We are transitioning from a time when the design of schooling and university education in Australia and the Western world was based on success for some. The goal of learning and teaching in places called ‘schools’ and ‘universities’ will be success for all and preparation for life – not exams.
Professor John Fischetti has worked within this kind of transformational school reform, rethinking schooling, revamping teacher education and modernising transdisciplinary leadership preparation for the past 35 years.
Newcastle hosts one of Australia’s largest schools of education and it sits in the top 150 in the world as measured by the QS rankings. John led the University’s School of Education for six years before taking on the role of Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Faculty of Education and Arts.
Today he is Pro Vice-Chancellor of the College of Human and Social Futures comprising the Newcastle Law School, the Newcastle Business School, the School of Humanities and Social Science, the School of Creative Industries and the School of Education. The College has taken on the challenge to promote equity-minded excellence throughout the social sciences and creative disciplines. As we negotiate the evolving machine-driven world, John’s goal is to revision the future of humanity
He is the immediate Past President of the New South Wales Council of Deans of Education.
Prior to joining the University of Newcastle, John served as Dean and Professor of Educational Leadership at the College of Education and Human Development at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. Prior to that he was a Doctoral Program Chair and Department Head at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. And earlier in his career we was Professor of Education at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, where he helped lead the evolution of the Professional Development School model of teacher education.
John received his doctorate in education in professional development, school reform and educational leadership for change in 1986 at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He completed his Masters in Secondary Education and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and American Government from the University of Virginia. John holds his teaching certificate in secondary social studies and has taught high school history, economics and political science.
John’s key research interests include: School Reform, Preparing Leaders for New Roles/Responsibilities, Secondary Teacher Education Global Educational Issues, Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Technology and Education Research in Teaching and Learning.
His work over the last 35 years focusses on rethinking pedagogy, assessment, schooling and teacher education. John’s equity-driven message is incorporated in his work with undergraduate, post-graduate and PhD students and his leadership of his School and College.