School of Education

Emeritus Professor Robert Gilbert

Emeritus Professor
School of Education
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Researcher biography

Rob Gilbert worked as a teacher in Queensland secondary schools before completing his doctorate in curriculum studies at the University of London. His experience in curriculum work includes research and evaluation, consultancy and involvement in curriculum committees and agencies.

Rob Gilbert's expertise is in curriculum development, research and evaluation. He has been a consultant for State and Commonwealth governments, the New Zealand Ministry of Education and the Curriculum Corporation. His research addresses issues of curriculum theory, design and development across a range of fields and levels of education. The work draws on sociocultural perspectives on schools and school contexts, concepts from the sociology of knowledge and the curriculum, and discourse theory.

Particular applications have included research in social and environmental education, education for citizenship, gender in education, the education of boys, standards based curriculum and assessment, and research training.

He is currently working on an analysis of contemporary Australian curriculum debates related to the culture wars and controversies about educational standards, as well as the development of standards based approaches to curriculum and assessment.

Publications

Book Chapters (6)
Journal Articles (8)
Conference Paper (1)
Research Reports (2)

Book Chapters

Gilbert, Robert, Keddie, Amanda, Lingard, Bob, Mills, Martin and Renshaw, Peter (2013). Equity and education research, policy and practice: a review. Equity and education: exploring new directions for equity in Australian education. (pp. 16-51) edited by Alan Reid and Louise Reynolds. Carlton South, Australia: Australian College of Educators.
Gilbert, R. (2010). Curriculum reform. International encyclopedia of education. (pp. 510-513) edited by Penelope Peterson, Eva Baker and Barry McGaw. Oxford, U.K.: Elsevier; Academic Press. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-08-044894-7.00103-2
Gilbert, Rob (2009). Teaching and the boy problem. International handbook of research on teachers and teaching. (pp. 929-937) edited by Lawrence J. Saha and A. Gary Dworkin. New York: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-0-387-73317-3_61
Gilbert, R. (2008). The doctorate as curriculum: A perspective on goals and outcomes of doctoral education. Changing Practices of Doctoral Education. (pp. 54-70) edited by David Boud and Alison Lee. London: Routledge.
Gilbert, Rob (2006). Educating world citizens: A curriculum for citizenship education. Towards a global community : Educating for tomorrow's world : Global strategic directions for the Asia-Pacific region. (pp. 199-207) edited by Jack Campbell, Nick Baikaloff and Colin Power. Dordrech, The Netherlands: Springer.
Gilbert, Robert James (2004). Great Expectations: Political education and political culture in Australia. Citizenship and Political Education Today. (pp. 75-89) edited by Demaine, Jack. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Journal Articles

Gilbert, Rob (2019). General capabilities in the Australian curriculum: promise, problems and prospects. Curriculum Perspectives, 39 (2), 169-177. doi: 10.1007/s41297-019-00079-z
Gilbert, Rob (2011). Can history succeed at school? Problems of knowledge in the Australian history curriculum. Australian Journal of Education, 55 (3), 245-258. doi: 10.1177/000494411105500306
Gilbert, Rob (2011). Pass or fail: Assessing contemporary educational reform. Social Alternatives, 30 (4), 3-4.
Mills, Martin, Goos, Merrilyn, Keddie, Amanda, Honan, Eileen, Pendergast, Donna, Gilbert, Rob, Nichols, Kim, Renshaw, Peter and Wright, Tony (2009). Productive Pedagogies: A redefined methodology for analysing quality teacher practice. Australian Educational Researcher, 36 (3), 67-87. doi: 10.1007/BF03216906
Gilbert, Robert J., Balatti, Jo, Turner, Phil and Whitehouse, Hilary (2004). The generic skills debate in research higher degrees. Higher Education Research and Development, 23 (3), 375-388. doi: 10.1080/0729436042000235454
Gilbert, Rob (2004). A framework for evaluating the doctoral curriculum. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 29 (3), 299-309. doi: 10.1080/0260293042000188258
Alloway, N., Gilbert, P., Gilbert, R. and Henderson, R. (2003). Boys performing English. Gender And Education, 15 (4), 351-364. doi: 10.1080/09540250310001610562
Gilbert, Robert J. (2003). Ecotourism and education for sustainability: A critical approach. International Review for Environmental Strategies, 4 (1), 75-83.

Conference Paper

Gilbert, R., Keddie, A. and Mills, M. (2008). Teachers' views of assessment and accountability. Annual Conference of the British Educational Research Association, Edinburgh, Scotland, 3-6 September 2008.

Research Reports

Mills, Martin, Goos, Merrilyn, Monk, Sue, Muspratt, Sandy, Renshaw, Peter, Gilbert, Rob, Dole, Shelley, Honan, Eileen, Nichols, Kim, Wright, Tony, Gannaway, Deanne and Sheppard, Karen (2012). A curriculum in transition: Final report for the Queensland Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Framework (QCAR): Evaluation. Brisbane, Australia:
Goos, M., Mills, M., Gilbert, R., Gowlett, C., Wright, T., Renshaw, P., Pendergast, D., Nichols, K., McGregor, G., Khan, A., Keddie, A. and Honan, E. (2008). Queensland Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting (QCAR) Framework Evaluation Project - Phase 1 (2006-2008). Brisbane, Australia: Department of Education, Training and the Arts.