Robin Alexander is a British educationist and academic known particularly for championing the cause of primary education, for his leadership of the

Cambridge Primary Review The Cambridge Primary Review (CPR), following a lengthy period of consultation and planning, was launched in October 2006 as a fully independent enquiry into the condition and future of primary education in England. The Review, directed by Profes ...

, and for his research and writing on education policy, culture, curriculum, pedagogy, dialogic teaching and comparative and international education. He is currently Fellow of Wolfson College at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and Professor of Education Emeritus at the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...

. In 2011 he was elected Fellow of the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

(FBA), the UK's national academy for the humanities and social sciences and chaired its Education Section from 2018 to 2021.

Career

The son of artist Isabel Alexander and documentary film-maker Donald Alexander, he was born in 1941 and educated at the

Perse School The Perse School is a private school (English fee-charging day and, in the case of the Perse, a former boarding school) in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1615 by Stephen Perse, its motto is ''Qui facit per alium facit per se'', taken to mea ...

and the universities of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

(

Downing College Downing College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 950 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to the university between 1596 and 1869, ...

, MA, PhD, LittD),

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

(PGCE),

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

(Ac Dip Ed) and

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

(MEd), and at

Trinity College of Music Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music, dance, and musical theatre conservatoire based in South East London. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. Trini ...

(ATCL). He taught in schools and colleges before moving to the universities of

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

(1977–95) and

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

(1995–2001), at both of which he was Professor of Education. In 2001 he moved to

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, as Visiting Fellow of

Hughes Hall Hughes Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The majority of students are postgraduate, although nearly one-fifth of the student population comprises individuals aged 21 and above who are studying undergraduate ...

(2001–2), Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow (2002–4), Fellow of Wolfson College (since 2004), Professorial Director of Research in the Faculty of Education (2006–10) and Director of the

(2006–12). From 2013 to 2017 he combined his Cambridge affiliation with an honorary chair at the

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...

and leadership of the Cambridge Primary Review Trust (CPRT), a not-for-profit company dedicated to building on the work of the Cambridge Primary Review. At the University of York he also co-directed the joint CPRT/IEE project on dialogic teaching and social disadvantage, funded 2014–17 and successfully subjected to randomised control trial by the

Education Endowment Foundation The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) is a charity established in 2011 to improve the educational attainment of the poorest pupils in English schools. It aims to support teachers and senior leaders by providing evidence-based resources designe ...

Public roles

Council for National Academic Awards The Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) was the national degree-awarding authority in the United Kingdom from 1965 until its dissolution on 20 April 1993. Background The establishment followed the recommendation of the UK government Com ...

(CNAA) (1975–84) * Chair, Association for the Study of Primary Education, 1987–89 * Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (CATE) (1989–94) * Department for Education and Science (DES) ‘three wise men’ enquiry into primary education (1991–2) * BFI/TES Warnock Commission on the Teaching of English (1992–3) * Government of India District Primary Education Programme and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, technical support on behalf of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

(EC) and the

Department for International Development The Department for International Development (DFID) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom, from 1997 to 2020. It was responsible for administering foreign aid ...

(DfID) (1995–2005) * Board of the

Qualifications and Curriculum Authority The Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA), previously known as the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), was a charity, and an executive non-departmental public body (NDPB) of the Department for Education. In Engl ...

(QCA) (1997–2002) * Adviser to Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation and

University Grants Committee (Hong Kong) The University Grants Committee of Hong Kong is a non-statutory advisory committee responsible for counselling the Government of Hong Kong on the financing and expansion needs of its subsidised higher education institutions. Appointed by t ...

(1999–2005) *

Office for Standards in Education The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...

(Ofsted) enquiry into the Education of Six-Year Olds in England, Denmark and Finland (2002–03) * Director, Dialogos UK Ltd (2004–) * Director, Cambridge Primary Review, 2006–2012 * President, British Association for International and Comparative Education, 2008–09 * Court,

Bishop Grosseteste University Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) is a public university in the city of Lincoln, England. BGU was established as a teacher training college for the Diocese of Lincoln in 1862. It gained taught degree awarding powers in 2012, applied for ful ...

(2011–) * International Steering Committee,

Van Leer Jerusalem Institute The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute is a center for interdisciplinary study in the humanities and social sciences, and the development of new ways of addressing questions of global concern that hold special importance for Israeli society and the r ...

(2012–13) *Chair, Director and Trustee, Cambridge Primary Review Trust (2012–17) * Strategic Committee, Expert Subject Advisory Groups (ESAG) (2013–16) * Board of Governors,

Bath Spa University Bath Spa University is a public university in Bath, Somerset, Bath, England, with its main campus at Newton Park, about west of the centre of the city. The university has other campuses in the city of Bath, and one at Corsham Court in Wiltshi ...

(2013–18) * Vice-President, Early Education (2014–15) *Board of Trustees, Children and the Arts, formerly the Prince's Foundation for Children and the Arts (2014–21).

Publications

Alexander's research has yielded more than 300 publications. These deal mainly with pedagogy and classroom research, discourse analysis and classroom talk reform, curriculum, the educational policy process and its impact, and international, comparative and development education. Much of this work has focused on the primary phase of schooling. His books and monographs include: * ''Professional Studies for Teaching'' (1979) * ''Developments in PGCE Courses'' (1980) * ''Advanced Study for Teachers'' (1981) * ''The Self-Evaluating Institution'' (1982) * ''Primary Teaching'' (1984) * ''Change in Teacher Education'' (1984) * ''Changing Primary Practice'' (1989) * ''Policy and Practice in Primary Education'' (1992) * ''Curriculum Organisation and Classroom Practice in Primary Schools'' (1992) * ''Innocence and Experience: reconstructing primary education'' (1994) * ''Versions of Primary Education'' (1995) * ''Other Primary Schools and Ours: hazards of international comparison'' (1996) * ''Policy and Practice in Primary Education: local initiative, national agenda'' (1997) * ''Time for Change: curriculum managers at work'' (1998) *
Learning from Comparing: new directions in comparative educational research: Volume 1, Contexts, Classrooms and Outcomes
' (1999) *
Learning from Comparing: new directions in comparative educational research: Volume 2, Policy, Professionals and development
' (2000) *

' (2001) *
Towards Dialogic Teaching
' (2004, 5th edition 2017) *
Education as Dialogue: moral and pedagogical choices for a runaway world
' (2006) *
Essays on Pedagogy
' (2008) *
Education for All, the Quality Imperative and the Problem of Pedagogy
' (1998) *
Children, their World, their Education: final report and recommendations of the Cambridge Primary Review
' (2010) *
The Cambridge Primary Review Research Surveys
' (2010). *
A Dialogic Teaching Companion
' (2020) *
Education in Spite of Policy
' (2022) *
Rhondda Portraits
' (2024) He has been an occasional columnist for the ''

Times Educational Supplement ''TES'', formerly known as the ''Times Educational Supplement'', is a British weekly trade magazine aimed at education professionals. It was first published in 1910 as a pull-out supplement in ''The Times'' newspaper. Such was its popularity th ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' and other national newspapers and from 2014 to 2017 edited and contributed to the weekly CPRT Blog.

Honours and awards

American Educational Research Association The American Educational Research Association (AERA, pronounced "A-E-R-A") is a professional organization representing education researchers in the United States and around the world. AERA's mission is to advance knowledge about education and ...

(AERA) Outstanding Book Award (fo
Culture and Pedagogy
, 2001 * Society for Educational Studies Book Awards, First Prize (fo

, 2002 * Sir Edward Youde Memorial Visiting Professor,

Hong Kong Institute of Education The Education University of Hong KongUniversity titl ...

, 2005–06 * Honorary Fellow (FCollT), the

College of Teachers The Chartered College of Teaching is a learned society for the teaching profession in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1846, the college was incorporated by Queen Victoria into a royal charter as the College of Preceptors in 1849. A supplemental ch ...

, 2009 * Honorary doctorates from

Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Education ...

and

, 2010 * Miegunyah Distinguished Visiting Fellow,

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

, 2010 * C.K.Koh Visiting Professor,

National Institute of Education The National Institute of Education (NIE) is an autonomous institute of Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. Ranked 10th in the world and 2nd in Asia by the QS World University Rankings in the subject of Education and Trainin ...

, Singapore, 2010 * Fellow of the

Academy of Social Sciences The Academy of Social Sciences (AcSS) is a representative body for social sciences in the United Kingdom. The academy promotes social science through its sponsorship of the Campaign for Social Science, its links with Government on a variety of m ...

(FAcSS), 2011 * Association for Managers in Education (AMiE) Award for Services to Education, 2011 * Fellow of the

(FBA), 2011 *

National Union of Teachers The National Union of Teachers (NUT; ) was a trade union for school teachers in Education in England, England, Education in Wales, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It was a member of the Trades Union Congress. In March 2017, NU ...

, Fred and Anne Jarvis Award for Campaigning for Education, 2011 * Society for Educational Studies Book Awards, First Prize (fo
Children, their World, their Education
, 2011 * Cambridge Journal of Education Best Paper Prize, 2011 *

BERA Bera may refer to: Acronyms * Bioelectric recognition assay, a method in electrophysiology * Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority, an energy regulatory body in Botswana * Brainstem evoked response audiometry, a screening test to monitor for heari ...

/Sage Public Impact Award for initiation and leadership of the

and Cambridge Primary Review Trust (2015). *Honorary doctorate from

The Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

(2018).

References

External links

Who's Who

Cambridge Primary Review Trust

Wolfson College, University of Cambridge

British Academy

Robin Alexander: official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Robin Academics of the University of Cambridge Academics of the University of Leeds Academics of the University of Warwick Academics of the University of York Alumni of the College of the Venerable Bede, Durham Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge Alumni of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance Alumni of the University of Manchester British educational theorists Education policy in the United Kingdom English people of Scottish descent Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of Wolfson College, Cambridge Living people People educated at The Perse School Year of birth missing (living people)