About me
As the Dean of Education, Peter is a senior academic leader within the university, responsible for overseeing the School of Education. This role is pivotal in shaping educational policy, ensuring academic excellence, and advancing the institution’s mission in teacher education, post-graduate research and programs. Other duties include strategic leadership aligned to internationalisation, academic staff and a performative culture, and internal and external collaborative partnerships. The Dean acts as the primary representative of the education faculty, providing intentional direction, financial, resource and operational management.
Peter provides visionary leadership and strategic oversight, ensuring that academic programs are closely aligned with the school’s mission and objectives. He fosters a collaborative environment among faculty, champions innovative approaches to teaching and learning, and consistently advocates for ongoing improvement across all facets of the educational experience.
As Dean and Head of Education, Peter is dedicated to the development of creative and sustainable strategies for the delivery of teacher and executive education leadership. He demonstrates a strong commitment to the implementation of efficient methodologies that uphold rigorous standards of quality and foster meaningful, robust outcomes.
Prior to academia Peter taught science and HPE in primary and secondary schools for 17 years. Peter was a leader of school student and staff pastoral care, developed innovations and was awarded the State’s National Excellence in Teaching Award (NEiTA, 1998).
Having been an academic for more than 22 years, Peter has researched ‘differentiation – meeting the needs of all’ in Education settings with the creation, implementation and evaluation of such programmes. He has published widely, including six books, two book chapters, and over 60 peer-reviewed journal publications. Peter’s research and leadership is framed through a motivational and psychological needs perspective (Self Determination Theory; Respectful Inquiry, Self-Efficacy; Two-way Feedback Interaction; Wellbeing). This background and teaching qualities have been recognised by student, Faculty and University awards including the highly prestigious Australian Award for Teaching Excellence (2008) by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) – the national body for learning and teaching in higher education.
Peter’s experiences and formal learning buttress expertise in understanding and designing leadership, mentoring and coaching interventions, management, pedagogy and andragogy, motivation, efficacy, and communicating feedback. This is, in turn, transformed into inclusive, contemporary, and evidence-based practice within authentic contexts (education, leadership, sporting) that are reflective of the diverse experiences and needs of all.
Currently, Peter is designing and implementing innovative curriculum and leadership programs that interconnect domestic and international communities.