Role

Ashlie teaches in the Bachelor of Education Te Tohu Paetahi Whakaako and in the Bachelor of teaching Te Tohu Paetahi Whakaakoranga (ECE). Her role closely aligns with her research interests in childhood and disability studies, a rights-based approach to inclusive education and accessible pathways for higher learning in education for all. Her role is multi-faceted and includes online teaching using a range of multimedia teaching approaches, further developing her own teaching practice to meet the needs of the modern-day online learner, supporting tauira in their teaching practice in an inclusive and mana enhancing way. Finally, in order to achieve the above, her role includes engagement and participation in academic research to inform and grow her research profile.

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Education Background

Ashlie brings over 20 years of experience in education, with teaching and academic expertise spanning Early Childhood, Primary Initial Teacher Education, and the Social Sciences. She has held a range of roles in higher education, including undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, as well as supervision at master’s level.

Her academic journey reflects a strong commitment to inclusive education and supporting diverse learners. Ashlie holds a Master of Special Education from the University of Waikato, alongside specialist qualifications in Brain Injury and Community Rehabilitation from Massey University. She completed her initial teacher education through a Bachelor of Education and Diploma in Teaching (Primary) at the University of Waikato.

Ashlie’s educational background continues to underpin her teaching and research, particularly in relation to disability studies, inclusive practice, and creating accessible pathways for all learners in education.

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Research Background

Ashlie’s research centres on two interconnected areas. The first focuses on disability studies and inclusive education, with a particular emphasis on using discourse analysis to examine and challenge exclusionary practices. Drawing on discourse theory, her work critically explores how societal and educational attitudes toward disability are constructed, and how these shape understandings of inclusion and exclusion in both classroom and wider social contexts.

Her developing doctoral trajectory will extend this work, focusing on ableism in higher education. In particular, Ashlie is interested in the experiences of women with visible physical disabilities as they navigate professional academic spaces, with an emphasis on equity, representation, and systemic barriers.

The second area of her research is grounded in human development, with specific interests in child development and childhood studies. Within this field, she is particularly committed to research approaches that centre children’s voices, recognising their agency and the importance of their perspectives in shaping educational practice and policy.

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Teaching Interests

Ashlie’s teaching is grounded in a strong commitment to inclusive and mana-enhancing practice. Her lived experience of disability informs and strengthens her pedagogical approach, shaping the ways in which she supports diverse learners and challenges deficit-based thinking in education.

Her teaching interests centre on inclusive education, critical perspectives on “othering,” and the ways in which exclusionary practices can become normalised across educational and social contexts. Through her work with tauira in Initial Teacher Education, she encourages critical reflection on equity, diversity, and the taken-for-granted assumptions that influence teaching practice.

Ashlie is also interested in innovative and reflective teaching approaches, including the use of visual and multimodal methods—such as photography—to explore the complexities and contradictions of inclusion in practice. Her teaching aims to support tauira to develop critically informed, responsive, and socially just approaches to working with diverse learners.

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Recent Publications

Kecskemeti, M., Hamilton,, C., & Brink, A. (2017). Developing inclusive practices. Deconstructing and reconstructing partnerships in times of change. In R. McNae, & B. Cowie (Eds.), Realising Innovative Partnerships in Educational Research, (pp. 33-43). Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense Publishers. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-94-6351-062-2#toc

Brink, A., & Kotze, E. (2017). Stitching hope through loss in celebration. In F. L. Cohen (Ed.), Hope Individual Differences, Role in Recovery and Impact on Emotional Health (pp. 159-171). New York, USA: Nova Science Publishers Inc.

Brink, A. (2016). When age descriptive words matter: Children, tweenies or tweens. Children’s perspectives of childhoods. In V. Sharma, & A. Brink (Eds.), Childhood through the looking glass (pp. 223-232). Oxford, UK: Inter-Disciplinary Press.

Sharma, V., & Brink, A. (2016). Introduction. In V. Sharma, & A. Brink (Eds.), Childhood through the looking glass (pp. vii-xiv). Oxford, United Kingdom: Inter-Disciplinary Press.

Claiborne, L., Peters, S., & Brink, A. (2015). Shaking up human development: A reflection from Aotearoa New Zealand on Erica’s Burman’s contribution. Feminism & Psychology, 1-7. doi:10.1177/0959353515570920