Rate My Professor John Kennedy

Dr John Kennedy is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education within the College of Education, Behavioural and Social Sciences at Adelaide University. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of New England (2019), a Postgraduate Certificate of Education from Loughborough University (2005), and a Master of Physics with First Class Honours from Loughborough University (2004). He is a Member of the Institute of Physics (MInstP) since 2010 and is eligible to supervise Masters and PhD students. Specialising in Complexity for Education, Kennedy is a member of the Centre for Change and Complexity in Learning (C3L) and leads the quantitative research team within the Education Futures Academy (EFA). His research explores how schools function as dynamic complex systems influenced by relationships, histories, and local conditions. He advocates a data-informed rather than data-driven approach to educational research, emphasising sense-making, local context, professional judgement, and ethical, responsive interventions. Key research interests include complex systems, student engagement, teacher and student wellbeing, learning analytics, and learning sciences.

Kennedy leads or collaborates on several projects, such as A Complexity Approach to Empowering Local Leaders at Trinity College Gawler (2025–2029), High Achieving Teachers Program Phase 2 Expansion Pilots funded by the Commonwealth Department of Education, Skills and Employment (2024–2028), Closing the loop in authentic assessment with Seaview High School (2024–2027), Extending workplace learning through a university-school partnership with Pulteney Grammar School (2024–2027), and the SA Academy for Gender Equity in STEM funded by the National Careers Institute (2022–2023). His publications include 'Pragmatic AI in education and its role in mathematics learning and teaching' (npj Science of Learning, 2025), 'Creative self-efficacy: why it matters for the future of STEM education' (Creativity Research Journal, 2025), 'Learning analytics for lifelong career development' (Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence, 2023), 'Self-determined learning in a virtual makerspace' (International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 2023), 'Technology enhanced learning environments and the potential for enhancing spatial reasoning' (Mathematics Education Research Journal, 2022), and 'The keys to STEM: Australian year 7 students' attitudes and intentions towards science, mathematics and technology courses' (Research in Science Education, 2020). He co-authored the book 'Pragmatic Adaptive Leadership: Tools for Guiding in Complex Educational Systems' (Policy Press, 2025).