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, 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 , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and Professor of Education Emeritus at the

University of Warwick , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (202 ...

. In 2011 he was elected Fellow of the

British Academy The British Academy 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 same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

(FBA), the UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences and chaired its Education Section 2018-21.

Career

The son of artist

Isabel Alexander Isabel Alexander (1910-1996) was a British artist and illustrator whose work encompassed drawing, water colour, oils, lithography, lino-printing and three-dimensional work, and whose output ranged from socially-engaged documentation of the lives ...

and documentary film-maker Donald Alexander, he was born in 1941 and educated at the

Perse School (He who does things for others does them for himself) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = Nondenominational Christian , president = , head_label = Head , ...

and the universities of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

( Downing College, MA, PhD, LittD), Durham (PGCE),

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

(Ac Dip Ed) and

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

(MEd), and at

Trinity College of Music Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music and dance conservatoire based in London, England. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. The conservatoire has ...

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

Leeds Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...

(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. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and W ...

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

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, as Visiting Fellow of

Hughes Hall Hughes Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. It is the oldest of the University of Cambridge's postgraduate colleges. The college also admits undergraduates, though undergraduates admitted by the college must b ...

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

University of York , mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £8.0 million , budget = £403.6 million , chancellor = Heather Melville , vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery , students ...

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 A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or na ...

(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 executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

(EC) and the

Department for International Development The Department for International Development (DFID) was a department of HM Government responsible for administering foreign aid from 1997 to 2020. The goal of the department was "to promote sustainable development and eliminate world poverty". D ...

(DfID) (1995–2005) * Board of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) (1997–2002) * Adviser to Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation and

University Grants Committee (Hong Kong) 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 the C ...

(1999–2005) *

Office for Standards in Education The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted is responsible for inspecting a range of educational institutions, includ ...

(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 The British Association for International and Comparative Education (BAICE) is a learned society in the United Kingdom dedicated to promoting teaching, research, policy and development in all aspects of international and comparative education. It ...

, 2008–09 * Court,

Bishop Grosseteste University Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) is one of two public universities in the city of Lincoln, England (the other being the University of Lincoln). BGU was established as a teacher training college for the Diocese of Lincoln in 1862. It gained t ...

(2011–) * International Steering Committee, Van Leer Jerusalem Institute (2012–13) *Chair, Director and Trustee,

Cambridge Primary Review Trust Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge became ...

(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, 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 Wiltshire. The insti ...

(2013–18) * Vice-President, Early Education (2014–15) *Board of Trustees,

Children and the Arts Children & the Arts is an independent charity that provides access to professional arts venues for young people in the UK who would otherwise grow up having had no, or very limited opportunity, to engage with the arts. The charity works across t ...

, formerly the Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts (2014–21).

Publications

Alexander’s research has yielded over 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) He has been an occasional columnist for the '' Times Educational Supplement'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' and other national newspapers and from 2014-17 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 p ...

(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 title ...

, 2005–06 * Honorary Fellow (FCollT), the College of Teachers, 2009 * Honorary doctorates from

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

and

, 2010 * Miegunyah Distinguished Visiting Fellow,

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb n ...

, 2010 * C.K.Koh Visiting Professor, National Institute of Education, Singapore, 2010 * Fellow of the

Academy of Social Sciences The Academy of Social Sciences 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 matters, ...

(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 England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It was a member of the Trades Union Congress. In March 2017, NUT members endorsed a proposed merger with ...

, 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/Sage Public Impact Award for initiation and leadership of the Cambridge Primary Review and Cambridge Primary Review Trust (2015). *Honorary doctorate from

The Open University The Open University (OU) is a British 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 underg ...

(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 British educational theorists Academics of the University of Cambridge Academics of the University of Leeds Academics of the University of Warwick Fellows of Wolfson College, Cambridge Fellows of the British Academy Education policy in the United Kingdom Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences Academics of the University of York Living people Year of birth missing (living people)