University of Melbourne appoints Professor Gert Biesta as the Faculty of Education’s Professorial Chair
Professor Gert Biesta has been appointed as Professorial Chair at the University of Melbourne Faculty of Education, following an extensive international search.
The newly established prestigious position is an appointment that will provide intellectual leadership, mentoring and support for graduate researchers, and enhanced global visibility, while fostering the growth of the Faculty’s intellectual, educational, and research profile in the discipline of education.
Professor Biesta is widely recognised as a leading world-class education scholar who has been challenging narratives that frame education purely in instrumental terms and exclusively focus on metrics and outcomes.
He advocates for a broader understanding of education, one that values democratic engagement, ethical responsibility, and the formation of individuals as thoughtful, responsible, and engaged participants in society.
Joining the Faculty of Education as Professorial Chair, Biesta brings a distinguished international career spanning England, Scotland, Ireland, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Finland, and Sweden.
Professor Biesta is looking forward to joining the Faculty of Education and is honoured to serve as the inaugural Professorial Chair.
“I am looking forward to productive dialogues between different traditions of educational scholarship and, through this, contribute to the important challenge of taking education seriously in its own right,” said Professor Biesta.
“As a public good, education has a critical role to play in the maintenance and renewal of democratic life, which may well be the most important challenge ahead of us,” added Professor Biesta.
At the heart of Biesta’s scholarship is a fundamental question: What is education’s role in contemporary society and what is the unique and distinct contribution education can make?
This perspective resonates strongly with current global challenges where education systems are being called upon to respond to issues of inequality, social cohesion, climate change and technological disruption.
In his role at the University of Melbourne, Professor Biesta will enrich academic programs and inspire both students and staff to engage more deeply with questions of purpose, values, and the public good in education.
He will also support graduate researchers through mentoring, contribute to the development of summer and winter schools, and strengthen research and publishing activities across the Faculty.
In addition, he will play a key role in shaping conversations around educational policy and practice, both nationally and internationally.
Faculty of Education Dean, Professor Marek Tesar said the Faculty feels priviledged to welcome Professor Biesta.
“Professor Biesta is one of the most influential educational thinkers of our time,” said Professor Tesar. “His work has profoundly shaped international conversations about the purpose of education, democratic engagement, teaching, and the public role of educational institutions.”
“His appointment represents an important moment for the Faculty and for the broader educational community in Australia, and reflects our commitment to intellectually rigorous, globally engaged, and values-driven educational scholarship.”
The appointment reflects the Faculty of Education’s ongoing commitment to advance education as a discipline that is not only evidence-based, but also values-driven. It aligns with broader institutional priorities around inclusion, equity and the role of education in fostering meaningful societal change.
This appointment reaffirms the Faculty’s role in shaping the future of education, one that is intellectually rigorous and socially responsive.
“Through this role, Professor Biesta will also influence and mentor future generations of graduate researchers, scholars, and teachers in Australia,” said Professor Tesar.
The Faculty of Education’s Talking Teaching podcast showcased Professor Biesta and “The Purpose of Education” in conversation with Dr Sophie Specjal in 2025.