Simon Clarke

Professor Simon Clarke is a Professor and Senior Honorary Research Fellow in the Graduate School of Education at The University of Western Australia, where he coordinates the Doctor of Education Programme. He earned an EdD from The University of Western Australia, an MA in Political Education from the Institute of Education, University of London, a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from the University of Bristol, and a BA (Hons) from the University of Reading. Clarke's teaching, supervision, and research are located in the substantive field of educational leadership. His research interests include school improvement, schools as organisations, change in education, teachers’ work, and industrial relations in education. He has contributed to international collaborations such as the Carpe Vitam ‘Leadership for Learning’ project, coordinated by the University of Cambridge, and the International Study of Principals’ Preparation (ISPP) across 13 countries, examining preparation programmes for principals and the influence of diverse contexts on school leadership.

Prior to his current positions, Clarke served as Senior Lecturer in Curriculum Leadership and Director of the Centre for Leadership and Management in Education at Griffith University in 2004, and as Senior Lecturer and Deputy Director from 2001 to 2004. He was a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Institute for the Service Professions, Edith Cowan University, in 2000, and held teaching and administrative roles in state and independent secondary schools in England and Australia from 1978 to 1999. His contributions have been recognized with awards including the Outstanding Reviewer in the 2023 Emerald Literati Awards, ACEL WA Excellence in Research in Educational Leadership and Management Award in 2021, UWA Student Guild’s Students’ Choice Awards in 2018 and 2016, Fellowship of the Australian Council of Educational Leaders (WA Branch) in 2013, and Fellowship of the Australian College of Educators. Clarke has produced 128 research outputs, including articles such as “Creating the Alchemy of Teachers' Social, Intellectual and Professional Capital” (2025), “Pacific perspectives on Health Professions Education leadership – An interpretivist case study” (2024), “Professional learning and development in education: A cornucopia of theory, research, and practice” (2024), and “Using Rich Pictures as a Qualitative Tool to Uncover Tacit Perspectives on Leadership” (2023). He has edited Professional Development in Education since 2017 and serves on the editorial board of Leading & Managing.

Professional Email: Simon.Clarke@uwa.edu.au