025). Moving towards a more comprehensive understanding of multimodal text complexity. The Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 1-21.
    • Mantei, J., & Kervin, L. (2025). Examining teachers’ navigation of their professional identities in flexible learning spaces. Teachers and Teaching, 1-18.
    • Mantei, J., & Kervin, L. (2025). The pleasure and power of playful problem solving through storytelling. Qualitative Research Journal, 25(1), 23-30.
    • Mantei, J., Kervin, L., Weber, L. A., & Ryan, M. (2025). Teacher produced video tours of classrooms: what matters for their teaching of writing?. The Australian Educational Researcher, 52(2), 1431-1449.
    • Kervin, L., Mantei, J., & Neilsen-Hewett, C. (2025). Mentoring to build early childhood teacher capacity across career stages: The early childhood elevate mentoring program. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 50(1), 81-96.
    • Kilgariff, L., Mantei, J., & Kervin, L. (2025). What is critical digital literacy: And how can we work with children in their first years of school to develop it?. Practical Literacy: The Early and Primary Years, 30(1), 32-35.
    • Alruthaya, S., Mantei, J., White, S., & Kervin, L. (2025). Evaluating Picturebook Complexity Through Children's Eye Movement and Miscue Analysis. International Journal of Educational Methodology, 11(3), 297-316.
    • Kervin, L., Taylor, E. K., Lewis, K., Rivera, C., Mantei, J., & Parker, M. (2024). Children’s Museums as Places for Playful Learning: A Focus on Child Wellbeing. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 18369391251351654.
    • Parker, M., Mantei, J., & Kervin, L. (2024). Examining the opportunities for digital text production in the Australian Curriculum for the first years of school. The Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 47(2), 225-242.
    • Mantei, J. (2024). Opinari: What counts as reading now?. Practical Literacy: The Early and Primary Years, 29(1), 5-7.
    • Mannell, K., Zhao, A., Amery, P., Apps, T., Bircanin, F., Bunn, A., ... & Zomer, C. (2024). Digital Child Ethics Toolkit: Ethical Considerations for Digital Childhoods Research.
    • Kervin, L., Mantei, J., Rivera, M. C. S., & Neilsen-Hewetta, C. (2024). Establishing a digital technology play space for children. Journal of Museum Education, 49(4), 525-537.
    • Turner, E., Mantei, J., & Kervin, L. (2023). Investigating key principles for the design of virtual interactions for children that can support the development of oral language through play. The Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 46(1), 105-124.
    • Kervin, L., & Mantei, J. (2022). Pretend play: children in control of a shifting narrative. Education Sciences, 12(12), 925.
    • Burri, M., Mantei, J., & Kervin, L. (2022). “This side is the real world and the other one is like Minecraft” Using an almost wordless picture book to explore Japanese primary school students’ cultural awareness. Language Teaching for Young Learners, 4(2), 192-214.
    • Mantei, J., Kervin, L., & Jones, P. (2022). Examining pedagogies for teaching phonics: lessons from early childhood classrooms. The Australian Educational Researcher, 49(4), 743-760.
    • Cronin, L. P., Kervin, L., & Mantei, J. (2022). Transition to school: children’s perspectives of the literacy experiences on offer as they move from pre-school to the first year of formal schooling. The Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 45(1), 103-121.
    • Mantei, J., & Kervin, L. (2021). Literate Identities in the Early Years of Primary School. Transition and Continuity in School Literacy Development, 215.
    • Kervin, L., & Mantei, J. (2021). Transition from preschool to school: Spaces, time, interactions and resources. Transition and continuity in school literacy development, 77.
    • Mantei, J., & Kervin, L. (2021). Examining children’s interpretations of teacher expectations in the literacy classroom. The Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 44(2), 37-45.
    • Mantei, J., & Kervin, L. (2020). Teacher knowledge and student learning: An examination of teacher pedagogies for the same writing topic across two consecutive grades. The Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 43(3), 224-234.
    • Kervin, L., Danby, S., & Mantei, J. (2019). A cautionary tale: Digital resources in literacy classrooms. Learning, Media and Technology, 44(4), 443-456.
    • Mantei, J., & Kervin, L. (2019). What's your system?: Thinking about what we mean by being 'systematic' in our teaching about letter-sound relationships in context. Practical Literacy: The Early and Primary Years, 24(2), 14-17.