Trevor Cairney

Trevor Cairney is an Honorary Professor of Education in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New England in 1977, a Master of Letters in Educational Psychology from the University of New England in 1979, a Doctor of Philosophy in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Newcastle in 1985, and a Graduate Certificate from the Australian Institute of Company Directors in 2009. His career began as a teacher with the NSW Department of Education from 1972 to 1989. He then served as a lecturer and senior lecturer in Education at Charles Sturt University from 1981 to 1989, a postdoctoral fellow at Indiana University in 1984, and Professor of Education at the University of Western Sydney from 1990 to 2002, during which he was Dean of Education from 1990 to 1995 and Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research, Development, and Postgraduate Studies from 1995 to 2000. Cairney was Master and CEO of New College at the University of New South Wales from 2002 to 2016, Honorary Professor of Education at UNSW from 2002 to 2013, and holds the title of University Life Professorial Fellow at UNSW. Since 2016, he has been the CEO of Higher Education Solutions. In business leadership, he served as President of the Sydney Business Chamber from 2001 to 2009, President and Chairman of the NSW Business Chamber from 2016 to 2017, and Director of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry from 2016 to 2017.

Cairney's research centers on early language and learning, family literacy practices, pedagogy, and regional development. He has authored or co-authored numerous books, including Pedagogy and Education for Life: A Christian Reframing of Teaching, Learning, and Formation (2018), Theology and the Future: Evangelical Assertions and Explorations (co-edited, 2014), Beyond Tokenism: Parents as Partners in Literacy (1995, with L. Munsie), Teaching Reading Comprehension: Meaning Makers at Work (1990), and Pathways to Literacy (1995). He has published over 160 journal articles and book chapters, with significant citations in literacy education. Awards include the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in 2012 for service to education as an academic and administrator and to business through leadership roles, Honorary Life Fellowship from the University of New South Wales, and the Institute for Educational Research Award for his doctoral thesis Reading Ability and the Resolution of Anaphoric Reference in 1985. He has supervised PhD students, such as Nora Saleh A. Aldossary on the role of ICT in children's development, and delivered plenary addresses on pedagogy and Christian education.

Professional Email: t.cairney@unsw.edu.au