Dr Matthew Thomas
- Affiliate Researcher (School of Education)
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6950-5726Biography
"You'll soon come to a major intersection with a four-way stop sign."
These driving instructions were provided to me ahead of my interview at a rural secondary school, and though I didn't realise it at the time, foreshadowed the lessons I'd learn in my first job as a K-12 teacher and the questions I'd explore throughout my career.
Even though the secondary school I attended as a student was less than an hour away, at the time I found the driving instructions comical; to me, a 'major intersection' would have stoplights instead of stop signs. But this difference only scratched the surface, and sparked new lines of inquiry. Whilst teaching I was curious how perspectives of education might vary within and across communities; how teachers' roles, work, and pedagogies may be mediated by a range of factors; and how educational policies influence the lives and outcomes of students, teachers, and school leaders. In short, I started to question and compare educational processes in a new way.
Building on these early experiences, I have devoted the last 20+ years of my professional career to the systematic study, teaching, and improvement of education across diverse contexts. I have worked as a researcher, teacher, teacher educator, and international development practitioner across Australia, Indonesia, Mali, Nigeria, Tanzania, the USA, the UK, and Zambia. I have completed consultancies and research projects for a range of organisations, including Aga Khan Foundation, Mastercard Foundation, Open Society Foundations, UNESCO-IICBA, UNESCO-IIEP, VVOB, USAID, and more.
My research broadly examines education policies, pedagogical practices, and teacher and higher education. I commonly employ in-depth, qualitative methods to explore how local and global conditions enable or constrain quality teaching, though I also have experience with quantitative and mixed methods research and welcome collaborations. I conduct this research in both high-income and low-income countries to highlight what can be learned from studying and comparing different educational systems and experiences. This research yields significant insights into the nexus between policy and practice, generating insights for improving teaching and learning in schools and universities.
My publications can be found in a range of academic journals and books as well as on the occaisional blog or podcast. I am also the co-editor of Examining Teach For All (Routledge, 2021), the Handbook of Theory in Comparative and International Education (Bloomsbury, 2021), and Australian Universities (Sydney University Press, 2022). Most recently, I am the lead co-editor of the Handbook of Method in Comparative and International Education (Bloomsbury), due out in early 2025.
Currently, I am Head of Department for Educational Leadership and Policy within the School of Education, and Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in International and Comparative Education. I also convene the Glasgow Comparative and International Education Research (GLACIER) network. Previously I was an Associate Professor of Comparative Education and Sociology of Education at the University of Sydney and an Assistant Professor of Global and Multicultural Education at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. To be honest, I never thought I'd work at any of these institutions - it seems life can be quite funny and interesting if you give it some space to breathe.
So, thanks for taking the time to read this. If you'd like to learn more, you'd like to work on a project together, you'd like to study with me, or you just really love jazz drumming, drop me an email.
Qualifications:
PhD, Comparative and International Development Education (University of Minnesota)
MA, International Educational Development (Teachers College, Columbia University)
BS, Music Education with Honors (Messiah College)
Research interests
See here for a complete listing of my publications.
Grants
Selected Grants
- 2024-2026 - Aga Khan Foundation (Schools2030 programme) - “Teacher Agency and Innovation in Tanzania: Exploring and Advancing Change." (PI, £117,780)
- 2022-2024 - VVOB / Lego Foundation - "A mixed-method evaluation of IT'S PLAY: Improving Teaching Skills on Playful Learning for Africa’s Youngest." (Co-I, £77,369)
- 2022-2024 - New South Wales Department of Education - "Mid-career Transition to Teaching Program." (co-I, £518,217)
- 2022-2023 - British Association of International and Comparative Education - “Surveying the uses of podcasts in higher education." (PI, £4,993)
- 2021-2022 - Office of Global Engagement, University of Sydney - "Global Development Award." (PI, £10,195)
- 2018-2019 - British Association of International and Comparative Education - "Revisiting Comparative Pedagogy." (co-I, £4,546)
- 2017-2020 - Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade - "International Professional Experiences for Teacher Education Students." (co-I, £205,207)
Supervision
Research Supervision Areas
I welcome supervision inquiries from potential students who share my research interests, including but not limited to:
- Global education policies
- Teachers and teaching
- Teacher education
- Higher education
- Comparative and international education
- Sociology of education
Supervision Inquiries
If you are interested in studying with me, please email me the following:
- Research proposal of approximately 3000 words (see here for guidance)
- Recent CV
- Transcripts of all academic degrees
- Any books, articles, chapters, or reports you’ve published already
- A 300-word description of how your research experiences/interests align with my research and why you’re interested in pursuing a PhD specifically with me (i.e., I would strongly recommend reading at least 2-3 of my papers/chapters).
- A brief description of your funding situation (e.g., already in receipt of a scholarship, planning to apply to one, planning to self-fund, etc.)
- A listing of other academics/programmes you have contacted at Glasgow and beyond as well as the status of those exchanges.
Current PhD Supervision
Research Supervision Summary
I recieved a Supervisor of the Year Award from the Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association in 2019, and to date I have supervised and supported 4 PhD completions as well as 9 Masters and 9 Undergraduate Honours students.
Past PhD Supervisions
Leo Ren-hao Xu (2023) - Problematising higher education enrolment policy: A comparative case study of Australia and Taiwan. (First supervisor; University of Sydney).
John Iromea (2022) - School leaders' and teachers' perceptions of leadership, cultural knowledge and school effectiveness: A case study of five Solomon Islands urban secondary schools. (First supervisor; University of Sydney).
Lipei Wang (2021) - Global citizenship education in Chinese secondary schools: Intentions and practices from a curriculum perspective. (Third supervisor; University of Sydney).
Rosaria Indah (2021) - Community-based medical education: Exploring doctor-patient interactions in post-disaster Aceh, Indonesia. (First supervisor; University of Sydney).
Past PhD Examinations
Barton, A. (2024). Making sense of educational change: A longitudinal mixed-methods study of how students and teachers come to understand and enact school reform in Brazil. University of Cambridge.
Fernández Ugalde, R. A. (2024). Labouring to teach: Accounting for policy transformations in teachers' labour and institutional regimes in Chile between 1980-2021. University of Cambridge.
Tolkah Adityas, M. (2022). The self in struggle: Indonesian secondary school teachers’ multiplicity of voices amidst competing discourses of tolerance. University of Auckland.
Penn, S. (2019). "How do they do it?" An investigation into the practices of Australian teachers and principals working in low SES schools. Murdoch University.
Iddy, H. (2018). Girls and secondary education in rural Tanzania: Perceptions, obstacles, and future possibilities. The University of Newcastle.
Yin, Y. (2018). From university graduates to teachers in disadvantaged schools: A sociological study of participation in an alternative teacher recruitment program. Queensland University of Technology.
Teaching
Current Teaching and Leadership
I contribute lectures and support pedagogical activities for various programmes, including but not limited to the MSc in International and Comparative Education, the MSc in Education, Public Policy, and Equity, and the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master in Education Policies for Global Development (GLOBED).
Previous Teaching and Leadership
I was the inaugural Programme Leader for the MSc in International and Comparative Education at the University of Glasgow, and served at the University of Sydney as Acting Programme Director for the Master for International Education and Deputy Programme Director for the Initial Teacher Education Foundations Suite. I have also supported a number of curriculum reform projects in Wisconsin (USA), Sydney (Aus), and Glasgow (UK).
My teaching and programmatic work has been formally recognised as: 1) an Outstanding Faculty for Internationalization Award (2020), Study Abroad & International Students SIG of the Comparative and International Education Society; 2) a Teaching Excellence Award (2019) and Dean's Commendation for Excellence in Teaching (2017) from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Sydney; 3) a Finalist for the Provost’s Excellence in Teaching Award (2015), University of Wisconsin-La Crosse; and a Teaching Award (2005), Newport Public High School.
I have led courses of different levels (undergraduate to doctoral), formats (in-person, hybrid, entirely asynchronous virtual), and sizes (from 3 to 439 students), including hiring, training, and mentoring a team of up to ten tutors.
Doctoral: Education Policy
Masters: Research Seminar in Comparative Education & International Development; Globalization and Education; International Trends in Education Policy; Global Actors and International Education Policies; School and Society; Human Relations: Applied Skills for School and Society; Educational Psychology
Bachelors: Education in a Global Society; Social Perspectives of Education (Sociology of Education); Human Relations: Applied Skills for School and Society; Understanding Human Differences; Foundations of U.S. Public Education; Professional Experience; Student Teaching Seminar
Secondary: Music Theory; High School Concert Band; Middle School Concert Band; Marching Band; Jazz Band; Pit Orchesta; Girls' Indoor Soccer
Additional information
Journal Serivce
- Editorial Board Member, British Journal of Sociology of Education (Taylor & Francis)
- Editorial Board Member, Curriculum Journal (Wiley)
- Editorial Board Member, International Studies in the Sociology of Education (Taylor & Francis)
- Editorial Board Member, Zambian Journal of Educational Management, Administration and Leadership (University of Zambia)
- International Advisory Board Member, Comparative Education Review (University of Chicago Press)
- College of Reviewers, Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education (Taylor & Francis)
