Ivor Goodson


Ivor Frederick Goodson is a British educationalist. He is a professor at Tallinn University.

Education and career

Goodson was born in 1943 in Woodley, a village near Reading, Berkshire. He went to a grammar school and was unsuccessful initially, leaving at age 15, but then returned and resumed his studies. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from University College, London, and his teachers certificate from the London School of Education. He then worked as a teacher at the progressive comprehensive school, Countesthorpe Community College.
Goodson returned to the University of Sussex for a Doctor of Philosophy degree, which he completed in 1979. He remained at Sussex for several years, before moving the University of Western Ontario in 1986, and to the University of East Anglia in 1996. In 2004, he became the Professor of Learning Theory at the University of Brighton. As of 2015, he is a professor at Tallinn University, Estonia.
He was the co-editor-in-chief and founder of the Journal [of Education Policy], alongside Stephen Ball.

Books

Goodson's books include:
  • School Subjects and Curriculum Change
  • The Making Of The Curriculum: Collected Essays
  • Studying Curriculum
  • Studying School Subjects: A Guide
  • The Changing Curriculum: Studies in Social Construction
  • Learning, Curriculum and Life Politics: The Selected Works of Ivor F. Goodson
  • Developing Narrative Theory: Life Histories and Personal Representation
  • Critical Narrative as Pedagogy
  • Democracy, Education and Research: The Struggle for Public Life.
  • Happiness, Flourishing and the Good Life: A Transformative Vision of Human Well Being.
He is also an editor or co-editor of several edited volumes.

Awards and honours