I am Professor of Education in the Faculty of Education, Emeritus Professor of Public Education in the Centre for Public Education and Pedagogy at Maynooth University, Ireland, and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Pedagogy, Religion and Social Studies at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Norway.

My work is situated in the field of educational theory, with strong inspiration from Continental European traditions in which education is not seen as an applied field of study but as an academic discipline in its own right. I have published widely on the theoretical dimensions of education, with a particular interest in democracy, democratisation and the public role of education, in the theory of teaching and the theory and practice of teacher education, in curriculum theory, in the theory and practice of art education, religious education and citizenship education. My research also includes the critical analysis of national and transnational education policy and on the theory and philosophy of educational and social research. I have published widely on these topics and so far my work has appeared in 24 different languages.

In 2023 I started at four-year term as appointed member (‘kroonlid’) of the Education Council of the Netherlands (‘Onderwijsraad’), the advisory council of the Dutch government and parliament on educational matters. I served a term as associate member from 2015-2018. From 2020-2022 I was a member of the Scientific Curriculum Committee in the Netherlands, advising the government on the future of the curriculum for primary and secondary schools. Since 2024 I’m an expert advisor for the Council of Europe, contributing to the development of the European Space for Citizenship Education. Earlier I have been an advisory to the Flemish Parliament on teacher education policy.

I am Associate Editor of the journal Educational Theory (Wiley), and have, from 2020-2026, been co-editor of the Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education (Taylor and Francis). I am advisory editor and chair of the editorial board of the Scottish Educational Review (De Gruyter/Brill). From 1999 until 2014 I was editor-in-chief of Studies in Philosophy and Education (Springer). From 2018-2023 I was co-editor of the British Educational Research Journal (Wiley).

I have worked at universities in England, Scotland, Ireland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg and have held visiting and adjunct professorships in Norway, Sweden and Finland. I have supervised more than 30 doctoral students to successful completion. I received honorary doctorates from Uppsala University (2004), Örebro University (2007) and Oulu University (2013) and was awarded the Francqui International Professorship by the Francqui Foundation, Belgium (2010) and the Grand Medal of the University of Ghent, Belgium (2011). In 2025 I received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the John Dewey Society (USA). In the same year I was also elected a Fellow of the British Academy.

Recent books include: World-Centred Education: A View for the Present (Routledge, 2022); Teacher agency: An ecological approach. Revised edition (Bloomsbury 2026, co-authored with Mark Priestley); Reclaiming the Artistry of Teaching (Bloomsbury 2026, co-edited with Ramsey Affifi), and Educational research: An Unorthodox Introduction (Bloomsbury, 2020).

Links

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=auiOrHcAAAAJ&hl=en
Website: https://www.gertbiesta.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gert-biesta-586347162/

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