Vivienne Anderson (academic)

Vivienne Ruth Anderson is a New Zealand academic, and is a full professor at the University of Otago, specialising in the interface of education policy and practice, and issues around accessibility of education.

Academic career
Anderson is a qualified teacher, and worked in primary schools in Christchurch and Palmerston North before moving to Dunedin in 2002. Her experience accessing education as a parent led her to postgraduate study in education. She completed a PhD titled The experiences of international and New Zealand women in New Zealand higher education at the University of Otago in 2009, supervised by Karen Nairn and Jacqueline Leckie. Anderson worked as a research fellow in the university's dental school, before being appointed as a lecturer in the College of Education at Otago, rising to associate professor in 2021 and full professor in 2024. Since 2021, she has been the dean of the university's College of Education.

Anderson's research covers the accessibility to children and young people of quality education, focusing on issues such as educational mobility, education pathways and equity and access. She is interested in educational policy and practice across varied settings including school, university, vocational education and health profession education. She has a particular interest in the education experiences of migrants and refugees, and has a three-year research project with young people with refugee backgrounds, exploring their transition from secondary to tertiary education.

Anderson works internationally and supervises doctoral students in Japan, Fiji, Malaysia and Cambodia.