Nigel Fraser Bagnall (1955 - )

Short Biography & Significant Contribution

Nigel Bagnall is a Senior Lecturer in Comparative and International Education, Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney, Australia. Dr Bagnall has extensive professional and consulting experience in a wide range of educational settings. His work in international schools and his research on the International Baccalaureate have established his reputation in the field of international curriculum in cross-cultural settings. He has also made significant contributions to the field of youth research and youth transition.

Bagnall is an innovative and respected researcher in the field of comparative and international education. He is one of a few researchers who examine international schools in critical perspective. He examines how these institutions are generators of social capital from a Bourdieu analytical framework. Increasing numbers of internationally minded schools, as well as schools in national education systems, are adopting curricula such as the International Baccalaureate (IB). Using the IB as an international comparator, Bagnall is establishing a significant body of research. Bagnall has analyzed the role and evolution of international schools over a 30-year period in his recent International Schools as Agents of Change (2008, In Press). This publication provides a critical insight into the significance of these institutions in a rapidly globalizing educational marketplace. Professor Emeritus Roger Woock, University of Melbourne, commented on Bagnall's work, "The author goes inside the schools to provide a rounded perspective. He has interviewed both teachers and students - the most important elements in any educational institution - in order to bring the current world of international schools to life. Nigel Bagnall, the author of this book, is very suitable for the task of placing international education into a 21st century perspective."

Bagnall's research in youth transition led to the publication of Youth transition in a globalised marketplace (2005). He harnessed the expertise of youth researchers in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and North America to examine the complexities of youth transition. This contribution has led to new understandings of how youth move between school and work in different countries, and how youth are affected by the processes of globalization.

Bagnall has also made major contributions in the application of theory to practice, evident in his commitment to education in Australia. Seeing the need for a text on the sociology of education at the undergraduate level, he along with a team of notable academics recently produced Education, Change and Society (2007). This has been a highly successful publication with a number of Australian universities using it in their courses. He received the Faculty of Education and Social Work's prestigious Teaching Excellence Award in 2005, and has consistently been nominated by his students for the Award since he began teaching at the University of Sydney in 1995. Bagnall also heads up the "Embedding Diversity" project that brings the aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island students to the forefront of teacher education. He is also the coordinator of "Beyond the Line", a collaborative program between the University of Sydney and the New South Wales Department of Education and Training that takes new teachers to rural and remote regions of New South Wales, Australia. All of this work emphasizes his commitment to rethinking how ideas work in practice.

Educational Background

BA, Political Science, University of Auckland, New Zealand (1976)

BEd, Massey University, New Zealand (1979)

Diploma, Second Language Teaching, Massey University, New Zealand (1989)

MEd, Comparative Education (1st Class Hons), University of Melbourne, Australia (1992)

PhD, Comparative Education, University of Melbourne, Australia (1995) Thesis title: The International Baccalaureate in Australia and Canada: 1980-1993

Professional Background

Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Education, University of Sydney, Australia (1994 - present)

International Baccalaureate Teacher (History, Politics), St. Leonard's College, Melbourne, Australia (1986-1991). Extra responsibilities: Year 10 Coordinator, Extensions Coordinator, Overseas Student Coordinator

International Baccalaureate Coordinator/Teacher (History, Sociology)/Head Physical Education, International School of Paris, France (1985-1986)

Teacher (English, Social Studies, Physical Education), Westlake Boys High School, Auckland, New Zealand (1982-1984)

Head Physical Education, International School of London, United Kingdom (1981-1982)

Teacher (Social Studies and Physical Education), Penrose High School, Auckland, New Zealand (1978-1980)

Affiliations (associations, organizations, institutions)

Australia New Zealand Comparative International Education Society, Secretary/Treasurer (1994-2000)

World Congress of Comparative and International Education, Joint Chairperson of the Managing Committee of the 9th World Congress of Comparative and International Education, Sydney, Australia (1996)

External Reviewer: Canadian Studies Association International Grant Program, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (1999 - present)

Selected Publications

Bagnall, N. F. (2008). International schools as agents for change. New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Bagnall, N. F. (2007). Globalisation. In R. Connell, et. al. (Eds.), Education Change and Society (pp. 280-297). Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

Bagnall, N. F. (2005) Youth Transition in France. Education and Society 23(2), 29-42.

Bagnall, N. F. (2005). Teacher Cultural Reflection and Cultural Action Learning: Researching a Cultural Dimension in Teacher Education. SEE-Revista Europeia de Etnografia da Educacao, 4, 101-116.

Bagnall, N. F. (Ed.). (2005). Youth Transition in a Globalised Marketplace. New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Bagnall, N. F. (2005). The International Baccalaureate in Australia and New Zealand. Change. Transformation I Education, 8(1), 39-57.

Bagnall, N.F. & Horsley, M. (2003). Cultural Learning in Teacher Education. SEE-Revista Europeia de Etnografia da Educacao, 3, 57-70.

Bagnall, N. F. (2003). The role of language in Australian schools in the Twenty First Century. World Studies in Education4(1), 67-78.

Bagnall, N. F. (2000). The Balance Between Vocational Secondary and General Secondary Schooling in France and Australia. Comparative Education, 36 (4), 459-475.

Shinn, C., Welch, A. R. & Bagnall, N. F. (1999). Comparing international student policy in the United States and Australia. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 23, 81-99.

Bagnall, N. F. (1997) The International Baccalaureate in Canada, 1980-1993. In K. Burridge, L. Foster & G. Turcotte (Eds.), Canada-Australia: Towards a Second Century of Partnership (pp. 233-246). Carlton: The International Council for Canadian Studies, Carlton University Press.

Bagnall, N. F. (1997). The International Baccalaureate in Australia. Melbourne Studies in Education 38(1), 129-144.

Created: 7/22/2008

Updated: 7/22/2008

Contributed By: Elizabeth Cassity, University of Sydney, Australia