Michael A. Peters

Michael A. Peters (FRSNZ, FHSNZ, FPESA) is a globally recognised scholar whose interdisciplinary work spans philosophy of education, political economy and ecological civilisation. He holds the distinction of Emeritus Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U.S.A.), Distinguished Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University (P.R. China), and Research Associate in the Philosophy Program at Waikato University (New Zealand).

Previously, he served as Distinguished Professor of Education at Beijing Normal University (2018–2024) and held prestigious appointments including Personal Chair at the University of Auckland (2000), Research Chair at the University of Glasgow (2000–2006), Excellence Hire Professor at the University of Illinois (2005–2011), and Professor of Education at the University of Waikato (2011–2018).

A prolific author, Professor Peters has written over 120 books and 500 articles, shaping discourse in educational theory, philosophy, and critical policy studies. He served as Editor-in-Chief of Educational Philosophy and Theory for 25 years and founded multiple international journals, cementing his role as a leader in academic publishing.

His contributions have been honoured with fellowships in the Royal Society of New Zealand (FRSNZ, 2008) and the Humanities Society of New Zealand (FHSNZ, 2006), alongside honorary doctorates from State University of New York (SUNY, 2012) and the University of Aalborg (2015).

His latest research explores post-apocalyptic philosophy and ecological futures, including the forthcoming Civilisational Collapse and the Philosophy of Post-Apocalyptic Survival (Peter Lang, 2025). He is currently editing the Handbook of Ecological Civilization (Springer, 2025), advancing critical dialogues on sustainability and global transformation.

For more on his work, visit: https://michaeladrianpeters.com/

Michael.Peters@waikato.ac.nz

Liz Jackson

Liz Jackson is Professor of International Education at the Education University of Hong Kong and is PESA Past President and a Fellow of PESA. Liz is an editor for New Directions in the Philosophy of Education , Educational Philosophy and Theory: Editor’s Choice, and Deputy Editor for Educational Philosophy and Theory. She has written, Muslims and Islam In US Education: Reconsidering Multiculturalism; and Questioning Allegiance: Resituating Civic Education.

Carl Mika

Carl Mika is Professor of Maori and PostGraduate Co-ordinator, in Aotahi School of Maori and Indigenous Studies at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha/University of Canterbury, Christchurch, Aotearoa/New Zealand. His iwi affiliations are Tuhourangi and Ngati Whanaunga. With a background in law, indigenous studies and Māori studies, Carl has developed a knowledge base in Western philosophy (especially metaphysics, existentialism and phenomenology). His current research interests are the representation of philosophy as political act for indigenous peoples, and indigenous philosophical theorising generally. He is on the PESA Executive and co-convenes the PESA Indigenous Philosophy Group and is Associate Editor of Online Journal of World Philosophies.

carl.mika@canterbury.ac.nz

Rachel Buchanan

Rachel Buchanan is Associate Professor in the School of Education at University of Newcastle, Australia. She has published articles in educational philosophy, ethics, pedagogy, sociology, and education policy and politics. Her research centres on social justice and equity in education, academic literacy, widening participation, educational policy, digital identity and digital technologies. Rachel is PESA Treasurer and co-editor of E-Learning & Digital Media.

rachel.buchanan@newcastle.edu.au

Marek Tesar

Marek Tesar, Associate Professor and Associate Dean International at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, is a deputy editor of Educational Philosophy and Theory and Access: Contemporary Issues in  Education, and President of PESA. His research is focused on philosophical methods, childhood studies and early childhood education, the construction of childhoods, notions of place/space, and methodological and philosophical thinking around ontologies and the ethics of researching these notions.

Tina Besley

Tina Besley is Visiting Professor in School of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing. From 2018-2024, she was Distinguished Professor, Beijing Normal University. Prior positions include: Professor and Associate Dean International, Faculty of Education, University of Waikato, New Zealand; Research Professor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Full Professor, California State University, San Bernardino.

Tina began her academic career at the University of Glasgow in late 2000. She spent 16 years as a secondary school teacher, Head of Guidance and Counsellor in New Zealand. She is the Past President of the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia, and founding president of the Association for Visual Pedagogies, and honoured as a Fellow of both. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, UK.

Tina uses the later work of Michel Foucault on subjectivity, free speech, governmentality. In global studies in education, she explores policy, identities and cultures and interculturalism. Tina works closely with Prof. Michael A. Peters and with a wide international network of scholars in many journal articles and books, publishing over 30 books and monographs and numerous journal articles. She has been on the editorial board of several journals including deputy editor of Educational Philosophy and Theory; associate editor of the Beijing International Review of Education, founding editor of PESA Agora; founding co-editor E-Learning & Digital Media and of Knowledge Cultures.

Nina Hood

Nina Hood, Senior Lecturer in Education, University of Auckland, New Zealand focuses on the philosophy and practice of knowledge mobilisation in education and the role and purpose of the practical knowledge of teachers, and open, online learning in higher education. She founded The Education Hub, a not-for-profit that bridges the gap between research and practice in education. She is Editor, for Access: Contemporary Issues in  Education.

n.hood@auckland.ac.nz

Sean Sturm

Sean Sturm is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland, Aotearoa/New Zealand and coordinates its Higher Education programme. They are PESA Agora Deputy Editor & Social Media editor, Book Reviews Editor for Educational Philosophy and Theory, Editor of Knowledge Cultures and Treasurer for the Association for Visual Pedagogies. They research at the intersection of philosophy of education, critical university studies and settler studies.

s.sturm@auckland.ac.nz

Bernadette Farrell

Bernadette Farrell is a lecturer in education at University of Canterbury, New Zealand and is a member of the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia, (PESA) Executive and  leads PESA Agora Communications. Her interests in the ethics, politics of education, Freire and Dewey is inspired by experience as a former youth leader and an elected officer of the Union of Students in Ireland.

bernadette.farrell@canterbury.ac.nz

Taylor Webb

P. Taylor Webb, is Associate Professor of Education, Dept of Educational Studies, University of British Columbia, Canada. He uses several Continental theorists to examine formations of power and force in education, often manifest through ideas of policy. He is concerned with how education rationalizes and produces ‘governable subjects’ within liberal and neoliberal normative architectures, and his research has been identified as a significant reason for the development of educational policy studies and governance over the past decade. His book Teacher Assemblage (2009, Brill) won the 2009 American Educational Studies Association in 2009 (AESA) Critics’ Choice Book Award,  and the Outstanding Book Award from the Qualitative Research SIG of the American Educational Research Association in 2010 (AERA).

taylor.webb@ubc.ca