Dr. Anjali Rana
Scholarly Teaching Fellow, Professional Experience
Campus
Biography
Dr Anjali Rana is a professional experience lecturer in Initial Teacher Education. She facilitates the preparation of pre-service teachers for their placement experience in early childhood education settings. She is passionate about children and human rights. Her pedagogical approach is grounded in a humanistic perspective that aims to empower future teachers and support them in developing ethical, reflective, and inclusive professional identities.
Before joining Federation University, Anjali gained international experience in Initial Teacher Education as a lecturer, contributed to scholarly work as a junior project fellow at NCERT, and was a counsellor. In Australia, she developed her skills as a trauma-informed educator by providing holistic support to children and families as a family and education case manager in social work. This interdisciplinary experience informed her doctoral thesis and her work in professional experience. She continues to apply her research and work experience in her teaching.
Anjali completed her doctoral thesis, titled ‘Preparing future teachers to teach sexuality education’, in 2025. The research explored comprehensive sexuality education in tertiary education in Australia that was grounded in child rights. Her research sets the foundation for her teaching of relationships, communication, sexuality, consent, rights, and teaching frameworks that foster critical thinking in preservice teachers.
More about Anjali
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy (Education), Federation University Australia
- Master of Counselling, Monash University
- Master of Arts in Psychology (Psychosocial Clinical Studies), Ambedkar University
- Master of Education, JMI University
- Bachelor of Elementary Education, Delhi University
Areas of interest
- Rights-based education
- Comprehensive sexuality education
- Consent education
- Initial teacher education
- Early childhood
- Text analysis
- Qualitative research
Areas of expertise
Anjali has expertise in teaching and brings a strong interdisciplinary background to her work in education. She has experience in counselling and psychosocial support, including report writing and applied psychological understandings.
She has a strong interest in literature as a tool to understand concepts related to sexuality education, and her deep engagement with complex topics helps with interpreting nuanced meanings. She is committed to professional practice, research and pedagogical approaches that are based on child and human rights.
- Sexuality education
- Relationships and communication
- Child development
- Teacher education
- Professional experience in initial teacher education
- Early childhood
Specialist roles
- Lecturer, Professional Experience (Early Childhood)
- Scholarly teaching fellow
Conference presentations
- Rana, A & Burke, J (2025, May 28). Orientation to sexuality education in Teacher Education degrees in Australia. World Federation of Associations for Teacher Education (WFATE) 8th Biennial Conference & Association for Teacher Education in Europe (ATEE), Teacher Education in a Global World.
Paper presentations
- Rana, A., & Daniel, R. (2021, July 16). Impact of COVID-19 on children in education in India. SJIDE Online Conventicle 2021. Forging new pathways: Social Justice, Inclusion, Diversity and Education. Federation University Australia.
Social Justice, Inclusion and Diversity in Education (SJIDE)
- Publications
Insights into the Education System in India and the Current Impact of COVID-19 on Child Rights
- Book Chapters
- DOI reference: 10.1007/978-981-19-5008-7_6