my-profile
Contact
+94117543947
harsha.wi@sliit.lk
Dr. Harsha Wijesekera
Assistant Professor
Faculty of Humanities & Sciences | School of Education
Career Summary
Harsha Wijesekera is a dedicated academic with over three decades of diverse teaching experience across primary, secondary, undergraduate, and postgraduate levels in public, semi-government, military, and private institutions.
Currently, she is the Head of the School of Education, Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology
Before taking the position at SLIIT, Harsha was
- a Senior Lecturer and Higher Degree Research Coordinator at the Postgraduate Institute of English, Open University of Sri Lanka [From May 2013 to March 2024]
- a Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University [From 1 March 2023 to 1 March 2024] engaging with the School of Literature, Language and Linguistics
- a Senior Lecturer at Sir John Kotelawala Defence University [From Dec 2010 to May 2013]
Additionally, she was involved as
- Visiting Faculty at the National Institute of Business Management
- Edexcel Teacher Trainer
- English and English Literature teacher at various schools including Royal College Colombo and D.S. Senanayake College, Colombo
Harsha is dedicated to facilitating transformative learning. Her research interests encompass the medium of instruction, sociology of education, language and ethnicity, social cohesion, applied linguistics/sociolinguistics, curriculum development, and continuing professional development. Her most outstanding contribution to Sri Lanka is conceptualization, desing and implementation of the first-ever Postgraduate Diploma in Bilingual (English Medium Instruction) in Eduation. Recognizing the value of this postgraduate qualification, the Ministry of Education sponsor 50 tuition scholarships for teachers and teacher educators to enrol in this program at the Postgraduate Institute of English, Sri Lanka.
ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS
- PhD. / Faculty of Education / Queensland University of Technology, Australia [Received the Outstanding Thesis Award]
- Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Second Language [TESL] / Postgraduate Institute of English
- Post Graduate Diploma in Education (TESL) / University of Colombo, Sri Lanka (Awarded for High Standard of Excellence)
- Post Graduate Diploma in International Relations (Merit) / Bandaranaike Center for International Studies, Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in English and English Language Teaching (Second Upper) / Open University of Sri Lanka
- Critical Thinking in Language Learning and Teaching / University of Oregon, USA
- Certificate in Senior Teachers in Higher Education / Center for Staff Development, OUSL
- Online Course Design & Development / Open University of Sri Lanka
- Professional In-Service Teacher Training
HONOURS AND AWARDS
- Outstanding PhD Thesis Award 2019 for highly commended thesis / Faculty of Education, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
- The Ernest Perera Memorial Award for the achievement of High Standard of Excellence 2009/ Faculty of Education of the University of Colombo
- Visiting Fellow, Australian National University
- National Educator Award - Gold Award 2023 for the field of Language and Literature
Research Interests and Memberships
Research Interests
- Sociology of Education
- Applied Linguistics/Sociolinguistics
- Language Policy/Ethnolinguistics/Social Cohesion
- Medium of Instruction in Education/English Medium/Bilingual Education
- Teacher Education
- Language Curriculum/Material Development
Memberships
- Member, The Association for Language Testing and Assessment of Australia and New Zealand (ALTAANZ)
- Member, ELINET (Education, Languages, and Internationalisation Network)
Ongoing Research
A comparative study on Teacher beliefs, ideologies and practices: L1 in the Bilingual education classrooms in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Co-researcher Dr Naashia Mohomed, School of Curriculum & Pedagogy, University of Auckland.
Medium of Instruction vs. Low Performances among undergraduates
Needs Analysis of undergrduates [English Language]
My Publications
Book Chapters
- Wijesekera, H.D, " Recognizing Diversity: Multiethnic Sinhala- and Tamil-medium schools in Sri Lanka " Christina P. Davis and Chaise LaDousa , The Language, Education, and Identity: Medium in South Asia, London, 2021, Routledge,
- WIJESEKERA, H. D., & HAMID, M. O " The dynamics of bilingual education in post-conflict Sri Lanka " Adinolfi, L., Bhattacharya, U., & Phyak, P., ). Multilingual Education in South Asia: At the Intersection of Policy and Practice, 2022, Routledge.,
- Wijesekera, H.D. & Alford, J " Bilingual Education classrooms in Sri Lankan schools: A social space for ethnolinguistic reconciliation " I. Liyanage and T. Walker, Multilingual Education Yearbook 2019, 2024, Springer, Cham,
- Chan Alice, W. Y., Amarasingam, A., Couture, A, Wijesekera, H.D., Tiflati, H., & Matemba Y. H " When Discussion of Religion is Not Encouraged: Dont Ask, Dont tell. " J. Fraser-Pearce & J. W. Fraser, Bloomsbury Handbook of Schools and Religion, London, 2023, Bloomsbury Academic,
- Padwad, A., Wijesekara. H., Phyak, P., Manan, S., & Mohamed, N. " ). EMI in South Asia " C. Griffiths , The practice of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) around the world , 2023, Springer, Nature, pp. 191-210,
- Wijesekera, H. D. " Translanguaging in English Language Education in Sri Lanka: Social and academic grains " S. Sultana & P. K. Sah, Translingual Practices in English Language Education in South Asia: Inclusivity and Equity, under review, Not Published, Multilingual Matters (under review),
- Wijesekera, H. D. & Nanayakkara N " Report: (2024). Situational Analysis of Bilingual Education Approach (English Medium instruction) in Sri Lankan government and government-assisted schools: Towards informed policy recommendations. National Education Commission, Sri Lanka. " Colombo, 2024,
Journal Publications
- : Karunanayake, S.P., Weerakoon, W. M. S., Wijesekera, H. D., Nawarathna, N. M. R. K., Ramathass, P. & Weerasinghe M. D. B. P " ". Towards digital thinking and practices: Experiences of Sri Lankan teachers and students" " Open Praxis., vol.13, Issue 4, 2021, https://doi.org/10.55982/openpraxis.13.4.262,
- Wijesekera, H.D, Alford, J., & Mu, M. G " "Forging inclusive practice in ethnically-segregated school systems: lessons from one multiethnic, bilingual education classroom in Sri Lanka " " International Journal of Inclusive Education, vol.23, Issue 1, 2019, pp.23-41, 10.1080/13603116.2018.1514730,
- Wijesekera, H. D. " "Dreams deferred: English language teaching in Sri Lanka " " VISTAS Journal Of Humanities And Social Sciences , vol.7/8, Issue 2, 2012,
Conference Proceedings
- WIJESEKERA, H. D | Improving the product through the process: using cooperative group tasks to improve accuracy in L2 writing of ESL students in Two hundred years of English language use in Sri Lanka: Trajectories of Language, Literature, and Pedagogy , year 2011, BMICH, Colombo, Sri Lanka, International Conference of the Sri Lanka English Language Teacher Association,
- Wijesekera, H. D. Education as a Tool of Ethnic Integration: Are we successful? in International Symposium, Sir John Kotalawala Defence University, Sri Lanka , year 2011, KDU, Ratmalana, Sri Lanka, Sir John Kothalawala Defence University of Sri Lanka, Wijesekera, H. D.,
- Wijesekera, H. D. How Teachers of English perceive their In-Service Advisors: A root cause for the failure of ESL in Sri Lanka? The Learning Teacher year 2010, 5th International Conference of the Sri Lanka English Language Teacher Association, WIJESEKERA, H. D,
- Ruzaika, S.H.F. & Wijesekera, H. D. Enhancing Higher Order Thinking Skills in Sri Lankan English Medium Instruction Science Classrooms: An Action Research in SICASH 5th International Conference on Advancement in Sciences and Humanities, year 2024, Monarch Imperial, Jayawardenepura, Sri Lanka, Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology, 4 December 2024,
- Lawrence, D. & Wijesekera, H. D. An Analysis of 4C Skills Representation in the General Certificate of Education (Advanced Level) General English (GE) Textbook in Sri Lanka in SICASH 5th International Conference on Advancement in Sciences and Humanities, year 2024, Monarch Imperial, Jayawardenepura, Sri Lanka, Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology, 4 December 2024,
Books
- Wijesekera, H. D. " Teacher Continuing Professional Development, Mentoring and Supervision for TESL." Nawala Sri Lanka, Postgraduate Institute of English, 2020,
- Wijesekera, H. D. " Methodology for CLIL teachers." Nawala, Sri Lanka, Postgraduate Institute of English, 2019,
- Sedere, U., Chandramohaan, K., Coperahewa, S., Mendis, D., Nanayakkara, P., Wickramagamage, C., & Wijesekera, H. " Commissioned Report: Recommendations for the National Policy on Medium of Instruction in Schools." Colombo, National Education Commission, 2024,
Conference Presentations
- WIJESEKERA, H. D " "Nurturing Assessment for Learning through Assessment of teachers: Praxis-pedagogy for teacher/student development Presentation, at Association for Language Testing and Assessment of Australia and New Zealand) Conference 14-16th November 2023,Melbourne, Australia, 2024
- WIJESEKERA, H. D " Presentation, at 53rd Annual Meeting of the British Association of Applied Linguistics. 9-10 Sep 2021, 2021
- WIJESEKERA, H. D " Heteroglossia in Bilingual Education classrooms: A 'third space' for investment in inclusive social capital and social justice Presentation, at The Canadian Center for Studies and Research in Bilingualism and Language Planning (CCERBAL) Symposium. 29 April- 1 May 2021, 2020
- WIJESEKERA, H. D " Assessments for Learning and promoting 21st-century skills through Alternative Assessments in English Language classrooms Presentation, at Association for Language Testing and Assessment of Australia and New Zealand (ALTAANZ/LTRC 2020) November 19-20, 2020, University of Melbourne, 2020
- WIJESEKERA, H. D " Is going online a panacea for teaching/learning: Risking equity and inclusion at the time of the lockdown Presentation, at International Online Conference on Teaching-Learning in 6 the time of pandemic: Role of online learning, 2020 April 21-22, Commonwealth Education Media Centre for Asia and Krishna KantaHandiqui State Open University, Guwahati, Assam India , 2021
- WIJESEKERA, H. D " “Accruing ‘Inclusive Social Capital’ through Diversity Responsiveness in Multiethnic Bilingual Education Classrooms: Lessons from (and for) Post-conflict Sri Lanka Presentation, at UNSCO: The Inclusion, Mobility and Multilingual Education Conference 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand., 2019
- WIJESEKERA, H. D " “The paradox of the Sri Lankan public education system and language of instruction: From exclusivity to inclusivity through Bilingual Education.” Presentation, at Applied Linguistics Conference 25-27 November 2019, at Curtin University, Perth, WA., 2019
- WIJESEKERA, H. D " Promoting equality in multiethnic BE classrooms by stimulating ‘linguistic communism’. In LLTT SIG Symposium #2 - The place of teacher agency amid constraining education conditions Presentation, at International Conference of Association for Australian Educational Research (AARE) 2018 Dec 2-6 University of Sydney, Australia., 2018
- WIJESEKERA, H. D " Embracing Translanguaging: Empowering English Language Learners and Promoting Acquisition” Presentation, at Annual ELINET Conference: Global Voices, Local Impact: Education, Language and Diversity on 26 October 2024., 2024
- PERERA, C. & WIJESEKERA, H. D " Translanguaging in Bilingual Education Secondary School classrooms during ESL cooperative group activities: Forms, functions and Learner Perceptions Presentation, at Annual ELINET Conference: Global Voices, Local Impact: Education, Language and Diversity on 26 October 2024, 2024
English
Sinhala
Tamil
