Rate My Professor Carol Mutch

Carol Mutch is Professor of Critical Studies in Education in the Faculty of Arts and Education at the University of Auckland. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Canterbury (1974), a master’s degree in educational studies from the University of North London (1994), and a PhD from Griffith University (2004) titled Context, Complexity and Contestation in Curriculum Construction: Developing Social Studies in the New Zealand Curriculum. Her career began as a primary school teacher in Canterbury and Otago, followed by roles in teacher education at Christchurch College of Education and the University of Canterbury. She later served as a policy advisor at the Education Review Office before joining the University of Auckland, where she was promoted to full professor in 2021.

Professor Mutch’s research focuses on the role of schools in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery, drawing on extensive fieldwork following events such as the 2010–2011 Christchurch earthquakes, the 2011 Japan tsunami, the 2015 Nepal earthquake, Australian bushfires, and the COVID-19 pandemic. She has authored or edited books including Doing Educational Research: A Practitioner’s Guide to Getting Started (2005, 2013), Optimising your Academic Career (2017), and Understanding Enduring Ideas in Education (2017, co-edited). Her honours include the McKenzie Award for excellence in educational research (2019), the University of Auckland Research Excellence Medal (2020), the Research Impact Award (2023), and awards from the Pacific Circle Consortium and the American Educational Research Association. She serves as Education Commissioner for the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO and has contributed to editorial roles, public lectures, and policy advisory work in education.